Microsoft® Business Intelligence For Dummies®

Chapter 4. Using Data to Inform and Drive Business Activities

In This Chapter

• Understanding the role of data in business decisions

• Converting data into information

• Exploring OLAP analysis concepts

• Familiarizing yourself with OLAP terminology

The only one who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew every time he sees me.

—George Bernard Shaw

There's an old management saying: "You can't manage what you can't measure." I know many creative types who would beg to disagree, but in business intelligence, the saying holds true. Imagine if you were told you have just become the CEO of a manufacturing company. Hooray! Now you're told the bad news: Nobody has any idea how many people work for the company, how many products are produced or sold, how many vehicles are owned for delivering the sold products, or how much money is in the bank. Yikes! One of your first tasks would be to start measuring these things — ASAP.

What you measure is, essentially, data generated by the processes that make up a business. If you can't measure business activities, then you can't know whether they're improving or getting worse . . . and if you don't know something is getting worse, you can't manage it in order to improve it! Small wonder that measuring and analyzing business processes are basic to business intelligence.

Measuring change means you care about it and want to try to affect its course. Sure, you can easily just "hippie out" and let the change flow in whatever direction the wind blows. ...