{"id":8208,"date":"2014-08-05T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2014-08-05T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=8208"},"modified":"2023-03-13T16:06:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T21:06:22","slug":"the-bi-roadmap-part-1-5-essential-questions-to-ask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/the-bi-roadmap-part-1-5-essential-questions-to-ask\/","title":{"rendered":"The BI Roadmap (part 1): 5 essential questions to ask"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Education\"Summary: Despite the growing need for analytics, most BI projects still fail. In this first installment of the BI Roadmap series, you’ll learn why these projects fail, along with a few foundational questions you cannot afford to ignore before starting a BI project.
\n<\/em><\/span>
\n<\/a>
\nBusiness Intelligence (BI) has a problem. Despite the growing need for analytics, most BI projects still fail<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why? Or perhaps a better question: How can we fix it?<\/p>\n

\"photo
photo credit: lumaxart<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Talk to most BI vendors, and they\u2019ll tell you the solution lies in the tool. Buy their tool, and your problems will melt away. Right? Not exactly.<\/span><\/p>\n

While good BI will tools help, the reality is this: BI failures aren\u2019t usually caused by bad tools. They come from foundational problems.<\/p>\n

For instance, some businesses skimp on planning and jump straight into the implementation. Others don\u2019t ask the right questions from the start. Still others don\u2019t have a clear goal. I\u2019ve seen these problems crop up over and over again.<\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019d like to start a \u201cBI Roadmap\u201d series. Over the course of a few articles, I\u2019ll share the steps you must take to improve your chances of BI success.<\/p>\n

In this first part of this BI Roadmap series, let\u2019s uncover the \u201cfoundational questions.\u201d These are questions that you must ask before starting your BI journey. They lie at the base of any good BI project. Ignore them at your own peril.<\/p>\n

What are they? Before you start looking for a BI solution and before you start mapping out your plan, ask yourself these questions:<\/p>\n

1. Why are we doing this?<\/h3>\n

Why do so many BI projects fail? For many, it boils down to one fact: They can\u2019t answer the question of, \u201cWhy are we doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s driving this change? What pressing problem will it solve?<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t know what problem it will solve, that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

If the pain of not having BI isn\u2019t that bad, that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

If all key decision-makers aren\u2019t on board with the project, that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

BI projects can take months to complete. They\u2019re not always easy. If you don\u2019t have a clear reason–a problem you\u2019re trying to solve–you\u2019re headed for disaster. The project will likely flounder, as key executives start questioning its value half-way through.<\/p>\n

Before you proceed with BI, you must get on the same page. Your key decision-makers must understand why you need BI, and the problem you\u2019re trying to solve.<\/p>\n

2. What will success look like?<\/h3>\n
\"photo
photo credit: Bogdan Suditu<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Imagine you\u2019re in an archery competition. But, as you pull the bow back and aim your arrow, you realize something: The targets are blank. No bullseye. No lines. Nothing. <\/span><\/p>\n

How will you know if you succeed?<\/p>\n

Sadly, that\u2019s how many BI projects begin. They have no clear goal, no definition of success. Without a clear goal, you cannot succeed.<\/p>\n

Before you begin your BI project, create your target. Map out exactly what success will look like.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m not talking about vague goals like, \u201cbetter data access\u201d or \u201cimproved decision-making.\u201d Those are great benefits, but aren\u2019t specific. The goals must be specific to the problem you are trying to solve.<\/p>\n

Without specific goals, you won\u2019t know if you\u2019ve succeeded. Without specific goals, those working on the project won\u2019t be on the same page.<\/p>\n

3. Where is our data?<\/h3>\n

More than any other factor, data will make or break a BI project. What data are you analyzing, and where does it live?<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t answer those questions, your BI project has little chance of success.<\/p>\n

Is your data in a database? Is it in many spreadsheets? Is it siloed across different departments? Does it exist in varying formats?<\/p>\n

This question may sound obvious, but it regularly creates problems for BI projects.<\/p>\n

Before you even begin your BI planning, take a data audit. Understand what data you need to analyze, and where that data lives.<\/p>\n

4. Who will use this?<\/h3>\n
\"photo
photo credit: Marco Bellucci<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Imagine walking into a hardware store and asking for some tools. Can they help you if you don\u2019t tell them what sort of tools you need or what problem you\u2019re trying to solve? Of course not!<\/span><\/p>\n

The same lesson applies to BI. You don\u2019t dive into a BI project without first understanding who will use it, and what problem they\u2019re trying to solve.<\/p>\n

But yet, this mistake occurs far too often. Businesses roll out BI solutions without involving their users, or learning their needs. The result: A \u201csolution\u201d that nobody uses.<\/p>\n

Before starting your BI planning, first understand who will use the solution. Understand the problems they face.<\/p>\n

What are they using now? What do they struggle with? What would they like in a solution?<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t stop there. Once you understand your user\u2019s problems and goals, involve them throughout the process. If not, you run the risk of delivering \u201csolutions\u201d that nobody uses.<\/p>\n

5. Who will drive this?<\/h3>\n

Companies who are most successful with software implementations share a few common characteristics.<\/p>\n

First, they have full executive buy-in. Their decision makers understand the goals, and will do what it takes to complete the project.<\/p>\n

Second, they have a strong leader who owns the project. Without this leader, everyone assumes that someone else is working on it, and the project flounders.<\/p>\n

Finally, they have product champions taken from those who will be using the solution. These people drive excitement and user adoption among the other users.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h3>\n

While we’ll cover other aspects of the BI process in future articles, this is your starting point. These 5 questions lie at the foundation of any successful BI implementation. If ignored, your BI project will likely fail.<\/p>\n

So, what do you think? Is there anything you would add to this list? If so, please share your thoughts in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: Despite the growing need for analytics, most BI projects still fail. In this first installment of the BI Roadmap series, you’ll learn why these projects fail, along with a few foundational questions you cannot afford to ignore before starting a BI project.<\/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":"The BI Roadmap (part 1): 5 essential questions to ask - mrc's Cup of Joe Blog","description":"Summary: Despite the growing need for analytics, most BI projects still fail. In this first installment of the BI Roadmap series, you'll learn why these project"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-8208","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\/8208","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=8208"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14659,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8208\/revisions\/14659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}