Recently I went through a problem running BIRT reports from Maximo. Every time I launch a BIRT report I got a java.lang.ClassCastException exception like this.
java.lang.ClassCastException: org.apache.xerces.parsers.XIncludeAwareParserConfiguration incompatible with org.apache.xerces.xni.parser.XMLParserConfiguration
My colleague Daniel Hlawatsch found the solution based on two similar IBM TechNotes:
New Xerces library was introduced in CCMDB 7.1.1.5
Error connecting to WebServices
To solve the problem you just have to delete org.apache.xerces_2.9.0.v200805270400.jar file (backup this first) from the application server deployed application tree: maximouiweb.war\WEB-INF\birt\platform\plugins
Restart the application server and test BIRT reports.
If the problem is solved you also should eradicate the problem deleting the same file from the SMP directory: [SMPDIR]\maximo\maximouiweb\webmodule\WEB-INF\birt\platform\plugins