Microsoft® Business Intelligence For Dummies®

Chapter 16. Ten Microsoft BI Implementation Pitfalls

In This Chapter

• Getting drenched with the waterfall methodology

• Buying shelf-ware that just sits there

• Letting politics destroy your BI project

• Disregarding IT

• Snubbing power users

• Ignoring business processes

• Promising extravagant results

• Failing to include everyone in the BI solution

• Skimping on the BI basics

• Misusing consultants

You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.

—Warren Buffett

There are potential hazards in any environment — and the business world has plenty of its own. Some of these are especially likely to lurk when your organization implements a new technology — and Microsoft Business Intelligence is no exception. To reduce risk and increase the odds of a successful and valuable BI solution, keep an eye out for the following ten pitfalls.

Drowning Under the Waterfall

The waterfall methodology (see Chapter 12) is still a popular approach to implementation — following a clear-cut series of one-time-only steps in a cascading sequence because it makes a project easier to understand on paper. In theory, this methodology looks straightforward and easy to plan: Start off with an initial phase and when that phase is complete, move on to the next phase, as shown in Figure 16-1.

Figure 16.1. The waterfall approach to implementing business intelligence.

Simple, right? Well, not necessarily. ...