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Tips for a successful business intelligence implementation?
We’re going to be implementing a new BI system within the next 6 months, and I was hoping to gather up some tips & resources that will help make the process as smooth as possible. What tips do you have for someone in my position? Is there anything that you should have done during implementation that you didn’t? What web resources are available?
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3 Answers
The most important factor you need in a BI implementation is executive sponsorship and business buy in. The requirements of the business should drive the scope of the system itself, there are many products that do BI well but in each case it would fail if you do not understand the business requirements.
Also choose a specific hotspot of problems in your current business and focus on delivering that first - it gives you a quicker win in a short amount of time, doing a big bang approach fails as business, market or economies change faster in current times.
A very high risk to any BI project is data quality, you need to be aware of this and how to mitigate it as well, its the old adage of garbage in/garbage out, this often puts the project in jeopardy.
A great resource for all of this and best practice is TDWI. http://tdwi.org/
I believe you will need much more then just tips. BI implementations are infested with issues and risks. I've had the opportunity to work on a 30 million dollar DW implementation, lead the implementation of several BI tools, built BICC and COE teams as well as work as an Industry Analyst for one of gartner's competitors so my advise is to take all the advice with a pinch of salt. One size does not fit all in BI and usually you won't realize it till it's too late. I was brought in to provide objective feedback on a BI solution lately in a large telecom provider and realized they made the same mistakes 98% of the companies make. Do not just look for tips, seek practical knowledge from someone who have the battle scars. The best advice I can give is to get yourself a good consultant who will act as your advisor and be sure to question everything. Not everything you read in analyst publications is correct for your organization. What works well for one company may be an expensive mistake for you.
Below are several tips to help achieve an efficient and effective BI Implementation:
1.) Understand the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – Understanding what you eventually need to have in order to make decisions is half the battle. Once you know what information is vital to decision making, you can identify which application and subsequent BI tool is relevant. From there you can identify the input points in your process.
2.) Document the current process – By running through this exercise you are bound to find several inefficiencies around your current process. Is it possible to integrate with other systems?
3.) Ask why? – You would be surprised how many times a current process is never questioned. Is there a better more efficient way? Can you enhance a certain application to help with this?
4.) Eliminate the human factor – Are there points in your process that can be automated? What data has the greatest risk of being inputted incorrectly?
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