Business Analytics is becoming increasingly strategic to all types of organizations. It leads to higher business performance and helps organizations outperform their peers by 2.2 times,according to a recent IBM Institute for Business Value study. However, many organizations appear to struggle in creating impact using Business Analytics—with factors related to people and process being some of the most common obstacles to achieving analytic maturity.
5 Keys to Business Analytics Program Success is a work based on the combined experience of 10 organizations that display excellence and expertise in Business Analytics. They share best practices, discuss the management aspects and sociology that drive success in Business
Analytics Programs, and uncover 5 key aspects behind the success of some of the top business analytics programs in the industry.
In this book, you will learn about:
Creating and managing a changing Business Analytics Strategy, aligning business priorities to technology innovation
Quantifying and demonstrating tangible business value
Creating an Analytics Center of Excellence and organizing your people for success
Implementing program processes that balance agility, empowerment, and control
Architecting a Business Analytics technology solution with future innovation in mind
By reading 5 Keys to Business Analytics Program Success, organizations can learn how the
Business Analytics Program can help manage strategy, value, people, process, and technology to translate analytic strategy into actionable insight and achievement.
About authors
John Boyer — John Boyer is manager of the BI Advisory Team at The Nielsen Company (www.nielsen.com). There, he oversees adoption, enablement, and internal consulting for all things BI. Before joining Nielsen, John spent several years as a BI architect and trusted advisor at IBM. After graduating from medical school, his aptitude, passion, and bedside manner took him first to a healthcare clinic, where he rose to Director of Finance and Information Systems. John has spent the past 15 years consulting in software development, business intelligence, and data warehousing. He is chair of the Illinois Cognos User Group. As a conference speaker, John has been invited to speak at a number of national events, including Information on Demand, Cognos Forum, and the Composite Software User Group.
Bill Frank — Bill Frank is the Manager, ITGF BI Practice, at Johnson & Johnson (www.jnj.com). He has more than 25 years of experience in decision support and business intelligence and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Bill has worked in several major companies, including AT&T, Time Warner, and most recently Johnson & Johnson. At J&J, Bill has played a key role in the development of BI solutions, organizational model, governance, and practices and in evangelizing BI across the enterprise. Bill is a founding member of the J&J BI Center of Practice and co-leads this 300-member internal group focused on leverage, communication, and sharing proven practices.Bill also serves as the liaison to the IBM Cognos executive, marketing, and technology teams. He teamed with other J&J teams to lead the creation of the IBM Cognos enterprise agreement and the shared environments that are key to supporting J&J's standardization and consolidation efforts. Currently, Bill is developing enterprise data warehouse and BI strategies to support the J&J Global Finance organization. He is also a member of the IBM BI Excellence Advisory Board and several other external organizations focused on BI technologies.
Brian Green — Brian Green is Manager of Business Intelligence and Performance Management at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (www.bcbst.com). He has 30 years of information management experience in the insurance industry, with expertise in process improvement and organizational development to align delivery of solutions with business strategy.
Tracy Harris — Tracy Harris is Senior Manager, BI Excellence, at IBM (www.ibm.com). She is responsible for chairing the BI Excellence Advisory Board and managing the BI Excellence Program and Champion initiative at IBM. These programs are designed to help organizations achieve success, business value, and excellence in their BI and performance management initiatives and are defined through the sharing of best practices, research, and guidance from industry leaders and subject-matter experts. Tracy has worked with Fortune 500® organizations and government organizations around the globe to gather and research best practices in achieving excellence, and she shares this research through workshops and speaking engagements worldwide on the topic.
Kay Van De Vanter — Kay Van De Vanter is an information management domain architect and enterprise BI architect for The Boeing Company (www.boeing.com), with more than 12 years of experience in IT and business intelligence areas. For the past seven years, she has led Boeing's Business Intelligence Competency Center team and has worked with several other key information management teams to drive the standardization and alignment of BI initiatives at Boeing. Kay has also collaborated with industry BI professionals, user groups, and teams to help drive innovation and quality in the BI tools used by Boeing. She is currently partnering with others to develop an enterprise BI and technology strategy in support of Boeing's business goals. Kay is a member of IBM's BI Excellence Advisory Board and BI Customer Advisory Board, as well as other external user groups focused on BI technologies and best practices.
Contents
Contents Introduction – The Business Analytics Program and Keys to Success The Business Analytics Program: Agility and Change Business Analytics Maturity The Business Analytics Program
Chapter 1 – Key #1: Strategy The Strategy Framework Maturity of a Business Analytics Program Strategy Risks of Strategy Fragmentation Strategy Alignment Maturing the Program with Business Domain Architectures Getting Started: Assessment of Strategy Creating the Kickoff Point Prioritization and Roadmap Metrics Framework and Measurement Managing a Changing Strategy Case Study on Strategy: Mueller, Inc. Strategy: Practical Tips for Identifying, Assessing, and Prioritizing Metrics Strategy Checklist
Chapter 2 – Key #2: Value Describing Value: The Business Value Hierarchy Step 1: Building a Business Case Step 2: Building the Value Portfolio Step 3: Business Analytics Metrics and Feedback Filling the Value Void Case Study on Value: IBM Practical Tips for Measuring and Demonstrating Value: Creating the Business Value Portfolio Value Checklist
Chapter 3 – Key #3: People Maturity of the Business Analytics Program Executive Involvement Organizational Design: The Business Analytics Center of Excellence Skills, Talents, and Roles Offshore or Outsource? How Many Team Members Should Be in a Center of Excellence? Relationship Management, Communication, and Evangelism People: Success or Derailment Case Study on People: Martin's Point Health Care Practical Tips for Organizing People: Designing an Analytics Center of Excellence People Checklist
Chapter 4 – Key #4: Process Maturity of the Business Analytics Program Stakeholder Identification and New Project Start Communication, Education, and Adoption Proven Practice Sharing Developing an Advise and Consult Framework Streamlining Requirements Gathering Agility in Development Governance Processes for Technology, Standards, and Innovation Business Analytics Process Design An Agile Business Analytics Process Case Study on Process: Daimler Trucks North America Practical Tips: How to Keep Business Analytics Processes Agile Process Checklist
Chapter 5 – Key #5: Technology Understanding Business Analytics Technology Maturity To Standardize or Not to Standardize? To Build or Buy? Evolving a BA Technology Strategy Business Strategy Requirements Evolution Architecting for User Adoption and Growth Deployment Approaches Innovation Technology Growth and Maturity Self-Service Impacts with Technology Converging Capabilities and Technology Case Study on Technology: Elie Tahari Practical Tips: Selecting Technologies for Your Business Analytics Needs Technology Checklist