How to Get Started with Operational Business Intelligence

June 19, 2008 · Filed Under BI, Project Management

Getting started is often the hardest part of any project because it involves dealing with so many unknown factors. Operational BI can be especially daunting, as it can have such an impact on non-technical people and processes. Claudia Imhoff, on the b-eye network blog, offers some thoughts on getting started with operational BI:

1. Start small - Making changes, especially changes that impact people and their business processes, can be tough. By starting small and building on subsequent successes, everyone gains confidence in the new system, paving the way for bigger changes down the road.

2. Asses the existing DW/BI infrastructure - As BI moves into an operational role, existing problems will only get worse, and they gain a wider, less forgiving, audience. Make a plan to reduce bottlenecks and solve any delivery, infrastructure and data quality issues.

As BI projects go, introducing BI software into an operational role is particularly challenging. However, the payoffs can be huge for both the organization and the IT department. The organization wins with gains in productivity and efficiency in achieving business goals, while the IT department wins increased respect as a strategic part of the organization.

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