Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
individual who is responsible for keeping the system running, who may report
directly into the business unit and not IT.
TIP
Don't send out a questionnaire and expect to get responses. Schedule a
face-to-face meeting to gather the information. This provides you with an
opportunity to begin building a relationship with representatives from each of
these systems. Personal meetings also enable you to observe attitudes toward
data warehousing.
Several layers of detail will be helpful for learning about each system. Each
of the layers is described in the following sections. It may be necessary to
meet with several different people about a system before getting a complete
picture. You may need to speak with the project manager, business application
owner, lead IT developer, or the primary business user. The layers start with
the business purpose and then dig deeper into some of the mechanics of how
the system works.
TIP
As you begin finding and researching these reporting systems, make sure
that everyone knows that this is not a witch hunt. You are not planning to fire the
three people responsible for the last project failure. The goal is to gain an honest
assessment of what assets the organization has in place. Some reflection about
how you got to the current point may be useful to catalog lessons learned, and
things not to repeat. The most value comes from understanding exactly where you
are. Then your effort can be applied to figuring out where you want to be and
developing a plan that outlines how to get there. Without the reassurance that this
is not an exercise in laying blame, many individuals will be hesitant to speak
openly about what issues the organization is facing.
Identifying the Business Purpose
You first need to get a basic understanding of what the system does. For
example, a reporting system may provide financial reports to the manager of
each distribution center. This is the most important information you need to
understand because it forms the basis of your insight into the overall value
and impact that this system is having.
Aspects of reporting that can get the conversation going include the follow-
ing (be sure to determine who is able to answer these questions — a systems
group or a business group):
Describe the overall business purpose or function of this system.
What are the top five business questions that the system helps to answer?
Why was this system built?
