With the amount of documentation that most vendors dish out with new software releases, it's suprising that most don't provide a concise actionable checklist of all thinsg that need to be considered prior to just wading in.

Those that do - let it lie in the pdf swamp with all the other tomes.

Sitting here at another site that's tentatively started an upgrade, I started looking at the existing Development / Test platform and wondered how many consultants end up pondering who to ask, and what to read, to try and get a grip on things.

Stuff that - if there is no architecture document, or project plan - start from scratch with a document listing all possible enhancements and features in a matrix type format.

This can then be used to start eliminating questions and paths that have already been discussed and determined, as well as identifying area's not covered.

Those of us with a technical bent just LOVE to just start installing like crazy just to get it all up and running as quick as possible - understandable really as it's the only time it's ALL YOURS. No users, no activity - a virgin field of virsimillion flowers to caper around in - always wanted to use that word combo ...

But then we have to get dragged screaming back to getting it all ready for the real world - and it's never just about making it work - uh uh!

With new features getting thrown own in increasing rates, in many instances there is a new WORKING METHOD that has to be shoved down the users throat in order to effectively utilise the new beast.

Disregarding that is an effective way of just wasting money and demoralising everyone. Bad Habits are exactly the same as Daily Habits - hard to change and even harder to replace. The only way to effectively take on new functions is by warning and educating the business WAY UP FRONT when those dvd's arrive - or at least download the documentation before the software packs so you can start putting a hitlist together for them to see what's coming - oh yeah, project manager's can then start salivating at the actionable items in your list !!

 

Good Luck .....     

 

I oft ask BI 'people' how they describe their profession - within and outside the organisation.

This illicits all sorts of responses, ranging from DWH developer, through to BI Consutant and beyond.

Throw in the company's job description, and you then have an interesting conversation that actually says alot about a person. 

 

I've even been chastised for raising this in a generic corporate mail, prior to a 'Consultants Day'. In this respect, I asked if people call themselves XYZ employee's, BI Consultants or 'Tool Set' Specialists. I did this to help determine the mindsets of the employee's, as ALL were permanent employee's, being used in a consulting capacity.

Nothing wrong with that, but the onus on a permanent salaried employee to deliver on a consultant level is oft disregarded by the company involved. I.e. earning a standard salary and being on the receiving end of a client that is being charged 2 to 3 times your hourly rate, oft and does, cause a number of issues re expecatations - from ALL parties!

 

So - how would you describe yourselves in this respect?

 

People that understand the limitations of tool sets vi sa vi solutions, will generally avoid being 'boxed in' by a specific lable, and rather try to describe themselves in more generic terms - as would people in a dead end choice re the technologies that they are using.

 

DWH and BI are pretty handy lables to throw around, but realistically, how many of us are actually focussed on providing ADVICE as to the best possible SERVICE to the client. Not many get the chance to keep abreast of the ever changing solutions on offer, and now with the vendor consolidation, we are slowly seeing a return back to pure SPECIALISTS.

Sad really - now that the vendors try to enforce a particular 'brand' of the 'one stop shop', we're seeing the demise of free thinking in the BI realm - or are we?!

Open Source is one avenue that still requires a lateral mentality and as much as the vendors would like to think that their solution is Uber Alles - I will onlty believe that when everyone finally throws Excel out ;-)

 

And Moi?

I starting using the term Architect - long before it became popular - it has a nice ring to it and I genuinely believe in trying to advise the client, as best as possible, as to the solutions available to them. Even if it means opening up an oppotunity for another vendor! 

 

That's not to say that you cannot offer an alternaive to 'your speciality' that does not require them contacting your competitor - Open Source anyone ? 

 

If you cannot be true to your profession - then rather use the 'Specialist' lable.           

    

 

The BI Tool Set Industry has few competitors when looking around at glistening new paint jobs and shiny wrapping paper.

Sure, the new engine under the old carcass runs better, and the consolidation of functions and additional features are slick enough to have most convinced that we're a vital, evolving cornerstone of any business pyramid, but the sad reality is, that it's business as usual.

I will readily admit that there is a steady stream of excellent examples of 'BI in the real world', that provides some confirmation as to the success of BI Tool Sets, but seldom do I see a constant reminder that these successes were largely due to a commitment of money, people and time.

Tool Sets are a simple mechanism - and like any tool, or toy, they can be applied in a frantic manner to repair something - sometimes that something being totally unsuited to the tool, or even played with and discarded under the flashing lights of an annual ADD tree. Said tree, being the bearer of annual budgets and glowing promises - wo, ho, yo, oh, no. 

 

Be that as it may - I love downloading new versions of 'stuff' and realy wished that I had the aptitude to learn spanish (or is that portugese ...) that I oft see from the open source posters in www.biblogs.com - is Pentaho spanish for something ? (j/k)

 

I work mostly with Gartner's big 3 bunch, but have a sneaky suspicion that the REAL BI work is being done in trenches out in front of the EXCEL front lines.

Must be something to do with having to personally sharpen a trench tool prior to dashing out into the thick of things, that provides a different perspective - one very similar to comparing that of a mortar crew and a common grunt.

Simply throwing stuff out in front is a percentage game - but to win, mostly requires getting dirty and accepting a personal battering for any achievment of a real victory.

 

But - enough of me - here's an excerp from a collection of wisdoms that I compiled into a document some time back (possibly 5 years back.....).

I am NOT the author - and my cut & paste jobs were ruthless enough to omit humans, but it has served as a reality slap before and after those cute early in the year meetings when sparkly things and glowing intentions tend to set up the latter half of the year for a nasty wakeup call ...  enjoy ..

 

 

Surprise! Nothing will be done with many, perhaps most, of the queries and reports created with decision support tools. They are run to confirm a person's usually not crisply defined notion  but intuitively felt notion of "okayness". If I were able to write the essay on "The Zen of Data Warehousing" (which I will not), I would say a primary function of decision support tools is to support non-action.

 
To confirm the "obvious" 

Most end users the reports and queries are ultimately being produced for have a pretty good gut feel for what is going on in their area of concern. Decision support tools do not tell these people anything amazing that the people don't already suspect. But the information produced with the tools gives them confidence their gut feel is okay. 

 
To figure out how something "works" 

Most people are not looking for some grand Unified Theory of how firm XYZ works. Rather, they want to understand some small aspect of an operation like Customer A always pays on time, Customer B usually pays late and still takes the early payment discount, etc.

These tools are often used to convey what a person or persons already know. These knowing people use the tools simply to present information to other people in a way that it is more easily read.

Sometimes this is side by side comparisons of a series of measures. Sometimes this is identification of the most, the least, the earliest, the latest, etc.
To compare the same type of information in different time periods This is simply the usual daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly comparisons.

That is, measures of what actually occurred are compared with budgets, forecasts, quotas, or some other types of goals.
To identify the out of the ordinary Usually the ultimate consumer of the tool's output has somewhat vague criteria of what is out of the ordinary. The decision support tools kind of do double duty in that they help refine the criteria of what is out of the ordinary and identify what fit the refined criteria of out of ordinariness.

These tools make picking that virtual needle out of that virtual haystack a lot simpler.

Often end users use these tools out of impatience with the IT department. Or, the IT department gives the user these tools to relieve the pressure off of itself. The end users in these cases often write reports that could hardly be called analyses.

 
To provide a report "of record" 

For all kinds of reasons it is often necessary for people to agree that "these are the numbers". Note they do not have to agree on all the data - just some data whose credibility must be accepted for actions to be taken. Decision support tools often are used to produce this "official" information.

 
To confirm and sometimes to discover trends and relationships

With all respect to the people working hard on data mining, I think that most good businesspeople have an intuitive feeling of the most important trends and relationships between factors that are affecting their business. The decision support tools perform the function of confirming their intuition. Yes, the tools also can help discover trends and relationships but it is difficult (though potentially profitable) to sift out the meaningless and spurious trends.

 
To help advocate a position

These tools are not just for "objective" presentation of the facts. Often they are cleverly used to help bolster the case for doing (or not doing) something.

That is, the tools are used to feed data into a spreadsheet where the actual what-if analysis or forecast will be done. The tools can do some of the what-if-ing and forecasting themselves but most business users are more comfortable doing this work in spreadsheets.