Maintaining Momentum in BI Projects

Joe Wynne is a versatile Project Manager experienced in delivering medium-scope projects in large organizations that improve workforce performance and business processes. He has a proven track record of delivering effective, technology-savvy solutions in a variety of industries and a unique combination of strengths in both process management and workforce management.

  Business Intelligence   Stakeholder Management   Strategy  

In an initial business intelligence project (or program), you run the risk of failure for reasons beyond vendor capabilities, beyond the technology and beyond timelines. The risk comes from loss of the initiative’s momentum due to inadequate support from business leaders. Inadequate support can be expressed in at least two ways:

• “Mysterious” gradual loss of support for the effort
• Frustrating inability of the enterprise to adapt to the new BI processes

These failures appear to occur even if the technology organization itself has effective leadership and works hard at making the initiative successful. So what tactics are needed to defeat loss of momentum? Tactics special to BI initiatives that involve all business stakeholders and leaders early and often.

Tactic 1: Find all stakeholders and users as early as possible
Inadequate support means in part that there is not broad enough support. It means that some stakeholders are missing. It is a rare leader who chooses to snub knowledge and benefit gained from business intelligence, even if said leader is notably absent from early planning activities. You must act to involve these leaders even if they are busy executives:

• If this has not been done prior to you starting the project, get assistance to contact all departments. Alternately, use a widely broadcast email or …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.