BI tool outputs often illustrate the tedious side of abundance culture...
Many organizations use BI tools to produce numerous reports that no one requests, create advanced cubes lacking the information they contain, generate impressive but deficient visual displays in quickly and clearly conveying the message, and so on...
Sometimes, it seems that these products, like the many reports piling up on our desks (desktop, literally), consume more of our precious work time deciphering them than serving us.
So, what do we do?
Focus!
Here are some tips to help you with the ongoing use and implementation of BI tools and their products:
Know your house
Learn the organization's current situation: What BI tools are available to you? Who are the users? What permissions are given to them? What are the goals for which the tools and permissions were allocated to users? Even if it seems trivial on the surface, in most cases, you'll discover the "abundance culture" in all its dubious glory: Why does the sales manager need to view a dashboard showing him the sales trend in the last five years alongside the weekly trend, which is the only one that interests him? Why does the operations division manager need a weekly report detailing the workforce in his division, while a mid-level manager doesn't have permission for this report?
Address the target audience
Redefine the target audience—remember: "Grasp all, lose all." Initially, focus on the audience that can benefit the most from the data. After the success is published, it will be easier to focus on the next target audience. For example, when implementing a dashboard system, focus on sales managers. These will derive immediate added value from a real-time sales status comparative display.
Remap the potential benefits of the target audience from BI tools and their products - What do users need BI tools for? Through in-depth interviews with key users (potential and actual), check with them what the primary and core information they need. Then, you can map gaps between the desired and the existing, and again - focus. For example, you may find that one report out of all the reports prepared for the user is the one that will help him optimally deal with the most acute problem he encounters in his ongoing activities. If he sees the direct benefit of that report, he will be much more motivated to learn to work with additional reports.
Re-examine existing products - Take time developing new products and purchase new tools to implement them. It's very likely that existing products - reports, dashboards, etc. - include efficient components hidden somewhere under excess data, information, and too many display options (drill down and the like). If so, make sure to exhaust the existing, i.e., before getting "dazzled" by another sexy component that hits the market; perhaps adjusting existing products will help achieve business goals at a lower cost and with tools already familiar to users so that the implementation process will be more straightforward. For example, focus on the report's three most important data points and prepare a shortened report that includes only these without flooding the user with excess data. Remember - long reports are suitable for the 20th century, not the 21st century.
In conclusion,
An in-depth house check is the starting point for improving the organizational benefit derived from BI solutions. One of the main problems today in the world of knowledge management in general and in the world of business intelligence in particular is the flood of data, information, and knowledge. People are crying out for "bottom lines" and shortcuts in the world's positive sense because they're short on time. BI tools can undoubtedly answer this need if we separate the wheat from the chaff, i.e., provide users with the information they need and only the information they need conveniently and in real-time.
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