| It makes sense that knowing what's going on in | | | | Business Centered Projects |
| your business will help you make better decisions. | | | | Now some of my former colleagues in IT will be |
| This obvious bit of news has been held up as | | | | be making cautionary noises on the next |
| proof of the validity of "Big Business Intelligence" | | | | category- Business driven business intelligence |
| for years. "It costs what it costs" say the big | | | | projects. While it's true that letting the business |
| business intelligence software vendors "you can't | | | | build databases and servers without IT |
| afford to fly blind". Well, its true that flying blind is | | | | involvement is a good strategy for pain and |
| a bad idea. But worse is to fly blind after spending | | | | suffering all round, the world of information is not |
| a few million dollars on a data warehouse or data | | | | only about databases and servers. |
| mart project. Better be blind and keep the money | | | | The goal is to improve your businesses ability to |
| in that case, if you ask me. | | | | take action based on factual information- this |
| In its predictions for business intelligence for 2009 | | | | most likely will involve computers and software- |
| Gartner states that "Although IT organisations | | | | but don't ignore activities that are less technical, |
| excel at building BI infrastructure, business users | | | | but get you towards that goal. One of the key |
| have lost confidence in the ability of them to | | | | things that hampers your ability to get data is |
| deliver the information they need to make | | | | inconsistent data definitions. These definitions |
| decisions. ". They further predict that at least | | | | often have nothing to do with any IT system, |
| 20% of business intelligence budgets will be | | | | nor the IT department. Simply having the business |
| controlled by the business rather than information | | | | clean up that product naming rule, more clearly |
| technology departments (IT) by 2012. | | | | define the cost accounting structures or give all |
| Ok, so how to best allocate your budget? | | | | their administrative people standardized training on |
| | | | how to categorize expenses are examples of |
| 1. Have a plan. | | | | first steps that will in fact improve your ability to |
| 2. Make it balanced- from small to big. | | | | compare and map data. In my experience this |
| 3. Keep focused on the goal not the technology. | | | | aspect is often underestimated. You can spend |
| To have a plan, make a list of every potential | | | | millions on a Master Data Management system, |
| initiative and project with an aim to have a | | | | but often the first thing to do is just to get the |
| diverse set of activities/developments that | | | | right people to fix some of the worst issues in |
| optimize delivery and cost. Not just the | | | | the existing systems. |
| technology projects- everything. Remember that | | | | Consider this- it's possible to imagine a "successful" |
| the prize is not more servers, or nicer reports, or | | | | data warehouse project where millions of dollars |
| having the biggest, fastest data warehouse on | | | | go into creating the data warehouse and |
| the block. It's making better decisions using better | | | | infrastructure, but the actual ability to compare |
| data. | | | | data across regions was due to the work done |
| First of all, have a wide range of different sized | | | | by your own business people to standardize |
| initiatives. Don't put all your eggs in a single data | | | | definitions as part of that project. |
| warehouse mega project basket. Mega projects | | | | Once the definitions are clear, maybe you can do |
| are difficult, expensive and risky. Wait till the | | | | at least some of the comparisons in a more cost |
| economy is overheating again to get on that bus. | | | | effective tool- and keep the millions you spent on |
| On the other hand, don't imagine that letting | | | | servers and consultants. |
| everyone get on with it in Excel will solve all your | | | | Self serve data- empower the analyst |
| issues either. | | | | And finally, Don't neglect the mini and micro |
| To help ensure that you have balance, make | | | | projects, and giving support to the individuals |
| three categories of projects and try to have | | | | doing them. People are smart. Give them the |
| multiple projects in each one; | | | | capabilities and tools to get at data and |
| - Projects with IT heavily involved | | | | understand it and they can do impressive things. |
| - Projects that are done by the Business not | | | | Training for example; we all know how much time |
| involving new technology | | | | your analysts spend in Excel making reports. Have |
| - Use of Self Serve and helping individual analysts | | | | you ever considered giving them access to some |
| do it themselves | | | | specialized Excel training to make them more |
| Often when we think about business intelligence | | | | effective? Not a run of the mill Excel training |
| projects we just focus on the first category. This | | | | course, but a targeted, analytical skills builder. No |
| is not only about technology- sure the IT projects | | | | matter how brilliant your technology and systems |
| are going to be important, but don't neglect other, | | | | are, its likely they'll still spend some hours every |
| often far less expensive and still effective | | | | week in Excel. If they were better at it, they |
| activities. | | | | could get more done, and do it in a more |
| The Classic IT Projects | | | | structured way. |
| So first category- Projects being largely run by IT | | | | When the data size or complexity does exceed |
| (and I used to be in the IT department, so I have | | | | either Excel's capabilities, or your analysts desire |
| respect for how hard they typically work, and the | | | | to do VBA programming, there is a new breed of |
| challenges they face). | | | | tools becoming available that allow users to |
| Set up limits in your mind, both minimum and | | | | access data directly in new ways on their |
| maximum for the amount of time you think | | | | desktop. |
| reasonable before an IT project delivers real | | | | This is my favorite area because its the area that |
| benefits. | | | | my current activities are focused on, building new |
| Minimums? What? Isn't a short project a good | | | | tools for the micro and self serve capabilities. |
| idea? | | | | The advantages for these types of desktop tools |
| Sure- but think about it- have a reality check in | | | | are; |
| your process. If IT, or a vendor tells you that | | | | - Lower or zero hardware cost because they use |
| you'll have a full fledged data warehouse or data | | | | the existing analysts PC. |
| mart in less than a month (and I know vendors | | | | - Ability to let analysts stay close to their data |
| who will do this), you have to ask yourself if its | | | | and understand the results they are getting. |
| reasonable. Maybe it is- but more often than not | | | | - Very fast delivery. Because this is a free-form, |
| the vendor makes attractive claims that would be | | | | flexible environment, the delays from the time |
| true only providing the data in your system had | | | | consuming process of requirements specifications, |
| zero defects and you used the system | | | | technical analysis, budget approvals, purchasing, |
| EXACTLY as the software vendor recommended. | | | | installation and commissioning required in a server |
| When the data quality issues that exist in every | | | | based "Big BI" system just don't happen. |
| real system appear, and your various | | | | Now, desktop analytics is not suitable for |
| customizations in, say, the sales system are | | | | everything, and its not going to replace the need |
| revealed- the BI vendor will say "oh, well, if it | | | | to have more traditional business intelligence |
| were not for the data quality problems etc. we | | | | solutions. Plus, it can suffer from the same sorts |
| would have had the reports in the time we said." | | | | of issues that Excel sheets on their own do- need |
| Right. | | | | for cross checking, and a tendancy to create |
| Another reason to flag very short IT projects is | | | | multiple versions of the truth. |
| to challenge the need for a data mart at all. If IT | | | | For this reason, it should be done in partnership |
| say they can build a data mart in two weeks of | | | | with your main stream business intelligence |
| development time, do we really need to buy all | | | | systems and IT department to ensure these |
| those servers and software licenses? Is a data | | | | issues are addressed or at least not completely |
| mart overkill for such a trivial data manipulation? | | | | ignored. Just as you shouldn't close your books |
| Who is using this data? Is there a less expensive | | | | each month in Excel, analysts working in a data |
| way to do it without increasing the amount of | | | | sandbox like tool need to be aware of its |
| hardware in our data center? (More on this in | | | | limitations. But if they find trends or spot patterns |
| category three.) | | | | in the data that can then be validated, they may |
| And maximums? I think that you simply can't | | | | discover more than the million dollar warehouse in |
| accept anything that doesn't have a deliverable by | | | | a fraction of the time. |
| the 3 month point. Period. Now is not the time to | | | | Another thing to consider is this: How much of |
| launch projects where the first report is a year | | | | the cost in your previous business intelligence |
| off. The project can take a year, or even more- | | | | projects was due to the features requested by a |
| but get deliverables quarterly or better, and | | | | small group of business analysts? |
| monitor them closely. Be able to ramp down or | | | | If these analysts have the tools to get at this |
| pull the plug on projects going off the rails. | | | | information themselves, you may find that some |
| Another type of IT project that is often not | | | | projects can be eliminated, and those that stay |
| considered but should be is a decommissioning | | | | might be simplified, reducing cost and delivery |
| project. Take a look at the various reports and | | | | time. |
| databases that you have. Are they all being used? | | | | In the current economic environment, no one can |
| If not, shut them down- free up hardware, | | | | afford the business intelligence mega projects of |
| storage space, CPU cycles, and maybe even IT | | | | yesteryear. But with a balanced common sense |
| maintenance effort. I think a lot of companies | | | | approach, using proven techniques, practical |
| would be amazed how much work is done | | | | approaches and some of the new desktop tools |
| keeping systems alive when they are no longer | | | | becoming available, the data can flow at a much |
| needed or used. | | | | lower cost. |