THE INTELLIGENT BSA: ELICITING REQUIREMENTS FOR BI SOLUTIONS. Scott Sommerfeld October, 2012

Transcription

1 THE INTELLIGENT BSA: ELICITING REQUIREMENTS FOR BI SOLUTIONS Scott Sommerfeld October, 2012

2 AGENDA Business Intelligence (BI) Definition BI Solutions Eliciting BI Requirements Focus 6 Step Approach Questions 2

3 Business Intelligence (BI) Definition BI Solutions Eliciting BI Requirements Focus 6 Step Approach Questions 3

4 DEFINITION Business Intelligence Computer based technologies, concepts and methodologies allowing business decision-makers to access, analyze, understand, and act on information In Short: BI is all about using a company s data to make business decisions 4

5 DEFINITION Data Warehousing is Key Data Warehousing is the act of integrating data from multiple sources into one comprehensive database BI Solutions often use data within a data warehouse BI Solutions can use data directly from source systems, data marts or files 5

6 BI SOLUTIONS Solutions Direct Access (Data Warehousing) Files Discovering the Unknown, Self-Help (Predicting, Forecasting, Optimizing) Discovering the Unknown, Self-Help (Predicting, Forecasting, Optimizing) OLAP (Online Analytical Processing, or Cubes) Analyzing What is Known (Why did it happen?) Reports (Dashboards, Scorecards, Static & Parameterized Reports) Understanding What is Known (What happened?) Six Step Approach for These Solutions 6

7 Business Intelligence (BI) Definition BI Solutions Eliciting BI Requirements Focus Six Step Approach Questions 7

8 FOCUS Transaction Application Focus Supporting with Applications BI Focus Answering Questions with VS 8

9 6 STEP APPROACH TO ELICITING BI REQUIREMENTS How do you plan to use the data to achieve your GOALS? How will you need to INTERACT with the Data to answer your Business Questions? 9

10 STEP 1: FEATURES What Identify Stakeholders High Level Information Goals and how they Plan on Using Information and Data to Achieve Them Key - Focus on Usage Why Manage Project Scope Decompose Project into Logical Components Assist Project Planning Help to Identifying Business Questions 10

11 FEATURES How Review Business Case Identify Key Stakeholders and Their Role and Responsibilities During Elicitation Ask Questions Such As: What do you need to do or know to achieve these goals? How would information and data help you achieve your goals? Examples of Features Evaluate the success of a new product feature Determine what projects need to be assigned 11

12 STEP 2: BUSINESS QUESTIONS What Identify Important Business Questions Stakeholders Need to be Able to Answer to Drive Business Success BI Version of Use Case Why Helps Identify Questions that Truly Bring Value to the Business Helps to Identify Required Information and Data 12

13 BUSINESS QUESTIONS How Focus on One Feature at a Time During Elicitation Ask Questions Such As: In order to achieve your goal, what questions would you need to answer to be successful? Would knowing the answer to your questions cause you or someone else to ask follow-up questions? Examples of Business Questions Provided by the Stakeholders What projects are active? How many customer inquiries were closed in a period of time? 13

14 STEP 3: BUSINESS RULES What Identify the Business Rules that Define the Necessary Information and Data Used to Answer Business Questions Key - Focus on Business Perspective Why Helps us Focus on the Necessary Information and Data Helps to Determine if Information and Data is Available Source System Work Needed? Data Warehouse Work Needed? 14

15 BUSINESS RULES How Review the Business Questions and Identify any Business Rules During Elicitation Verify Existing Business Rules (Information and Data) Identify any Other Business Rules (Information and Data) Ask Stakeholders Follow-Up Questions Such As: What systems do you use that support the business rule? How do you know the business rule was supported? Ensure Completeness by Learning About the Business Examples of Business Rules Project (Definition) Work performed to create a unique product, service or result with a defined start and end date. Active Projects (Definition) Project that has been approved by the business and staffed with applicable resources. Active Projects (Constraint) An Active Project must have a start date and have at least one Project Manager assigned. Active Project Rate (Derivation) Total number of Active Projects divided by the total number of Projects created. 15

16 STEP 4: SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS What Identify the Solution Requirements that Will Help the Project Team Understand How the Stakeholders Will Need to Interact With the Information and Data Examples of Solution Requirements Filters, Metrics or Facts Statements that explain what information will be accessed Groupings or Dimensions Statements that explain how the information will be grouped or categorized Functionality Statements that explain how the stakeholder wishes to interact with the information and data Why Provides Specifications for Development Helps Project Team Design Valuable Solutions 16

17 SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS How Collaborate with Project Team on Solution Approach During Elicitation Ask Questions Such As: Do you need to be able to do something with the information? Do you want to see all of the information or just a subset of it? Do you need to see the information by a certain category? Verify with the Project Team the Solution Approach Examples of Solution Requirements The solution shall allow for the data to be imported into Excel The solution shall show only claims that have a status of completed The solution shall group the information by state 17

18 STEP 5: FORMATTING AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS What Identify Formatting Requirements Specifying How the Information and Data Will Need to be Presented Column and Row Headers Conditional Formatting Sorting Data Format Identify Technical Requirements Specifying the Solution s Environmental Conditions or Qualities that the Solution Must Have Why Security Location Availability Provides Specifications for Development Helps Project Team Design Valuable Solutions Helps Project Team Design a Scalable and Robust Infrastructure 18

19 FORMATTING AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS How Collaborate with Project Team on Solution Approach During Elicitation Ask Questions Such As: How long should the information and data be made available? Where would you like to access the solution? Who will need to be able to access the solution? Create a Low Fidelity Sample and Review with the Stakeholders Examples of Formatting Requirements The solution shall be sorted by column x The solution shall bold all headers The solution shall show dates as dd/mm/ yyyy Examples of Technical Requirements The solution shall be made available for customer care managers only The solution shall be made available in the corporate reporting website 19

20 STEP 6: SOLUTION SAMPLE What Sample of the Solution that Provides a Visual Representation of How the Information and Data will be Displayed Why Helps Uncover Missing Requirements, Information and Data (Business Rules) Improves Solution Design Comprehension Improves Requirements and Business Rules Verification and Validation How Create Low Fidelity Sample Using Excel Verify Sample with Project Team and Stakeholders 20

21 BI REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING APPROACH Low Features How do you plan on using the data to achieve your GOALS? Business Ques-ons Solution Design What QUESTIONS will this information help you answer? Business Rules What DATA will you need to answer your Business Questions? Solu-on Requirements How will you need to INTERACT with the Data to answer your Business Questions? Forma2ng and Technical Requirements How will this data need to be PRESENTED to help you answer your Business Questions? Solu-on Sample 21 High What will this SOLUTION actually look like?

22 ADDITIONAL CONTENT The Intelligent BA: Eliciting Requirements for Business Intelligence Projects (Article by Scott Sommerfeld; Data Warehouse / Business Intelligence Requirements Elicitation. Where do You Begin? (Article by Jamie McKinney) Defining Requirements for BI Projects (Webinar by IAG) 22

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