During most BI projects, there is tension between the IT department and users who want access to the information produced during the project. Sometimes it’s not clear who should have access to what information right off the bat and IT doesn’t want to find itself in a compromising position by providing the wrong information to the wrong users, especially since some on the information can be sensitive. You’ll want to know who your users are during a project and what information will be important and relevant to the work they’re doing in the company in order to create balance between IT and users.
Types of Users
Outside of the team working on your
business intelligence project, there will be a couple different types of users that will need the data generated by the project:
- Power Users – These are people within your company who can use the advanced features of most personal computer programs, but are not yet capable of programming or system administration. These users will be comfortable working with business intelligence information that has been defined and parameterized by IT, but not necessarily fully organized or formatted.
- Business Users – With knowledge of business systems or applications, these users will need business intelligence data that answers questions like, “how many sales do we have this year compared to last?” and “what will sales look like next year?” They need to be able to create and run ad hoc reports and get information on business operations and on your business’s customers to make informed decisions and keep your company competitive.
- Enterprise Users – Enterprise users will need information to help them move forward with their projects. It is important that the business intelligence project manager work closely with these users to define their needs and work to deliver the most relevant information to them.
- External Users – These users can include customers, partners, and other users that might need to access information from outside the organization. The data that this group receives should be the most polished and the most filtered. At this point, the team for the business intelligence project will probably want to bring in a designer to put together a report that is not only informative, but visual pleasing to the general public.
How and to whom you present your data is as important as the data collection itself; if the BI information your team has collected is undecipherable then the resources that have gone into your project will be wasted. To ensure that the project continues to be a good investment for your company, you’ll need to spend some time deciding how to divide and present the business intelligence information your team generates. By identifying your users and their needs, you are well on your way to establishing a delivery system that will be the most useful for your company.
Andrew Morgan is a writer and business expert who specializes in
Business Intelligence Software. For more information on
business intelligence, visit www.actuate.com.
