Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
be used at different organizational levels and for different types of decisions,
ensuring consistency across measures, identifying needed improvements to
data collection and analytic tools, designing communication devices, and do-
cumenting measurement and reporting procedures; and
•
set of performance targets: establishing both long-term goals and short-to
medium-term targets for performance measures.
Rather than a single prescriptive set of measures that might provide a good textbook
example (but surely would not be suitable for all companies), the framework is in the
form of guidance on the preferred types and forms of measures and the process by
which companies should identify and implement them. The framework was developed
with the recognition that each company will have a different set of circumstances and
needs to consider in selecting and implementing performance measures [7].
One could not define the best set of performance measures for transportation com-
panies, because each company has their own characteristics. However, the TRB
suggests a set of “good measures” that, if implemented properly, will produce good
results. Detailed information can be consulted from the referenced work [7].
In general, several measures or indicators can be used to evaluate a DRT service.
Examples of those are [8-11]: the service reliability (customers' satisfaction, willing-
ness to pay, non-accomplished valid requests, general mobility improvement), core
background information, service passenger restrictions (ex, only disabled and elderly
people, or other mobility-constrained persons), trip purpose, coverage of service
(which days it works, where it works), easiness of reservations, pre-booking antece-
dence and time windows for reservations, passenger convenience (the time spent in
transit becomes less satisfactory as the service area increases), need for intermodal
transfers, driver satisfaction, walking time to stops, waiting time for delayed vehicles.
2.2
The Actual Business Intelligence Concept
Business Intelligence solutions create learning organizations by enabling companies
to follow a virtuous cycle of collecting and analyzing information, devising and acting
on plans, and reviewing and refining the results. To support this cycle and gain the
insights that BI delivers, organizations need to implement a BI system comprised of
data warehousing and analytical environments.
According to Eckerson [12], smart companies recognize that the systems that sup-
port BI solutions are very different from other systems in the company. Well-designed
BI systems are adaptive by nature and they continually change to answer new and
different business questions. The best way to adapt effectively is to start small and
grow organically. Each new increment refines and extends the solution, adjusting to
user feedback and new requirements. Additionally, the BI solutions combine data
with analytical tools in order to provide information that will support top management
strategic decisions [13].
The main goal of a BI solution is to collect data, store the data collected and ana-
lyse the data gathered in order to produce knowledge [13-14]. Figure 1 shows the
main components of a BI tool. As part of its data warehousing environment, it takes
