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Take a top-down approach to business intelligence to ensure your organization’s key decision makers are armed with the right information. Your Challenge A significant number of organizations ranked business intelligence (BI) as IT’s top priority for 2014; however, just because there is an appetite for BI does not mean the initiative will be an automatic success. In fact, less than 50% of organizations considered their BI initiatives to be a complete success. It is imperative that organizations take the time to craft a BI strategy that aligns with business goals and fosters end-user adoption. Our Advice Critical Insight Use a Top-Down Approach - Historically, BI has been successful at penetrating the operational and tactical levels, but hasn't always reached the strategic level. Taking a top-down approach ensures key decision makers are immersed in BI. Build a “Duct Tape” Prototype - Before committing to an expensive BI tool, use the resources you already have to prove the value of BI and build buy-in. Work Backwards from the Decisions - Think about the actual decisions being made and build a tool that supports the decision maker. Impact and Result Run a low-cost BI pilot project with a senior executive to demonstrate the value of BI to other senior decision makers. The scope of the pilot project must be small and should focus on assisting a senior executive to make one or two major decisions. Use metrics, surveys, and quotes to capture and communicate the results of the pilot to build buy-in and generate support for the enterprise deployment of BI. Remedy any capability gaps and deficiencies before the enterprise deployment of BI. Once senior executive needs have been met, begin accommodating requests from the tactical and operational levels. Create a network of BI ambassadors across the organization to promote BI.
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Develop a Winning Business Intelligence StrategyTake a top-down approach to business intelligence to ensure your organization’s key decision makers are armed with the right information.A significant number of organizations ranked business intelligence (BI) as IT’s top priority for 2014; however, just because there is an appetite for BI does not mean the initiative will be an automatic success. In fact, less than 50% of organizations considered their BI initiative to be a complete success. Therefore, it is imperative that organizations take the time to craft a BI strategy that aligns with business goals and fosters end-user adoption.Historically, BI has been successful at penetrating the operational and tactical levels, but it does not always reach the strategic level. This is alarming because the strategic decision makers are the individuals that could benefit the organization the most by using BI. Taking a top-down approach will ensure senior management’s involvement and support throughout the project. This ensures that the most critical decisions are supported by the right data or information, aligning the entire organization with the BI strategy. Furthermore, the gains from BI will be much more significant and visible to the rest of the organization.Build a “Duct Tape” PrototypeDon’t commit to an expensive BI tool until the concept is proven and senior management has bought-in to the idea. The “duct tape” pilot project is meant produce a bare bones, inexpensive, and simple working prototype to demonstrate the value of BI. The “duct tape” pilot project allows IT to showcase the possibilities of BI in a risk-free environment by minimizing investment through the use of existing tools. The “duct tape” pilot project will also provide IT with experience deploying a small-scale BI tool and prepare the BI team for the enterprise deployment.Build BI Solutions With Specific Decisions in MindIt is very easy to get distracted by the latest BI gadgets and features and end up with a fancy dashboard that doesn’t get used. IT must build BI tools with specific business decisions in mind and present only the information the decision makers need to make that decision. Just because the BI tool is capable of displaying large volumes of information, it doesn’t mean it always should. Business users can become confused when presented with too much data or too many options. Keep it simple, clean, and aligned with business decisions.The sponsor of the pilot project should be an influential senior executive with a keen interest in BI. This will ensure the results of the pilot project receive ample attention and will create a large enough impact to encourage other senior decision makers to invest in BI.Before committing to an expensive BI tool, use the resources you already have to create a “duct tape” solution to prove the value of BI to the strategic decision makers at the top of the organization.Perform BI on the BI pilot project and use the results to convince the organization’s top decision makers to embrace the initiative. Be sure to interview the project sponsor after the project to capture positive quotations for qualitative benefits that could not be tracked.The pilot project sponsor has been a tremendous support in building enthusiasm for BI. Make sure that their BI needs continue to be met as the “duct tape” is removed and more of the organization’s most strategic decision makers become involved in the initiative.Routinely check if the BI program is meeting the needs of the senior decision makers as well as the rest of the organization. Also ensure the BI program continues to be aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives. A top-down approach doesn’t mean this is a “top only” initiative. Begin to develop solutions at the operational and tactical levels that complement the solutions developed at the strategic levels.
