This
is a role-play assignment. We’ll play the role of a Business
Intelligence Consultant. take the role of the BI Consultant hired by Steel Wheels. Prepare and
submit your own business proposal on what should be the important
factors for a successful implementation and oversight of Steel Wheels’
BI solution. In this 900-1,000 Microsoft Word business proposal,
describe your proposed best practices that should be established when
developing a BI solution (include the areas of business strategy,
business processes, data, people, and technology). Describe the
potential barriers, challenges and risks factors in delivering the BI
solution and what would you propose as major best practices to overcome
the challenges and mitigate the risks while delivering a successful BI
solution. Lastly, describe what would be the rewards for Steel Wheels
after a successful BI implementation. Please
incorporate your ideas from the resource materials (articles, websites,
and videos) found in the Reading and Assignments folder. Additional information can be found on youtube such as: Is Business Analytics Overrated? Pamela Prentice Shows Why Not (youtube video), and Business Intelligence Demonstration (youtube video)
v9n2_revitalize_ar.pdf

more_bang_for_the_buck.pdf

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(Re)vitalize!
Consider an ongoing strategy to maintain the ideal data warehouse. by Lance Miller
O
rganizations set up a data
warehouse when it is
perceived that enterprise
data is critical to the successful
running of their business. They
realize that operational and
transactional data is a key
asset, but alone it won’t provide
strategic and analytical insights.
It must be combined with
other analytical, historical and
external data in an integrated data
warehouse, where it becomes missioncritical to the business.
Photography by Veer
PAGE 1 | Teradata Magazine | June 2009 | ©2009 Teradata Corporation | AR-5911
Many companies begin their data warehouse efforts with an
ideal in mind—that a fully integrated, single source of information
will facilitate answers to management’s questions and, ultimately,
better decision making across the organization. An integrated data
warehouse lets staff ask complex questions (both pre-defined and
ad hoc) by integrating data from multiple functional areas into
World-class companies understand
that designing, building, operating and
managing a successful data warehouse
requires ongoing investment, training,
maintenance and management support.
1
Build a flexible, scalable architecture. Over time, you will
want to add more data, users and subjects, so pay attention
to the architecture. A data warehouse architecture (and data
management architecture) that’s flexible and scalable will allow
for orderly evolution instead of growth by assimilation.
Implement a vibrant enterprise model. Integrated enterprise modeling (both logical and physical) is critical to a
data warehouse’s design and alignment to business needs. The
model determines how business and IT will define, use, view,
update and maintain data. Don’t constrain the data warehouse’s
evolution with a data model that imposes inflexible assumptions about the business, fails to allow for new subject areas or is
unable to provide a foundation for insight.
Establish a strategic enabler versus cost center. The data
warehouse may fall into disuse or fail to realize its full
potential when it does not deliver on expectations of value.
Use business impact analysis and business value assessments to
affirm its value. When bringing new departments, subject areas
2
3
a repository that drives consistent business-critical insights in a
timely manner—whether periodic or in near real time. But data
warehousing is not a “once and done” proposition.
As the business evolves and grows, an
initial data warehouse must often adapt
to new problems, additional subject
table
(Re)vitalization
areas, more applications and increased
Topic #
Topic
user demands. These factors sometimes
cause the platform to grow in unpre1
Architecture
dictable directions and make the IT
staff feel pressed for time and resources
2
Enterprise model
to accomplish all that’s possible—or
needed. Without continued attention
to critical areas, a data warehouse can
3
Strategic enabler
gradually deteriorate.
To ensure this powerful technology
works its hardest to provide the excep4
Governance
tional value it can offer through new
capabilities and insights, it’s important
5
Skills and training
to revisit—and revitalize—key areas of
the system.
Keys to success
eeping your data warehouse in top
form can reduce expenses, additional
work related to quality issues, maintenance
costs, the inability to respond to changing
business requirements, the need to reconcile erroneous data, and risks associated
with incomplete compliance measures.
Organizations can keep their systems
more vital in the long run by paying careful attention to fundamental details:
K
recap
Recommendations
A flexible data warehouse architecture, data
architecture and systems architecture are needed.
An integrated logical model should be in place and
kept current.
Business impact analysis and business value
assessments can be used to affirm the value of the
data warehouse.
Proper governance ensures alignment of business
needs and data warehouse strategy.
Ongoing education and training are needed to
maintain the highest skill levels to design, maintain
and operate a data warehouse.
6
Performance/workload
Periodic monitoring and assessment of capacity,
performance and workloads ensures optimal results.
7
Company culture
Governance and service levels minimize
cultural politics.
8
Processes
Periodic assessment of processes against best
practices optimizes operations.
9
Strategic commitment
Executive support is critical to the success of the
data warehouse.
10
Consultants
Use experienced data warehousing consultants with
a proven track record and blended delivery rates
when needed.
PAGE 2 | Teradata Magazine | June 2009 | ©2009 Teradata Corporation | AR-5911
and users into the data warehouse, make sure you’ve prepared
a business case to predict return on investment (ROI) for these
efforts. By doing so, the IT department and the data warehouse
will be seen as strategic enablers and not just cost centers.
Assign accountability. A governance team that reviews data
warehouse initiatives for proper planning, prioritization,
funding and accountability should be instituted. Governance is
defined as the alignment of business and data warehouse strategy. It is based on processes whereby project sponsors present
and prioritize proposals, allocate resources, resolve issues, make
decisions and hold parties accountable for results.
Keep your skills current. On a regular basis, re-examine
skills against current data warehouse needs and provide
employee training where necessary. A well-trained staff will
spend less time on routine tasks and more on strategy, planning, decision making and execution. Users possess different
computer skills, perform dissimilar jobs and have varying
4
5
integrated with how people do their jobs, processes will need to
be adjusted to ensure that every aspect of the data warehouse is
documented, understood and optimized. Processes that worked
in the initial stages of the data warehouse life cycle may need to
be refreshed.
Capitalize on strategic commitment. Senior management
must constantly review the business value, impact and
investment case for the data warehouse, and assess its overall
maturity and ROI to ascertain whether it meets corporate goals.
If the executive team does not provide commitment, leadership,
direction and investment, the project will not reach its potential.
If you haven’t yet involved senior management and demonstrated the value of your data warehouse, now is a great time to
get their support.
Leverage consulting services. Most internal IT staffs
need help getting their initiatives started correctly and
planning for the system’s rapid expansion. The process involves
9
10
To ensure this powerful technology works its hardest to provide the exceptional
value it can offer through new capabilities and insights, it’s important to revisit—and
revitalize—key areas of the system.
information needs. Your staff might need training on new
concepts or features to keep your data warehouse vitalized.
Ongoing education, training and benchmarking will ensure that
employees maintain the highest skill levels to design, maintain
and operate it.
Design for optimal performance. When a data warehouse
is initially designed, assumptions are made about the workload, number of users and system capacity. Additional workload,
users, queries, loading and other tasks may cause performance to
degrade over time. Best practices suggest a proactive approach to
measuring the requirements for increased capacity and performance. It’s a good idea to periodically monitor and assess the
environment’s capacity, performance and workloads. Regularly
planning for replacement or additional hardware purchases to
address unforeseen overhead can reduce costs and ensure proper
timing of upgrades. Lastly, automated tools can be used to monitor and manage your system.
Address company culture. Establishing a steering committee for your data warehouse helps drive toward best
practices that reconcile the politics of human nature and business. Enforcing data governance and service levels can help
minimize cultural politics.
Keep an eye on processes. Benchmarking your processes
against other enterprises is an excellent way to facilitate best
practices within your organization. As the system becomes better
6
7
8
complexities, technologies and issues that may be beyond the
department’s experiences. If a firm has never designed, built,
delivered or operated a data warehouse, it’s advisable to take
advantage of the expertise that experienced, proven data warehousing consultants can offer. Make sure you use consultants
who focus solely on data warehousing and whose references
are solid.
An ongoing effort
orld-class companies understand that designing, building, operating and managing a successful data warehouse
requires ongoing investment, training, maintenance and management support. Don’t overlook your data warehouse when
exploring improved efficiency and business opportunities. Head
off problems and improve operations by enabling your system to
evolve with your organization.
If your data warehouse team has addressed all 10 critical
areas, you have made the commitment to keep its design, model,
architecture and other factors running at optimal levels. Under
normal circumstances this is a challenge; it’s even more difficult
during times of economic challenges. Take encouragement that
continued efforts go a long way. T
W
Lance Miller is assistant vice president of Global Services Marketing
at Teradata.
PAGE 3 | Teradata Magazine | June 2009 | ©2009 Teradata Corporation | AR-5911
Perspective
Wayne Eckerson,
director of TDWI Research
More Bang for the Buck
Budget constraints challenge BI teams to boost efficiency
and productivity, according to a TDWI report. by Wayne Eckerson
L
Tactics Versus Strategies
In the short term, BI teams have coped by using
tactical maneuvers designed to cut costs without
sacrificing quality or output. They have canceled low-priority projects and dismissed the
contractors and consultants working on them.
Likewise, new product purchases and costly
software upgrades are being put on hold.
Some organizations have also successfully
renegotiated software maintenance contracts
while leaning on vendors to provide more
assistance, such as building prototypes and
delivering proofs of concept, free of charge.
But these are only first steps.
PAGE 1 l Teradata Magazine l Q4/2010 l ©2010 Teradata Corporation l AR-6253
Longer-term, strategic initiatives must be
put in place to improve operating efficiency
and effectiveness. For instance, many enterprises are consolidating spreadmarts and data
Photography by Bob Hauser
ike a forest fire, a recession consumes
the deadwood of business intelligence
(BI) programs. But at the same time,
it frees practitioners to dream up new ways
to deliver solutions. The bright side of these
challenging times is that BI teams are now
equipped with new processes, organizations
and technologies to deliver significant value.
With many budgets cut or flat, the drive
to do more with less requires that BI professionals find new ways to deliver business
results more efficiently. This emphasis has
manifested itself largely in terms of tactics
and strategies.
When the budget ax
falls, BI professionals
must be proactive.
Fortunately, they
have the means and
the know-how to
get the most out
of their dollars.
Adopt agile business intelligence
(BI) methods
Tightly manage scope and risk

Create a network of super users
POPULAR
STRATEGIES
Cross-train staff to handle
multiple BI tasks
Improve the quality of business
requirements
Automate operations
Implement BI Competency
Centers
marts and eliminating redundant data, tools,
infrastructure and staff. Likewise, BI teams are
implementing self-service tools to not only
enable users but also free themselves to focus
on high-priority efforts.
Explore Technology
While tactics and strategies are crucial, new
technologies are also important in this effort.
Companies of all sizes are aggressively investigating them to improve BI operations. Many
small and mid-sized businesses are turning to
the latest offerings to get into the game, while
veteran BI groups are replacing existing technology with next-generation capabilities.
Topping the list of priorities are dashboards; extract, transform and load (ETL)
tools; and ad hoc and standard reporting
tools. Simultaneously, many organizations
are looking to implement scorecards and data
quality, data mining and exploration tools for
the first time.
Fortunately, many low-cost technology
solutions are available. Open source, cloud
BI, visual and discovery tools, plus data
warehousing appliances and specialized
analytical databases, all offer more functionality and performance for less. Small and
mid-sized BI programs and their forwardthinking, larger counterparts are increasingly
adopting these technologies.
Where to Start
When considering strategic or tactical costcutting efforts, it’s important to first consider
best practices. Here are four recommendations
for BI groups:
> Empower users. Users clamor for tools
that let them create their own reports.
These tools can release you from reportwriting duties so you can deliver additional
value within budget and staffing constraints. However, self-service BI must be
managed to avoid report chaos. To do this,
train a network of super users to manage
ad hoc reporting in each department.
> Align with the business. With limited
resources, it’s imperative to focus on
high-value projects. Doing so requires you
to work closely with the business. To add
more rigor to business requirements processes and implement agile development
techniques, you must involve business users
every step of the way. This will enable you
to reshuffle requirements after each increment. When your team reaches sufficient
maturity, establish BI Competency Centers.
> Work smart. When resources are tight,
work more efficiently and effectively. That
means learning to make do with existing
tools rather than purchasing new ones;
postponing costly upgrades and using
existing functionality; minimizing project
PAGE 2 l Teradata Magazine l Q4/2010 l ©2010 Teradata Corporation l AR-6253
scope to reduce risk; avoiding overly
complex, risky projects; and automating
back-office operations to free up more
time for development. Finally, cross-train
staff to handle more tasks and use consultants judiciously to expedite projects.
> Consolidate and negotiate. Several strategies can help reduce costs in short order.
One method is to negotiate new maintenance licenses with vendors and ask them
to donate the software needed to build
prototypes and conduct proofs of concept.
Another is to consolidate data marts and
BI tools to eliminate analytical silos and
reduce overhead.
Strengthened by Fire
When the budget ax falls, BI professionals must
be proactive. Fortunately, they have the means
and the know-how to get the most out of their
dollars. While such efforts start with immediate cost-saving tactics, they don’t end there.
Forward-looking, long-term strategies and
cutting-edge technologies play key roles as well.
For those who can implement such long-term
initiatives, leaner times can drive meaningful
innovation, not merely belt-tightening. And
while it’s never painless to weather a firestorm,
the result will be a stronger, healthier BI program in the long run. T
Wayne Eckerson is the director of TDWI
Research. He is an industry analyst and
educator covering data warehousing and
business intelligence (BI) since 1995.
Editor’s note: This article is derived from the
TDWI Best Practices Report “BI on a Limited
Budget: Strategies for Doing More with Less,”
by Wayne Eckerson. For more on this topic, see
“Streamlining Strategy” on page 29.
ONLINE
Download “BI on a Limited
Budget: Strategies for Doing More
with Less” on Teradata.com.

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