July 4, 2009
BI Program
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BI tools have developed significantly over the past few years, and one positive move is the ability of end users to create and publish their own dashboards. The benefits of self pubishing dashboards include:
- Rapid deployment of BI tools to meet individual needs – no input from IT is required
- Customization of the dashboard to a user group of 1
- Instant update of dashboards to meet changing needs
However, there are also a few drawbacks. Firstly, KPI clutter – too many KPI on a single dashboard. This is a common mistake my many new users of dashboards as they seek to add more and more value. In reality, they are reducing the value by reducing the visibility of primary KPI with a lot of clutter. Just as we saw the aptly name ’spreadmart’ fever, we are now seeing evidence of the KPI Crazies.
The number of KPI depend very much on the type of business, department or role. However, as a general rule of thumb the max is 10. Many dashboards provide all the necessary information in just 4 KPI. The key is to recognize the difference between KPI and KRA. KRA refer to key results areas. KRA’s are more operational in that they refer to key activities and people contributing to a process, whereas KPI are more exact, referring to the outcome of processes that contribute directly to strategic goals.
Consider Albert Einstein’s quote:
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
Check out more common BI Program Mistakes
May 21, 2009
BI Program, BI Solutions, on Demand BI
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PivotLink have a useful BI cost calculator to help you compare your current or potential BI costs against industry data published by TDWI.
Naturally, on-demand BI vendors PivotLink are keen to provide a comparison on the cost of on-demand BI compared to inhouse solutions, however I congratulate them on helping business and technical managers make this decision. As the author of The Logical Organization, I support anything that helps businesses make better decisions.
So check it out here - it is very easy to use, and you can quickly see how each key component of your BI solution impacts your bottom line, including:
- BI software licensing costs
- Database costs
- Hardware costs
- Staffing costs
Note: The 2008 TDWI BI Benchmark Report: Organization and Performance Metrics for BI Teams based on a web survey of 392 BI professionals found that the median capital budget spending on BI in 2008 was $260,000 while median BI maintenance costs were $235,000.
March 15, 2009
BI Program, BI Strategy, IT Strategy
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The business environment is a complex interplay of internal and external forces that must be supported by agile, efficient and compliant technology. Business intelligence technology is the most affected capability by under-performing IT infrastructure and stagnant, poor quality information.
In an attempt to provide a quick fix to an organizations business intelligence needs, common errors come into play that not only prevent the speedy solution, but can plague a more robust BI program implementation.
The most common BI Program mistakes largely involve incorrect assumptions: Read the rest…
