Another great blog by my good friend, Wayne Eckerson. This opening paragraph should grab your interest…

“I’ve met quite a few BI professionals who privately–and sometimes publicly–confide that they can’t move fast enough to keep their business clients happy. They secretly hope that I’ll wipe away their shame, frustration and guilt by saying they aren’t to blame for this discontent. They want me to indict the business people, saying they are too unreasonable, impatient, cheap, and short-term focused. Now, it’s true that the business people are all these things, and more! But that doesn’t mean the BI team is not at fault.”

From a May 23, 2013 article in the NY Times Technology Section.

“In the 1960s, mainframe computers posed a significant technological challenge to common notions of privacy. That’s when the federal government started putting tax returns into those giant machines, and consumer credit bureaus began building databases containing the personal financial information of millions of Americans. Many people feared that the new computerized databanks would be put in the service of an intrusive corporate or government Big Brother.”

When a company makes the decision to transition to a more BI-centric environment, a key piece to the puzzle is often overlooked: buy-in and support from the business users, someone we refer to as the “Gatekeepers.” As consultants we are very sensitive to engaging in the right manner so that everyone in the project comes out a winner. This article discusses some of our philosophy for that team effort.