What is BI and how can it improve performance?

Defining the Business Goals

"You cannot even begin to choose products rationally without understanding what they will be used for. This may seem obvious – but we find many companies want to choose ‘the best product’ before knowing how it is to be used."

It is important to involve all potential users of the system from a very early stage, but do not expect them to be able to define the requirements – they won’t know what is available. Also, try to work out what is really required and not just what users say they need. You need to understand their jobs, what skills they have and what tools or information could make them more productive.

"Remember that any BI purchase should be business-driven: that means that you should have a clearly articulated objective for any project, with specific benefits listed and with at least an approximate rate of return calculation based on hard-nosed considerations. Simply assuming that better information and more reports is a ‘good thing’ in its own right is not sufficient justification for a project. You should identify quantifiable benefits (financial or human) that can be measured before and after the project; if this cannot be done, it is hard to know who should use the system, how detailed it needs to be or what costs are justifiable. After all, no amount of splendid reports will be useful if they do not provide users with actionable information that will let them do their jobs more quickly or more accurately"