Database Reference
In-Depth Information
invested in the project. Even when the sponsor is not actively involved, it is in your best
interest to cultivate a relationship and build rapport with your project sponsor. you will
need him or her to have your back if things do not proceed exactly as planned.
11.3.3.3 The Unloved IT Department
oracle's acquisition of hyperion has had a positive
impact on the perception of Essbase by It departments. traditionally, It wanted noth-
ing to do with Essbase because it came from a vendor who traditionally sold to the CFo
(instead of the CIo). to make matters worse, it was not a relational tool. Essbase still is
not relational, but oracle's brand is as mainstream as it gets, and that has added an air of
normality to the product. now that the era of hostile resistance has passed, the It depart-
ment's participation in an Essbase project may range from a throwback “we will run it on
our servers if we must” to full formal project management, hardware and infrastructure
support, automated task scheduling, backup and disaster recovery, and extracting data
from source systems. Where It falls on this continuum is, unfortunately, not up to you,
but instead is the result of negotiation between the project sponsor and the head of It.
An effective way of knowing where that line materializes is through the use of a roles and
responsibilities matrix (rACI: responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed) so that
you can clearly outline the typical responsibilities and the roles required to support them.
It becomes tangible to both It and the business at that point when you have specific
responsibilities outlined, such as “restarting EPm (Enterprise Performance management)
services” or “updating scripts.” Be aware of the politics that might be involved with It,
the business, and Essbase, and be prepared to work around them if necessary.
11.3.3.4 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
There is no way to work around business experts.
Either they are with you and, together, you can vanquish any organizational issue, or they
can severely hamper your project. SmEs translate the company's business process into busi-
ness and functional requirements, and while they might not write code, they should under-
stand how data is sourced, the Essbase database design, and formulas and calculations.
There may be one or many SmEs, depending on the size and scope of your project.
11.3.3.5 Unloved and Underappreciated Users
It is easy to get caught up in the project
implementation and, ultimately, forget who it is for—the users. The end users, not the
project sponsor, are the ones that truly understand the day-to-day challenges that you
are trying to address with Essbase. Though end users do not like to get inundated with
technical jargon, they can be your biggest asset as they are the ones who need the system
to do their jobs and rely on the system to make them more productive. you should solicit
suggestions from end users; it is up to you to engage them from the start of the project to
get their buy-in and participation. Involve a few user representatives from the different
user communities that will utilize the new system throughout the project especially in
requirements building and testing.
11.3.3.6 Ideal Dream Team
As we conclude the discussion of our dream team, in an
ideal world where resources are not a constraint, your company should invest in creating
a dream team that would have:
• A consulting company that has the right skills, people, and price to help see
your Essbase project through.
• An Essbase administrator who can bridge the knowledge gaps between It, the
business, and Essbase.
