Microsoft® Business Intelligence For Dummies®

Chapter 17. Ten Keys to Successful Microsoft Business Intelligence

In This Chapter

• Getting comfortable with an iterative approach

• Securing executive-level sponsorship

• Analyzing your current environment

• Creating an implementation plan

• Picking the right people for the implementation team

• Fostering an inclusive environment

• Establishing a culture of communication and collaboration

• Beginning with the right goals

• Minimizing risk

• Keeping the big picture in mind

There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.

—Chinese Proverb

Some strategies for implementing Microsoft Business Intelligence are already coming to the fore, even though the field is relatively new. Try the following ten keys to success and see which ones unlock the potential of your BI implementation. (My bet is that they'll all help. I'll also bet you saw that one coming.)

Reiterating an Iterative Approach

Yep, this is a theme I harp on elsewhere in the book, but only because (a) it can bring heavenly business results but (b) it may take some getting used to at first. The iterative approach to BI implementation (see Chapter 12 for details) breaks up the project into specific BI components and introduces them in small, iterative cycles, each one following a complete set of stages before circling back to the beginning, incorporating what's been learned, and sallying forth again (as shown in Figure 17-1).

Figure 17.1. An ...