Apress - Pro SQL Server 2008 Analytics_ Delivering Sales and Marketing Dashboards (2009)02

Apress - Pro SQL Server 2008 Analytics_ Delivering Sales and Marketing Dashboards (2009)02
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Apress - Pro SQL Server 2008 Analytics_ Delivering Sales and Marketing Dashboards (2009)02CHAPTER 2■■■Seven Keys to SuccessfulReporting ProjectsF inding the balance between the functional components of an analytics implementation, likeprocess design, key performance indicator (KPI) development, development, look and feel,and the technical items, like tool selection and complex feature development, is a daunting task.You typically must evaluate the trade-offs associated with spending time in one area vs. another.This chapter will focus on providing you with the key tasks and tools necessary to lay an effec-tive groundwork for any analytics implementation, large or small.The Seven Keys ApproachOur approach to BI is based on three fundamental beliefs: • All successful BI projects start with an understanding of the key metrics that drive the business and work through a proven design and implementation approach. • Cost-effective BI projects focus on leveraging only the components of the BI platform necessary to deliver the key metrics in an accurate and timely manner. There is no one- size-fits-all solution when selecting the right components of the BI platform. A large part of defining the technical solution has to be driven by selecting the right tool for the skill level and preferences of the user community. • Integrity of the business processes and underlying data will ultimately define the success or failure of any created reports, dashboards, and scorecards. With these beliefs in mind, we recognize that successful business intelligence initiativeswill require different tools from the Microsoft BI platform for different organizations, but weuse a set of seven common key tasks that allow our clients to select the right technologies andto make the appropriate implementation choices to achieve their desired outcomes.Key 1: Developing Executive SponsorshipThe first key of a successful business intelligence project begins at the top. Ensuring that themanagement team and key managers are aligned with the goals of the project will allow theseindividuals to take a more active role in designing and implementing an analytics solution.This executive sponsorship can take two forms: department managers and senior executives. 2324 CHAPTER 2 ■ SEVEN KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL REPORTING PROJECTS Department Managers As we mention briefly in Chapter 1, a number of factors contribute to failed business intelli- gence initiatives, including a lack of trust. Oftentimes, when senior executives use analytics to quantify the success or failure of a specific group or department, managers will immediately dismiss the quality of the data or will challenge the availability of the displayed information. In addition to posing an employee-management challenge, this lack of trust creates other issues throughout the team. Paramount among the additional issues created is proliferation of distrust throughout the rest of the employees in the business unit. Once managers distrust the analytics presented to them, members of their teams will not only follow suit but may begin to use critical business applications less frequently. Senior Executives From a senior executive perspective, there are two distinct values to having a great reporting solution. First, it is important to have metrics to point to when gauging the health of a business. Second, analytical information is invaluable when managing employees and providing feed- back during evaluations. To ensure adoption of the delivered solution, senior executives can choose between the carrot and the stick approaches. While both of these approaches have merit, the decision on direction depends on management style and the existing adoption situation within an organi- zation. Based on our experience, few managers have the stomach to make the stick work in the absence of carrots, so keep that in mind as your planning process progresses. Regardless of their positions in the organization, the executive sponsors’ roles in the process are to drive requirements, facilitate the key performance indicator and deliverable prioritization process, and drive the overall process to completion. Ultimately, the sponsor should ensure that the organization seeks outside help where needed but owns the overall implementation. Key 2: Identifying Organizational Key Performance Indicators The second key step to effectively leverage the Microsoft BI tools is to identify the key organiza- tional metrics that drive business performance; such metrics are called key performance indicators (KPIs). This may sound obvious, but it’s critical to have a clear business-oriented target when selecting the appropriate components of the platform to use. In addition, it’s important to not only identify the metrics that stakeholders find interesting but to focus on identifying and clearly defining the metrics that serve as leading indicators for where the business is headed for each key stakeholder group. This process can be as simple as creating a list of the important metrics and may result in the identification of 10 to 20 key metrics for each stakeholder group and 10 to 20 key metrics for the executive team and board. Once the list is generated, each metric can be evaluated against a number of criteria, including these: CHAPTER 2 ■ SEVEN KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL REPORTING PROJECTS 25 • Is the data that it takes to evaluate this KPI trustworthy and readily available? • Is the metric well defined, and will it make sense to those who ...