Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
When to Communicate
Communication is at the heart of a partnership. It needs to be timely, accurate,
and relevant to be effective. Too often, unless there is a really big topic, there
is limited formal communication between the data warehouse project team
and management. Project status is regularly reported throughout the project
management channels, but that is not sufficient. The project status simply
notes if the project is on schedule or not. It may even highlight one or two big
issues, but this is usually not in enough detail to ensure that all appropriate
parties understand the impact. Moreover, the data warehouse is often only
one of dozens of projects reported through this channel. Unless the project is
tagged ''red'' to indicate that the project is behind schedule, managers may
only briefly glance at the status.
Each different level of the organization has a different recommended
frequency of communication. Clearly, the project team (including business
analysts) should have regular, probably weekly, meetings to review progress
and share concerns or roadblocks. As part of business group or department
meetings, the rest of the business analysts can be kept up to date. The business
champion often schedules weekly meetings to be kept informed. If no big
issues need resolution and the team is simply working, the business champion
may only want biweekly meetings.
Initially, there may be interest from management to meet regularly to learn
more about data warehousing, information management (as discussed in
Chapter 8), or other related topics. Once the data warehouse is underway,
the executive sponsor should be formally briefed every quarter. A special
meeting should be called if any major challenges facing the data warehouse
arise between these briefings.
NOTE
Regular project briefings are always recommended. At a minimum, week-
ly or biweekly meetings with the business champion, and quarterly for the execu-
tive business sponsor, are suggested. This is important even when there is nothing
to report— no deliverables have been completed. In addition, project teams usually
tolerate a fairly high level of static and loss of momentum without wanting to
bother management and ask for help. Business management may be able to clear
these hurdles quickly and get the team moving forward again. If you wait until
there is news, it may be a long time. Letting everyone know that the project is still
alive and working is important.
Effective communication helps to build a successful data warehouse. In
order to ensure longevity of the data warehouse, there is additional work that
must be done. After the initial project is complete, subsequent projects can be
set up to run simultaneously. The next section shares ideas to help manage
these ongoing challenges.
