Business Intelligence Questions and Answers

What is HR Business Intelligence?

It is the business intelligence software designed specifically for the Human Resources purposes like monitoring analyzing, reducing administrative processes, and identifying workforce information about:

• Insights - geographical and demographic resources, knowledge resources, time planning and management,  analysis of recruiting resources;
• Development — corporate learning demand, tracking most valuable employees, employee churn, development of best talents and teams;     
• “Improved Compensation—Understand how compensation impacts performance, ensure compensation is equitable and consistent across roles, and align variable compensation with your organization’s objectives and goals.” – Source: http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/ent-performance-bi/hr-analytics-066536.html
• Performance (with highlight on financial benefits) — tracking productivity and efficiency per employee, headcount management, calculating contributions per employee or other types of financial HR key performance indicators like return on human capital.

Recommendation for further read: http://blog.maia-intelligence.com/2008/03/31/business-intelligence-for-hr/

How does DSS and Business Intelligence compliment each other?

Many authors like to consider it as the same set of tools and solutions, or as a subset (Decision Support System -DSS is sometimes considered as subset of Business Intelligence group or vice versa), but it is actually better to consider it as a separated conceptual solutions, because one Information System platform can not be  solution for all different kind of expected functionalities.

Main information feed for Decision Support System are Business Intelligence solutions or in very rare cases only one Business Intelligence solution if company managed to apply integrated reporting of information flows. DSS has also many other sources of information like Data Mining, Data Repositories, Marketing Researches, Mails, Web sources and similar.

How many companies know which products make money with Business Intelligence?

Despite the persuasive attempts of BI consultants and vendors to convince it is relatively easy with BI solution to target with breeze money making products and services, this is not quite true. It is mostly manipulation with information. Those Business Intelligence models that are used as a proof and references during persuasion can be Potemkin’s villages, because they are just set for specific presentation. Set up is important since all functionalities are derived from proper information structure. Situation in companies differ radically because business environment is totally different.

Catch is in the calculation and allocation keys of secondary costs (overhead costs). Depending on quality of allocation depends result and answer on this question, which products make money with business intelligence? True value is in the custom made financial model and process of gathering data that needs to be installed into business intelligence software. Only then it is possible to target money making, profitable, products with business intelligence.

True question is how many companies know which products make money with their financial models? Second question would be, is it implemented into Business Intelligence?

Reasons why business intelligence project fail?

There are many reasons, and most of them are not related directly to Business Intelligence tools functionalities but to surrounding environment: organization, concept, vision, management, changes, requirments, communication, policy, maintenance and etc. Fail in any of mentioned fields leads to collapse of business intelligence project. Read here detailed post about most common business intelligence project fails: BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FAILURES

How to continue business while implementing a business intelligence?

Business should continue without interruption and business intelligence should be made as parallel process and in parallel information system.  All information Systems and related process must operate without change and to provide regular business results. Business Intelligence efforts must be made in parallel process, and proper development environment (software and hardware) with expert teams that will make deployment. Only interruption should be parallel work of top experts that work on business intelligence project and everyday operations. Since they are high quality experts they are overloaded with everyday tasks, analytics and on knowledge transfer. Business continuity is more an organizational and expert substitution issue.

Does Company have strength to substitute top experts working on business intelligence project with other employees? This is the answer whether company can continue business while implementing business intelligence.

At the point of testing initial reports, correcting bugs and testing acceptance is possible interruption and discontinuity of the business  work. This is the critical point and needs to be  carefully planed in order to make business continuity smooth.

What are the main Business Intelligence Drivers?

• Business efficiency – speed up of statistics and analysis, improved information flow at all levels of company, expanding information functionalities of production systems like ERP, CRM, Billing, SRM and etc., removal of reporting burden from transaction systems, better fulfillment of information requirement toward government, regulators or stakeholders.
• Increasing costs & cost cut – new insights and details on how costs are generated and their redistribution
• Better decisions – data and information availability and visualization, new knowledge, transparent understanding of information basis and company processes
• Market & Competition – innovation information basis, fast respond to change of customer preference, basis for competitive intelligence