Operatives, this is Dork, 007 Dork reporting from Q Division headquarters. Unlike my data, I prefer my Mountain Dew shaken, not stirred.
THE SITUATION: The dreaded Dashboard Disruption Monkey Gang is on the loose again, and we need to find which agent has experience dealing with them. Fast.
YOUR MISSION: Create your first Qlik Answers knowledge base to track Q Division agent dossiers, then build an assistant that can query this intelligence on demand.
DELIVERABLE: A fully functional knowledge base containing agent information with an assistant capable of answering questions about your operatives.
📦Field Equipment
What You'll Need:
Access to Qlik Answers in your environment
Agent dossier files (7 PDF documents included in download)
Approximately 15 minutes mission time
Download Mission Pack:📥 You will find the QlikAnswers_SwarmAgents_Dossiers.zip attached
First, let's set up your training environment. Navigate to your Qlik hub and create a space called "Q Division Field Academy" (or use an existing space - this is your headquarters for all future training missions).
Once in your space, navigate to the Answers section in the hub where you'll see options for assistants, knowledge bases, data connections, and file uploads.
Step 2: Create Your Agent Information Knowledge Base
Click to create a new knowledge base and name it: "Agent Information"
Pro tip: Normally you'd add a detailed description here. For field training, we're moving fast, but in production you'd want to document what this knowledge base contains and its intended use.
You'll see three options for data sources:
Data connections (we'll cover in a future module)
Catalog sources (another mission for another day)
Upload files ← This is our target for today
Step 3: Deploy Your Agent Dossiers
Unzip the mission pack you downloaded and you'll find 7 agent dossier PDFs.
Simply drag and drop all 7 files into the upload area. You should see all seven appear in your upload queue.
Click "Upload" and watch as Q Division's finest get cataloged into your system.
Step 4: Index Your Intelligence (CRITICAL)
⚠️FIELD NOTE: Here's where rookies often get tripped up!
After upload, check the Index Status. It will say "Never been indexed" - this means the RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) system hasn't parsed your documents yet. You cannot query unindexed data.
Click "Index All" and switch to the flat view to watch the progress. With only a handful of pages per dossier, this should complete in seconds.
Refresh your screen. When you see "Index Status: Completed" with a timestamp, your intelligence is ready for deployment.
Step 5: Create Your Field Training Assistant
Now let's build an assistant that can query this knowledge base.
Click to create a new assistant and name it: "Field Training Assistant"
Add your Agent Information Knowledge Base.
We'll cover conversation starters in a future module - these are pre-written prompts that help users know what questions to ask.
Step 6: Test Your Intelligence Network
Time to validate your setup. Ask your assistant:
"Which agent has interacted with the dreaded Dashboard Disruption Monkeys?"
Watch the reasoning panel (this is where the magic happens):
Answer Agent activates first - it's always first on the job, collecting data sources and formulating a plan
Knowledge Base Agent takes over - searches through your indexed dossiers
Answer Agent reports back - "The Assembler Agent interacted with the dreaded Dashboard Disruption Monkeys during Operation Layout Logic"
Click on the citation link and it will jump directly to the source document, highlighting exactly where that information was found in the dossier.
✅Mission Debrief
What You've Accomplished:
✓ Created your first Qlik Answers knowledge base
✓ Uploaded and indexed unstructured PDF documents
✓ Built an assistant that queries your knowledge base
✓ Successfully tracked down intel using natural language queries
✓ Understood the agent reasoning flow (Answer → Knowledge Base → Answer)
Validation Check: Can you ask your assistant "Which agent dealt with the Dashboard Disruption Monkeys?" and get back "Assembler Agent" with a citation? If yes, mission accomplished! 🎯
Challenge Exercise (Optional): Try asking other questions about your agents. What skills do they have? What operations have they completed? Test the limits of what your knowledge base knows!
📚Field Notes: Technical Deep-Dive
What's happening with RAG and indexing?
When you upload PDFs to a knowledge base, Qlik Answers uses RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) to:
Parse the document content
Break it into searchable chunks
Create vector embeddings for semantic search
Store these in an index
Until indexing completes, the content is just raw files - the AI can't "see" it yet. Think of indexing as translating your documents into a language the AI agents understand.
Understanding the Agent Reasoning Flow
Qlik Answers uses multiple specialized agents:
Answer Agent: The orchestrator. Receives your question, determines what data sources are needed, coordinates other agents, and formats the final response.
Knowledge Base Agent: Specialized in searching unstructured documents. Uses semantic search to find relevant passages and return citations.
This multi-agent approach allows each specialist to do what it does best, similar to how Q Division has different operatives with different skills!
Why Citations Matter
Every answer includes citations showing exactly where the information came from. This is critical for:
Trust: Users can verify the answer
Governance: Track what data sources are being used
Debugging: Understand why an answer was given
Compliance: Prove where recommendations originated
In enterprise analytics, "because the AI said so" doesn't cut it. Citations provide the audit trail.
🎬 That's a Wrap, Operatives
You've successfully completed your first Q Division field training mission. You're now equipped to turn unstructured documents into queryable intelligence using Qlik Answers.
Remember: In analytics, as in espionage, the right question is more valuable than a thousand answers.
Dork, 007 Dork, signing off. Keep your data shaken and your queries stirred.
Questions? Feedback? Spotted a Dashboard Disruption Monkey?👎 Use the feedback button or reach out to your Q Division training coordinator
