Database Reference
In-Depth Information
What Is a Business Intelligence Solution?
A BI solution is a collection of objects that allows data to be turned into useful information. These objects must be
designed, created, tested, and ultimately approved to create a working BI solution.
When creating a BI solution, it is important first to understand what that solution consists of, how each
component is combined to create the whole, and finally, how to recognize when you have achieved your goal.
Knowing where to begin is vital to the success of your project. In Figure
1-1
we have outlined eight steps to
use as a guideline. We progress through each of these steps and explain them in detail throughout this topic. We
also develop working BI solutions in the exercises within each chapter to gain the skills necessary to complete
increasingly complex solutions in your future. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the entire process.
Figure 1-1.
The BI solution life cycle
We chose to represent the tasks in Figure
1-1
as a circle, because the nature of a BI solution is one of continual
change. As time goes by, a company's requirements change, the data that is available changes, and the technology
to bring these two aspects together changes. Because of this, the process of creating a BI solution can often begin
with the continuation of a prior solution, with each successive iteration refining and extending the current solution.
Perhaps the first step is to define the questions that your BI solution will answer. An example might be, how
are our products selling? Another question might be, how often do people use our website?
One common misconception about BI solutions is that they are useful only to large corporations. This is
simply not true. Clients as seemingly dissimilar as a dentist and a horse breeder will find they need to keep
detailed records of important information, from patient visits to horse lineage. This information is used to
determine their future plans or review past activities. Every business, group, and individual who needs to keep
track of data will have questions they would like to have answered that a BI solution can provide. Formulating
these questions and determining what to do with them lead us to the first step in developing a BI solution.
Step 1: Interview and Identify Data
The process of designing your solution begins with interviewing your client to determine what type of
information is needed. Chapter 3 discusses the types of questions to ask and what the interview process entails.
