Business Intelligence For Dummies®

Chapter 22. Ten Secrets to a Healthy BI Environment

You flipped the switch, turned on your BI applications, and everything worked like a charm. I hope you didn't overdo it at the launch party because there's still a lot of work to be done. (But you knew that.)

Building on the initial success of your business intelligence deployment requires planning and resource consumption that will rival the initial implementation. That's because BI is ultimately there to offer a glimpse into the inner workings of the company—and some of those insights will provoke changes that you'll have to help implement.

Note

As the company changes its approach over time, BI must be prepared to evolve with it.

The following basic habits will mean the difference between a BI system that's fully utilized, and one that withers and dies on the vine. These ten ideas will help keep your BI environment healthy.

Data TLC

A comprehensive business intelligence environment often involves data that goes through an extensive and confusing chain of virtual custody and transformations.

Pay careful attention to every link in that chain. You never know when a change could occur elsewhere in the company that renders a formerly reliable stream of information completely unrecognizable.

Data is the lifeblood of BI. When it gets lost, transposed, or transformed to the point where it no longer adequately represents the operational reality of the company, the system can no longer deliver valuable insights. Think of data along these lines: ...