The Data Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit

16 Chapter 2 ■ Launching and Managing the Project/Program

NOTE

This chapter is not intended to be an exhaustive guide to general project

management best practices. Numerous resources are available to professional

project managers, including A Guide to the Project Management Body of

Knowledge [Project Management Institute (PMI), 2004]. We’re focused on the

application of general practices to the unique nuances of the DW/BI project

lifecycle.

Define the Project

So you have been asked to spearhead the DW/BI project at your company.

What does that mean and where do you start? We suggest you take a moment

to assess your organization’s readiness for a DW/BI system before proceeding

full steam ahead with the project.

Assess Your Readiness for DW/BI

Based on our experience, three key factors must be in place to ensure DW/BI

success. If you are unable to confidently give your organization a passing

grade on the combined readiness factors, we strongly suggest slowing down

and reconsidering. Readiness shortfalls represent project risks; the shortfalls

will not correct themselves over time. It is far better to pull the plug on the

project before significant investments have been made than it is to continue

marching down a path filled with hazards and obstacles.

Strong Senior Business Management Sponsor(s)

Strong support and sponsorship from senior business management is the most

critical factor when assessing DW/BI readiness. Effective business sponsors

share several key characteristics. First, they have a vision for the potential

impact of a DW/BI solution. They can visualize how improved access to infor-

mation will result in incremental value to the business. Strong sponsors possess

a personal conviction about their vision, which is generally demonstrated by

their willingness to be accountable for it.

Strong business sponsors are influential leaders within the organization.

Typically, they have demonstrated a solid track record of success and are well

respected by others. In other words, they have organizational clout. Strong

business sponsors are typically politically astute and well connected. Although

we have seen newcomers to an organization perform effectively as DW/BI

sponsors, this is a riskier proposition given their lack of knowledge about the

culture, players, politics, and processes.

The ideal business sponsor is demanding, but realistic and supportive.

It helps if they have a basic understanding of DW/BI concepts, including

the iterative development cycle, to avoid unrealistic expectations. Effective

Define the Project 17

sponsors are able to deal with short-term problems and setbacks because they

are focused on the long-term success of the project. Realistic sponsors are

willing to compromise. They are also able to make the tough decisions and

live with the consequences.

Successful DW/BI teams typically cultivate several strong business sponsors

within their organization; they don’t put all their eggs in one basket. It is not

uncommon for a DW/BI initiative to stall in the wake of the departure of a

sole business sponsor.

Compelling Business Motivation

From our vantage point, DW/BI systems are successful if they’ve been accepted

by the business folks to support their decision making. Organizations that

successfully implement DW/BI solutions typically have a powerful sense of

urgency for improved access to information caused by one or more compelling

business motivations. Sometimes competition and changes in the external

landscape are the motivators. Elsewhere, internal crisis has motivated organi-

zations, particularly if growth through acquisition creates compelling demand

for an integrated environment to gauge performance across the organization.

In other cases, the strategic vision of a potential marketplace opportunity is the

overpowering motivator. In each case, there is strong demand coming from

the business community to address their requirements.

DW/BI systems that align with strategic business motivations and initiatives

stand a good chance of succeeding. Likewise, business justification becomes

nearly a non-issue if the DW/BI system is poised to support a compelling

business motivation. In these situations, the organization likely also has the

economic willpower to continue investing in the DW/BI environment for the

long haul.

Feasibility

Feasibility commonly refers exclusively to technical feasibility. However, our

primary feasibility concern regarding DW/BI readiness relates to the data

itself. If the data required to support the compelling business motivation is

too filthy, overly complex for the initial effort, or not even collected, you

have a significant feasibility issue on your hands. Unfortunately, there’s no

short-term fix to address serious data feasibility issues.

Data profiling is the technical analysis of data to describe its content, consis-

tency, and structure. In some sense, any

SELECT DISTINCT investigative query

on a database field could be considered data profiling, but today there are

purpose-built tools to facilitate the task. As you’re evaluating your readiness

to proceed with a candidate data source, a quick data profiling assessment

should be done as an early qualification or disqualification. More in-depth data