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Overview of Business Intelligence for Project Status
When it comes to technology, services, and tools for business intelligence, a series of questions engage the minds of active individuals and enthusiasts looking to enter the field of Business Intelligence for Project Status :
· What are the best business intelligence tools and services based on various business criteria?
· How receptive are organizations to business intelligence projects?
· Which functional areas within organizations are most interested in implementing BI projects?
· What are the goals of organizations in implementing BI projects?
· What benefits have BI projects provided to organizations?
· Which aspects of BI projects have been attractive to organizations?
· To what extent have organizations matured in their business intelligence capabilities?
Mr. Howard Dresner, the individual who first introduced the term ” Business Intelligence “, is the founder and CEO of Dresner Advisory Services, specializing in business intelligence and performance management. This company annually compiles valuable reports based on extensive field research regarding the state of business intelligence.
The mentioned report provides answers to the questions above and many others. Here are some selected findings regarding the state of business intelligence in 2018. The first notable result is worthy of attention. As observed, the highest demand for the implementation of business intelligence projects has been requested, in order, by senior managers, operations and project units ( production management, portfolio and project management, or project management offices ), and the sales department. In other words, senior managers and the aforementioned selected disciplines are more aware of the importance of data and information in their decision-making and task execution.
These findings offer valuable insights into the current landscape of business intelligence and highlight the increasing relevance of data and information in organizational decision-making processes.
Business Intelligence Discussion :
To further elaborate on this discussion, findings from other research sources are referenced. The reputable institution PM Solutions has been collecting data and information on the performance and approach of project managers, project management, and project management offices in project-centric organizations for over two decades. One of the well-known reports from this source focuses on the state of project management offices in project-centric companies.
In these reports, the responsibilities, priorities, and challenges of project management offices are examined. The reports from 2012, 2014, and 2016 included the development and deployment of analytical reports and dashboards for the tasks and challenges of project management offices.
The Project Management Institute (PMI), recognized as the most professional reference in project management with the largest number of members, publishes reports under the title “Pulse of the Profession,” which address project management challenges and trends. One of the reports in this series in 2018 dealt with developing project management skills in the digital age for successful project delivery.
In this report, six key skills were identified as follows:
1. Data Management and Big Data Analysis: This skill emphasizes handling and analyzing large volumes of data (Big Data).
2. Data-Driven Decision-Making: The ability to make precise, accurate, and timely decisions based on data and information is critical for the effective execution of business intelligence projects in project-centric organizations.
As seen, the ability to effectively manage data and utilize data-driven decision-making is fundamental for the design and execution of efficient and impactful business intelligence projects in project-centric organizations.
The results:
the Dresner Group’s report regarding customers and organizational disciplines for which business intelligence projects have been designed and developed are shown in Figure 2. As observed, business intelligence projects have been designed and developed for senior managers and middle managers in 90% and 80% of cases, respectively. (Senior managers and middle managers were the top priority.)
In continuation, the third result, which illustrates the goals of the organizations under examination for implementing business intelligence projects. Improving the quality of
decision-making and increasing efficiency, along with cost reduction and revenue enhancement, have been the top three priority goals in designing and implementing business intelligence projects in the surveyed organizations.
It is interesting to note that effective risk management was the sixth priority for these organizations, indicating their maturity in the field of business intelligence. Goal-setting for the design and implementation of business intelligence projects during the strategic planning process is a characteristic of mature organizations in the Business Intelligence domain.
Subsequently, the fourth result derived from the Dresner Group’s research on the state of business intelligence in 2018.
As you can see, improving the quality of decision-making based on precise, accurate, and timely information and enhancing resource utilization and cost reduction are the first two accomplishments resulting from business intelligence projects. These two goals were also the top priorities in the execution of Business Intelligence projects.
Although the improvement of customer service was the fifth priority in the design and implementation of BI projects, it held the third position in terms of achievement and success in attaining this goal. Additionally, revenue enhancement with a high or good achievement rate of around 50% held the fourth position, even though it was the third priority in executing business intelligence projects.
Resulting from Business Intelligence Project Implementation
Approximately 95% of the surveyed organizations considered the design and development of dashboards and analytical reports as vital, highly important, or important during Business Intelligence projects. In other words, when it comes to Business Intelligence projects and their execution in the surveyed organizations, about 95% of them preferred to have precise, accurate, and timely information presented in dashboards for the identification of potential and existing issues, along with analytical reports to investigate the causes of these issues. Moreover, around 90% of the surveyed organizations demanded that business users have access to data, data summarization, and data analysis for supporting their tasks and decision-making processes.
Microsoft Power Business Intelligent
An interesting point to note is that Microsoft Power BI is a Self-Service BI tool, which means it allows users to access, modify, model data, develop reports and dashboards, and share them at a professional level without requiring specialized knowledge in the field of database management systems or software. This has accelerated its adoption by a wide spectrum of users in various domains. Additionally, Microsoft Power BI effectively distinguishes between dashboards and analytical reports, and each serves its purpose correctly, which has led to its appropriate use by managers at different levels and analysts. As observed, technologies like Video Analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The last selected result concerns the success rate of Business Intelligence projects from 2015 to 2018, which is an essential outcome and is presented in Figure 6. As visible, the success rate, including both full and partial success, has remained fairly consistent between 80% and 90% throughout the years 2015 to 2018. An important note in this conclusion is the definition of success in Business Intelligence projects.
References:
· Wisdom of Crowds; Business Intelligence Market Study; 2018 Edition, Dresner Advisory Services, LLC, (2018).
· The Project Manager of The Future; Developing Digital-Age Project Management Skills to Thrive in Disruptive Times, PMI’s Pulse of the Profession, (2018).
· The State of the Project Management Office (PMO) 2016, Project Management Solutions, Inc., (2016).
