Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
when. The responsibility to interact on a daily basis with the data warehouse
project team has been assigned to a business analyst who produces the group's
standard reports today. Any of the project team's attempts to talk directly to
other business people are thwarted.
Specifically within IT there is a great deal of concern about who is working
on what. Because the actual lines of delineation can blur on a data warehouse
project, this is causing anxiety and concern for the IT project team members.
Successful people follow the rules and there is concern that stepping outside
these historical boundaries will impact their individual success.
To overcome these organizational challenges both business and IT manage-
ment need to stay tuned in to the data warehouse team members. Variations
that will get the work done better and in a timelier manner should be
encouraged.
Rather than set data warehouse roles in stone, they have been drafted in
clay. As the project moves forward and the data warehouse environment
evolves, they will be reviewed and revised as needed. In order to get the
project team members to interact with each other and the business people
involved with the project, an afternoon outing was planned, which included
bowling and pizza. This provided an opportunity for everyone to mingle. The
chance to get to know one another and the shared interest and responsibility
to build a successful data warehouse has changed the dynamics of how
the group interacts. All levels of management continue to encourage open
communication and team problem solving, which had helped to develop a
stronger and valued partnership between the business and IT.
Insight from Agile, Inc.
There is easy and direct access into the business community for the data
warehouse project team and everyone is caught up in the excitement of
building a data warehouse. When getting things started, there are many
volunteers to help out. However, because there is so much going on, there
really is no time to spare. There are daily crises that need attention. This is
constantly taking up all of the resources, and the data warehouse project never
moves forward.
Instead of allowing everyone to sign up to be on the project, select individuals
must be chosen to participate. Then, and this is the hard part, time must be
allocated for those chosen individuals. Their time cannot be filled with the
next crisis. The organization will never get out of a crisis management mode
until strategic work, including the data warehouse, is completed. Then, the
data warehouse can help more quickly to address these situations.
