The Value of Business Analytics: Identifying the Path to Profitability

DELIVERING TO THE PLAN

Once created, this road map defines the initiatives the team will deliver along with the value considered worthwhile by the organization. Delivering this value, however, is often challenging. Most teams need to deal with:

• A lack of sufficient resources
• Methodological uncertainty
• Varying levels of confusion around process ownership

Virtually every team is resource constrained to some degree. Understanding how to do more with less is an essential criterion for success. Equally, analytics teams often need to deliver projects outside their historical experience. Almost by definition, developing a new competency involves creating new skills. Planning for this and minimizing uncertainty is therefore a critical skill for a business analytics manager to develop.

Finally, the team will often be dealing with highly complex processes that span multiple groups within the organization. Without explicit management and role definition, this complexity runs the risk of delaying or derailing the delivery plan. By applying various strategies to align ownership against delivery, a manager can increase the odds of success.