Data and BI Problem to Solution #1

Recently I had an opportunity to discuss approach to BI in an organisation with my ex-colleague and thought to extend the discussion with all of you.

BI products are very dynamic in nature as the product needs to be aligned with business strategy in the longer term and responsive to the near term shifts and drifts (macro and micro changes). A typical business report or dashboard is an outcome of the process:

(Fig. 1.1 Data and BI Framework)

This is really important for all stakeholders to understand BI product life cycle to understand, what a sound BI strategy needs, to be developed and implemented successfully to produce desired results.

(Fig. 1.2 Data and BI Framework)

The Fig. 1.1 and Fig 1.2 present a very fundamental framework of BI application solution. There are three stages of information transformation and each stage add value to organisation competitiveness and at the same time cost ($) to organisation. The forth layer is the outcome of first three layers which means more time or resources organisation deploy in first three layers, production of forth layer will be easy and more value to organisations decision making capability. This framework is flexible and can be changed as per current business needs and urgency of implementation.

There are two possible scenarios to implement the framework. Both of these scenarios are focused on time and resource requirements to product delivery in the near time and longer time.

 Scenario 1: A Report Approach This is an execution strategy which will produce reports and dashboards as needed and when needed. The six steps (Fig. 1.1) performed each time a report is required. The quality of information varies from report to report considering which stage is used to deliver information. This approach is focused on report creation so delivery of new reports will be fast however change (micro and macro changes) management of the existing reports will be expensive and business will needs to replace old reports with new ones continuously. In this approach business will depend more on external suppliers for advanced analytical work and there is a risk business will end-up spending more in longer term. This approach needs basic skills and business needs to keep reviewing the workload and resource needs as per changes (Micro and Macro).

Skills requirements:

 1. Business Analysts/Report Writers

 2. Data Engineers

Scenario 2: A Data Platform Approach This is about building a data platform which reflects the business model to reduce repeat-ability. The highly scalable data platform absorbs the micro and macro changes. In this approach delivery of the first set of reports will be slow however change management and delivery of the next set of reports will be fast. The quality of information will not vary from report to report. This approach is not about delivering a report rather building Models and tool sets to provide business with accurate, timely and consistent information. This approach is about delivering a data strategy which is flexible and scalable.

Skills requirements:

 1. Data Architect

 2. Governance and Business quality

 3. Business Analysts/Report Writer

 4. Data Engineers

BI strategy needs to be flexible, efficient and effective. Both scenarios presented here can be used to deliver information contents based on the organisations size, urgency of implementations and funding available. Scenario 1 is more effective to small organisation however for a large multi-product and multi-location company Scenario 2 will be more effective.