{"id":7058,"date":"2013-10-22T10:00:25","date_gmt":"2013-10-22T15:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=7058"},"modified":"2022-11-22T10:57:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T16:57:39","slug":"6-critical-guidelines-for-business-intelligence-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/6-critical-guidelines-for-business-intelligence-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"6 critical guidelines for Business Intelligence beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Education\"Business Intelligence (BI) consistently ranks as one of the top priorities in various CIO and IT surveys. A recent Gartner survey<\/span><\/a> puts BI as the top CIO priority for the last two years running. Forrester<\/span> comes to the same conclusion.<\/p>\n

The fact is, many companies are (or are planning on) adopting a Business Intelligence solution for the very first time. With data growing by leaps and bounds, it\u2019s no surprise that more businesses are looking for ways to capitalize on that data. <\/p>\n

The only problem: Most BI implementations fail. It\u2019s no secret. According to various surveys on the topic, anywhere from 60% – 80% of BI projects fail. Yikes.<\/p>\n

This paints a grim picture. Implementing BI is the #1 CIO priority, and many businesses will start a BI project in the near future…but most BI projects fail. <\/p>\n

Today, let\u2019s explore a few ways to lower those numbers. What must companies who are new to BI do to ensure success? What critical tips should these companies follow? We posed those questions to a few experts in the field, and have compiled their advice (along with some of my own) below. Here are 6 critical tips for BI beginners:
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Understand the big picture<\/h3>\n

I know–it sounds obvious…yet it\u2019s a problem I see all too often. It\u2019s easy to get caught up in the technology or the small details surrounding a BI implementation. However, don\u2019t lose site of the big picture. Map out your overriding goals and make sure everyone involved in the process is on the same page. <\/p>\n

\n\u201cHave a strong sense of the big picture,\u201d says Jay Millard, COO of Amadeus Consulting<\/span><\/a>. \u201cUnderstand what you want the BI system to do in terms of how it will make your business operate more efficiently internally and for your customers. Then, think about the small details that comprise this vision for operation.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2. Understand the important questions<\/h3>\n
\"photo
photo credit: Tsahi Levent-Levi<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the biggest mistakes in any software implementation: A failure to define success. Many companies go into Business Intelligence without clearly defining what would make it successful. Sure, \u201ca better understanding of your business\u201d is a good outcome, but…what does that mean specifically? What exactly do you hope to learn about your business from your BI solution? This starts with an understanding of the most important questions.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cKnow what questions you need answers to,\u201d says Dave Lucas, a long-time IT professional and current CEO of Dawning Truth<\/span><\/a>. \u201cFor instance do you want to know which products are most profitable in New York, or do you want to do costing analysis by State, or do you need to understand the relationship between pricing and profitability by quarter.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. Find a product champion<\/h3>\n

In my 30+ years in the software industry, I\u2019ve found that companies who are most successful with software implementations share a common characteristic: They have a product champion. They have someone within the company who takes the reins and drives the software forward. <\/p>\n

How important is a product champion? I\u2019ve seen software go from near failure to raging successes as a result of a product champion. Companies who were about to write the software off suddenly find that it\u2019s an integral part of their business. Why? Because someone stepped up and became the product champion.<\/p>\n

When you deploy BI software, find that person. Who will drive adoption in the company? Who will show others how the BI software will help them meet their needs? Who will demonstrate its capabilities to others? If you deploy software without identifying a product champion, you\u2019re heading for failure.<\/p>\n

4. Start with the data<\/h3>\n

While this may seem obvious, I\u2019ve seen the problem spring up far too often. Successful Business Intelligence starts with good, reliable data. If that\u2019s not in place, you can\u2019t expect to deploy BI software with any hope of success. <\/p>\n

\n\u201cMake sure you have the data,\u201d explains Lucas. \u201cThis is twofold: Firstly make sure you have the right data to answer your questions – if you do not have the data, you can’t answer the question. It’s as simple as that. Secondly ensure your data is accurate, timely and reliable. There is nothing worse than basing a decision on the wrong data, or outdated data. You can easily make a mistake that will cost you big time.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

5. Start small, avoid big bangs<\/h3>\n
\"photo
photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In application modernization, I promote an \u201cextend-and-surround\u201d approach. It calls for a gradual modernization of the most important applications without disrupting the business. I think the same applies to BI. Don\u2019t try to roll everything out at once. Rather, start with the areas that most desperately need BI, and expand from there. Start with little wins, and gradually spread to other areas.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cLet the process grow organically,\u201d explains Lucas. \u201cCompanies that take a big bang approach often struggle to get value out of their BI. They often end-up with inflexible monolithic systems which don’t answer the right questions. It is better to grow in baby steps, and to learn about your data and your questions as you go along. This way you will get a far better ROI on your investment, as you will be getting crucial answers from the very beginning.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

6. Don\u2019t try to measure everything<\/h3>\n

\n\u201cBusiness Intelligence has two main parts: measurements and displays,\u201d explains Steven Lowe, Founder of Innovator, LLC<\/span>. \u201cThe tendency, especially for beginners, is to try to measure and display everything. Try, at least to start, the opposite approach: pick one to three measurements that are truly important and actionable, measure only those, and display them in a format that can be understood at a glance.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I agree with Lowe, and want to expand on one of his points: Don\u2019t measure data that can\u2019t drive action. Let me explain: In Business Intelligence, there\u2019s a term known as \u201cvanity metrics.\u201d This is data that makes you feel good, but doesn\u2019t lead to change. It doesn\u2019t drive action. Measure the metrics that can lead to change. Ask yourself, \u201cWhat are we going to do about this metric?\u201d If the answer isn\u2019t immediate and obvious, perhaps it\u2019s not worth measuring.<\/p>\n

So, what do you think? Do you have any other tips for BI beginners? If so, I\u2019d love to hear them in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Business Intelligence (BI) consistently ranks as one of the top priorities in various CIO and IT surveys. A recent Gartner survey puts BI as the top CIO priority for the last two years running. Forrester comes to the same conclusion. The fact is, many companies are (or are planning on) adopting a Business Intelligence solution …<\/p>\n

6 critical guidelines for Business Intelligence beginners<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","slim_seo":{"title":"6 critical guidelines for Business Intelligence beginners - mrc's Cup of Joe Blog","description":"Business Intelligence (BI) consistently ranks as one of the top priorities in various CIO and IT surveys. A recent Gartner survey puts BI as the top CIO priorit"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-7058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-business-intelligence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7058"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13887,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7058\/revisions\/13887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}