Business Intelligence Strategic Assessment

A Business Intelligence (BI) Strategic Assessment helps organizations plan a BI implementation focused on the organization's specific needs. It acts as a strategic customization profile.

The assessment is completed using a series of facilitated sessions, background information reviews, and incorporates BI methodology and process.

Strategic and Readiness Assessments are critical to the success of a BI program rollout. Among the most common reasons for the failure of business intelligence and data warehousing projects is the lack of proper review, preparation and planning. These assessments mitigate these risks as much as possible.

Assessment, planning and preparation ensure a more effective and positive impact from a business intelligence investment, in the shortest time, and with the least overall cost.

BI Strategic Assessment Outcome

The outcome is a comprehensive [~50 pages] report [documentation, models, diagrams, plans and recommendations] on how the organization should organize, plan and implement their business intelligence system. It includes:

• Business Goals and Objectives
• Business Library [definitions, measures, dimensions]
• High Level Business Activity Flow [IDEF]
• Conceptual Data Analysis
• Systems Record
• It Infrastructure Review
• Implementation Plan
  

Business Goals - What The Business Needs

1. Clearly define corporate and operational objectives
2. Determine the related measures, dimensions, data lists, metrics and other supporting definitions.
3. Analyse business process and activity flow.
4. Document a BI Library of the most important business metrics and operational definitions.

Conceptual Data Model & Systems Record

1. Define where source data is and how data will be derived and organized.
2. Develop a standards-based conceptual data model to represent how business measures, dimensions and other information will be organized at a high level.
3. Assess operational systems to define the systems of record for your most critical information.
4. Work together with vendors and IT team to determine how disparate operational systems will be related to each other.

Implementation - How To Make It Work

1. Implementation of your business intelligence system is not just a technical deployment. In fact, 90% of implemention is non-technical and focuses on process and people.
2. Review and consider process and people concerns.
3. Gain understanding of the best information delivery method for key user groups.
4. Review IT infrastructure at a high level to assure such issues as bandwidth consumption, BI licensing optimization and fault tolerance are addressed.
5. Develop a high level implementation plan with estimated time and skills required for successful implementation.

Back To Top