Business Intelligence Roadmap: The Complete Project Lifecycle for Decision-Support Applications

by Larissa Moss, Shaku Atre

Overview

"If you are looking for a complete treatment of business intelligence, then go no further than this book. Larissa T. Moss and Shaku Atre have covered all the bases in a cohesive and logical order, making it easy for the reader to follow their line of thought. From early design to ETL to physical database design, the book ties together all the components of business intelligence."
--Bill Inmon, Inmon Enterprises

This is the eBook version of the print title. The eBook edition contains the same content as the print edition. You will find instructions in the last few pages of your eBook that directs you to the media files. 

 

Business Intelligence Roadmap is a visual guide to developing an effective business intelligence (BI) decision-support application. This book outlines a methodology that takes into account the complexity of developing applications in an integrated BI environment. The authors walk readers through every step of the process--from strategic planning to the selection of new technologies and the evaluation of application releases. The book also serves as a single-source guide to the best practices of BI projects.

 

Part I steers readers through the six stages of a BI project: justification, planning, business analysis, design, construction, and deployment. Each chapter describes one of sixteen development steps and the major activities, deliverables, roles, and responsibilities. All technical material is clearly expressed in tables, graphs, and diagrams.

 

Part II provides five matrices that serve as references for the development process charted in Part I. Management tools, such as graphs illustrating the timing and coordination of activities, are included throughout the book. The authors conclude by crystallizing their many years of experience in a list of dos, don'ts, tips, and rules of thumb.

 

Both the book and the methodology it describes are designed to adapt to the specific needs of individual stakeholders and organizations. The book directs business representatives, business sponsors, project managers, and technicians to the chapters that address their distinct responsibilities. The framework of the book allows organizations to begin at any step and enables projects to be scheduled and managed in a variety of ways.

 

Business Intelligence Roadmap is a clear and comprehensive guide to negotiating the complexities inherent in the development of valuable business intelligence decision-support applications.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780321630117
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	02/25/2003
Series:	Addison-Wesley Information Technology Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	576
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Larissa Moss is founder and president of Method Focus, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in business intelligence and data warehousing. She is a frequent lecturer and speaker at conferences in the United States, Europe, and Asia on data warehousing, project management, development methodologies, and organizational and cultural issues. Her articles on these topics are regularly published in magazines such as DM Review and Journal of Data Warehousing. She is coauthor of Data Warehouse Project Management (Addison-Wesley, 2000) and Impossible Data Warehouse Situations (Addison-Wesley, 2003). She is a senior consultant at the Cutter Consortium and one of the authors of their Business Intelligence Executive Reports.

Shaku Atre is president of Atre Group, Inc., a Santa Cruz, CA based consulting organization specializing in business intelligence and data warehousing implementations. She is also the president of Atre Associates, Inc., a systems integration company based in New York City. Previously, she was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, held a variety of management and staff positions at IBM, and served as a faculty member of IBM's prestigious Systems Research Institute. She has authored hundreds of articles as a columnist for Information Week, Computerworld, eWeek and a number of other publications. She is the author of five books including Data Base: Structured Techniques for Design, Performance, and Management, Second Edition (John Wiley & Sons, 1988) and Distributed Databases, Cooperative Processing, and Networking (McGraw-Hill, 1992).

Table of Contents

About the Authors.


Foreword.


Preface.

The Purpose of This Book.

Complexity.

Step-by-Step Guide.

How This Book Is Organized.

Part I: Stages and Steps.

Part II: At a Glance.

How to Use This Book.

Who Should Read This Book.

Business Representatives.

Business Sponsors.

Project Managers.

Technicians.

Comments.

I. STAGES AND STEPS.

0. Guide to the Development Steps.

Business Intelligence Definition.

BI Decision-Support Initiatives.

Development Approaches.

The Traditional Development Approach.

The Cross-Organizational Development Approach.

Engineering Stages and the Development Steps.

Parallel Development Tracks.

BI Project Team Structure.

The Core Team.

The Extended Team.

The BI Arbitration Board.

Justification for Using This Project Lifecycle Guide.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

1. Step 1: Business Case Assessment.

Business Justification.

Business Drivers.

Business Analysis Issues.

Information Needs.

Types of Data Sources.

Source Data Quality.

Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Risk Assessment.

Business Case Assessment Activities.

Deliverable Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

2. Step 2: Enterprise Infrastructure Evaluation.
Step 2, Section A: Technical Infrastructure Evaluation.

The Hardware Platform.

Controlled Chaos.

Hardware Platform Requirements.

The Middleware Platform.

DBMS Gateways.

The DBMS Platform.

Criteria for Selecting a DBMS.

Technical Infrastructure Evaluation Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 2, Section A.

Step 2, Section B: Nontechnical Infrastructure Evaluation.

The Effects of Stovepipe Development.

The Need for Nontechnical Infrastructure.

Enterprise Architecture.

Enterprise Standards.

Nontechnical Infrastructure Evaluation Activities.

Deliverable Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 2, Section B.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

Technical Infrastructure Evaluation.

Nontechnical Infrastructure Evaluation.

3. Step 3: Project Planning.

Managing the BI Project.

Defining the BI Project.

Project Goals and Objectives.

Project Scope.

Project Risks.

Project Constraints.

Assumptions.

Change-Control Procedures.

Issues Management Procedures.

Planning the BI Project.

Activities and Tasks.

Estimating Techniques.

Resource Assignment.

Task Dependencies.

Resource Dependencies.

Critical Path Method.

Project Schedules.

Project Planning Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 3.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

4. Step 4: Project Requirements Definition.

General Business Requirements.

Interviewees for General Business Requirements.

Data Quality Requirements.

Business Requirements Report .

Project-Specific Requirements.

Interviewees for Project-Specific Requirements.

Application Requirements Document.

The Interviewing Process.

Interviewing Considerations.

Interviewing Tips.

Project Requirements Definition Activities.

Deliverable Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 4.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

5. Step 5: Data Analysis.

Business-Focused Data Analysis.

Top-Down Logical Data Modeling.

Project-Specific Logical Data Model.

Enterprise Logical Data Model.

Logical Data Modeling Participants.

Standardized Business Meta Data.

Bottom-Up Source Data Analysis.

Technical Data Conversion Rules.

Business Data Domain Rules.

Business Data Integrity Rules.

Data Cleansing.

Data Quality Responsibility.

Source Data Selection Process.

Key Points of Data Selection.

To Cleanse or Not to Cleanse.

Cleansing Operational Systems.

Data Analysis Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 5.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

6. Step 6: Application Prototyping.

Purposes of Prototyping.

Time-Boxing.

Best Practices for Prototyping.

Considerations for Prototyping.

Types of Prototypes.

Show-and-Tell Prototype.

Mock-Up Prototype.

Proof-of-Concept Prototype.

Visual-Design Prototype.

Demo Prototype.

Operational Prototype.

Building Successful Prototypes.

Prototype Charter.

Guidelines for Prototyping.

Skills Survey.

Application Prototyping Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 6.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

7. Step 7: Meta Data Repository Analysis.

The Importance of Meta Data.

Meta Data Categories.

Meta Data Repository as Navigation Tool.

Data Standardization.

Meta Data Classifications.

Groupings of Meta Data Components.

Prioritization of Meta Data Components.

Meta Data Repository Challenges.

Technical Challenges.

Staffing Challenges.

Budget Challenges.

Usability Challenges.

Political Challenges.

The Logical Meta Model.

The Entity-Relationship Meta Model.

Meta-Meta Data.

Meta Data Repository Analysis Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 7.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

8. Step 8: Database Design.

Differences in Database Design Philosophies.

Operational Databases.

BI Target Databases.

Logical Database Design.

The Star Schema.

The Snowflake Schema.

Physical Database Design.

Implementation Options.

Physical Dataset Placement.

Partitioning.

Clustering.

Indexing.

Reorganizations.

Backup and Recovery.

Parallel Query Execution.

Database Design Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 8.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

9. Step 9: Extract/Transform/Load Design.

Implementation Strategies.

Preparing for the ETL Process.

The Initial Load.

The Historical Load.

The Incremental Load.

Designing the Extract Programs.

Designing the Transformation Programs.

Source Data Problems.

Data Transformations.

Designing the Load Programs.

Referential Integrity.

Indexing.

Designing the ETL Process Flow.

The Source-to-Target Mapping Document.

The ETL Process Flow Diagram.

The Staging Area.

Evaluating ETL Tools.

ETL Design Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 9.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

10. Step 10: Meta Data Repository Design.

Meta Data Silos.

Sources of Meta Data.

Meta Data Repository Solutions.

Centralized Meta Data Repository.

Decentralized Meta Data Repository.

Distributed XML-Enabled Meta Data Solution.

Designing a Meta Data Repository.

Entity-Relationship Design.

Object-Oriented Design.

Licensing (Buying) a Meta Data Repository.

Product Evaluation.

Vendor Evaluation.

Meta Data Repository Design Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 10.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

11. Step 11: Extract/Transform/Load Development.

Source Data Transformation.

Data Transformation Activities.

Underestimating Data Transformation Efforts.

Reconciliation.

Calculating Reconciliation Totals.

Storing Reconciliation Statistics.

Peer Reviews.

ETL Testing.

Unit Testing.

Integration Testing.

Regression Testing.

Performance Testing.

Quality Assurance Testing.

Acceptance Testing.

Formal Test Plan.

ETL Development Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 11.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

12. Step 12: Application Development.

Online Analytical Processing Tools.

Advantages of OLAP Tools.

OLAP Tool Features.

Multidimensional Analysis Factors.

Multivariate Analysis.

Online Analytical Processing Architecture.

Presentation Services.

OLAP Services.

Database Services.

Development Environments.

Application Development Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 12.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

13. Step 13: Data Mining.

Defining Data Mining.

The Importance of Data Mining.

Data Sources for Data Mining.

Data Mining Techniques.

Associations Discovery.

Sequential Pattern Discovery.

Classification.

Clustering.

Forecasting.

Data Mining Operations.

Predictive and Classification Modeling.

Link Analysis.

Database Segmentation.

Deviation Detection.

Applications of Data Mining.

Data Mining Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 13.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

14. Step 14: Meta Data Repository Development.

Populating the Meta Data Repository.

Meta Data Repository Interface Processes.

The Tool Interface Process.

The Access Interface Process.

Meta Data Repository Testing.

Preparing for the Meta Data Repository Rollout.

Meta Data Repository Directory.

Meta Data Repository Development Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 14.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

15. Step 15: Implementation.

Incremental Rollout.

Security Management.

Security Measures for BI Applications.

Security in a Multi-Tier Environment.

Security for Internet Access.

Data Backup and Recovery.

Monitoring the Utilization of Resources.

Computer Utilization.

Network Utilization.

Personnel Utilization.

Growth Management.

Growth in Data.

Growth in Usage.

Growth in Hardware.

Implementation Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 15.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

16. Step 16: Release Evaluation.

The Application Release Concept.

Guidelines for Using the Release Concept.

Post-Implementation Reviews.

Organizing a Post-Implementation Review.

Post-Implementation Review Session Flow.

Release Evaluation Activities.

Deliverables Resulting from These Activities.

Roles Involved in These Activities.

Risks of Not Performing Step 16.

Bibliography and Additional Reading.

II. AT A GLANCE.

17. Resource Allocation Matrix.
18. Entry & Exit Criteria and Deliverables Matrix.
19. Activity Dependency Matrix.
20. Task/Subtask Matrix.
21. Practical Guidelines Matrix.
Appendix. Work Breakdown Structure.
Index

Preface

Many organizations are already well equipped to implement successful business intelligence (BI) decision-support applications, such as data warehouses, data marts, and other business analytics applications. However, during our consulting and teaching engagements, we have encountered many ill-equipped organizations as well. We observed some common factors among them, which we address in this book:

• Lack of understanding of the complexity of BI decision-support projects
• Lack of recognizing BI decision-support projects as cross-organizational business initiatives and not understanding that cross-organizational initiatives are different from stand-alone solutions
• Unavailable or unwilling business representatives
• Unengaged business sponsors or business sponsors who have little or no authority due to their low-level positions within the organization
• Lack of skilled and available staff as well as suboptimum staff utilization
• Inappropriate project team structure and dynamics
• No software release concept (no iterative development method)
• No work breakdown structure (no methodology)
• Ineffective project management (only project administration)
• No business analysis and no standardization activities
• No appreciation of the impact of dirty data on business profitability
• No understanding of the necessity for and the usage of meta data
• Too much reliance on disparate methods and tools (the “silver bullet” syndrome)

BI project managers and project teams can use this book to improve their project life cycles. They can also use it to obtain the appropriate recognition for their BI projects from the business community and to solicit the required support from their executive management. BI project team members and the business representatives assigned to them can use this book to gain a better understanding of the development effort required to build and deploy successful BI decision-support applications.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK

Business Intelligence Roadmap is a guide for developing BI decision-support applications. The two main purposes of this book are to

1. Explain the complexity of BI decision-support projects
2. Present a step-by-step guide for the entire BI project lifecycle

Complexity

In order to give you an appreciation of the complexity of BI decision-support projects, we describe all of the components that go into a BI decision- support development effort. For example:

• You should know what makes a BI decision-support application different from a traditional decision-support system so that you can avoid costly mistakes.
• You should understand the infrastructure components of your new BI decision-support application, such as the tools available (for development and for access and analysis).
• You should be able to recognize items that could impair the success of your new BI decision-support application.
• You should determine how many resources you need and what type of resources, both technical and human.
• You should decide on the design or architecture of your BI decision- support application, such as designing for multidimensional reporting or ad hoc querying.

Step-by-Step Guide

Our step-by-step guide across the breadth of a complete development lifecycle includes activities, deliverables, roles and responsibilities, dos and don’ts, and entry and exit criteria, plus tips and rules of thumb to lead you to a successful BI decision-support implementation. For example:

• You should choose which steps you ought to perform on your BI project because no two BI decision-support projects are exactly alike.
• You should know whether to start with a cross-organizational decision-support solution or a tailored departmental solution with the basis for expansion.
• You should understand the sequence in which to perform development activities, that is, which ones can be performed in parallel tracks and which ones have a strong dependency on one another.

In contrast to topic-specific materials available on BI, this book is a single-source development guide written specifically for BI decision-support applications. The guidelines presented in this book are based not only on our personal experiences but also on some of the best practices covered in topic-specific books, articles, and Web sites.

HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED

All software development projects are complicated engineering projects, as demonstrated by the breadth of topics covered in this book. Chapter 0, Guide to the Development Steps, explains the general organization of the development guidelines in Business Intelligence Roadmap.

This book is organized into two major parts. Part I, Stages and Steps, describes the 16 development steps, which are introduced in Chapter 0. Part I gives you a broad understanding of the development effort involved in BI decision-support projects. Part II, At a Glance, supplements the text contained in the first part of the book with several matrices that should be used together as a reference guide for all BI decision-support projects.

Part I: Stages and Steps

Part I begins with Chapter 0, Guide to the Development Steps, and is followed by 16 development chapters. Each of the 16 development chapters is dedicated to one unique development step and describes the effort required to perform the activities of that step.

Guide to the Development Steps (Chapter 0) describes the general layout of the development guidelines presented in this book, contrasting those guidelines with a traditional development methodology. It discusses the six engineering stages as well as the three parallel development tracks, and it groups the applicable development steps under both. Chapter 0 explains the application release concept and shows how to organize a BI project with the appropriate roles and responsibilities for the core team and the extended team.

Each of the development steps (Chapters 1-16) begins with an individual chapter overview followed by a section called Things to Consider. These are general questions BI project teams usually contemplate when deciding which activities need to be performed under each development step. These questions are merely presented as “food for thought” and are not necessarily explored in the chapters; nor are they all-inclusive. Each chapter discusses the main topics applicable to the development step covered by that chapter. Some topics apply to more than one development step, such as testing or product evaluation. However, to avoid redundancy these common topics are covered in only one chapter and are only briefly referenced in the other chapters.

Each of the 16 chapters contains a list of major activities for that development step, accompanied by a figure showing what activities could be performed concurrently. The list of activities is followed by descriptions of the deliverables resulting from these activities and the roles involved in performing these activities. Each chapter concludes with a brief discussion of risks to weigh in case you decide not to perform that step on your project. Do not interpret the risks of not performing the step to mean that every BI project team must perform every development step exactly as suggested. Instead, use the risk section to determine whether the activities in that development step are—or should be—mandatory on your project. If they are not, you may decide not to perform some or all of those activities after discussing the risks with the business sponsor.

Part II: At a Glance

Part II contains the following matrices.

• The Human Resource Allocation Matrix (Chapter 17) lists all the vital roles involved in performing the step activities, tasks, and subtasks. The roles listed in this matrix need to be assigned to project team members. In order to help you discover and avoid potential resource allocation problems, the steps that can be performed in parallel and their appropriate roles are listed together.
• The Entry & Exit Criteria and Deliverables Matrix (Chapter 18) indicates the prerequisites, results, and deliverables for each development step. Not every BI project team will need to perform all activities for all development steps. This matrix should help you determine whether you can skip a step or incorporate some of its activities into other steps.
• The Activity Dependency Matrix (Chapter 19) is a collection of activity dependency charts for the development steps. This matrix shows at a glance which activities in each step can be performed concurrently. It should be used to determine workflow and task assignments for project team members.
• The Task/Subtask Matrix (Chapter 20) itemizes all pertinent tasks, and in some cases subtasks, for all the major activities under each step. This matrix should be used to prepare the work breakdown structure for the project plan. You can customize (expand or reduce) the tasks and subtasks on an as-needed basis for individual projects.
• The Practical Guidelines Matrix (Chapter 21) presents three subsections for each development step: Dos, Don’ts, and Tips and Rules of Thumb. Dos point out best practices for the development steps, and Don’ts instruct you how to avoid traps and pitfalls. Tips and Rules of Thumb are our personal collection of experiences over several decades of developing cross-organizational decision-support applications.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

We suggest that all core members of the BI project team make use of this book as follows.

1. First, read all the chapters in Part I to gain an overall understanding of all the components of BI decision-support development.
2. Next, compare your own BI project scope and requirements to the topics in the book. Use the discussions in the chapters to decide which specific development steps apply to your project.
3. Go to Chapter 18 and look up the entry and exit criteria for the steps you selected. Be sure that you have the prerequisites to implement your development approach and that you have a clear understanding of what it takes to move forward.
4. Put your project plan together for the steps you have chosen by consulting the activity dependency flow charts in Chapter 19 and by using the tasks and subtasks listed in Chapter 20. To kick-start your project, you may want to copy and customize the work breakdown structure provided on the CD included with this book to fit your needs. The work breakdown structure on the CD is a Microsoft Project file that already includes the step dependencies (shown in Figure 0.6 in Chapter 0) and the activity dependencies (shown in the flow charts in Chapter 19). In addition, the work breakdown structure contains some basic mandatory task dependencies.
5. Use the matrices in Part II as a quick reference to help guide your development work throughout the project.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

Segments of this book should be read and referenced by every member of the BI project team, including business representatives. It is important that all project participants understand “the big picture” and how they and their roles fit into it. This also applies to third-party consultants, who can fill any technical role on the project team. Understanding this larger view of the project and its development effort is essential in maintaining a level of enthusiasm and cooperation necessary for the team. Below we spotlight team members’ roles and provide lists of the most useful and applicable chapters for each specific role.

Business Representatives

Although the development steps are technical in nature, business representatives involved in BI projects must understand what activities need to occur during the development effort. Business representatives are expected to participate as full-time members of the project core teams, and some of the activities described in this book will be assigned to them. Table P.1 lists chapters of particular interest to business representatives.

Table P.1. Chapters for Business Representatives

Guide to the Development Steps

Step 1: Business Case Assessment

Step 2: Enterprise Infrastructure Evaluation

(especially Section B, Nontechnical Infrastructure Evaluation)

Step 3: Project Planning

Step 4: Project Requirements Definition

Step 5: Data Analysis

Step 6: Application Prototyping

Step 7: Meta Data Repository Analysis

Step 9: Extract/Transform/Load Design

Step 13: Data Mining

Step 16: Release Evaluation

Business Sponsors

Although business sponsors are not directly involved in the daily development effort, they should make frequent checks on the health of the project as well as the project team. In order to do this, business sponsors must have a comprehensive, high-level understanding of the effort. Table P.2 lists the chapters recommended for business sponsors.

Table P.2. Chapters for Business Sponsors

Guide to Development Steps

Step 1: Business Case Assessment

Step 2: Enterprise Infrastructure Evaluation

(especially Section B, Nontechnical Infrastructure Evaluation)

Step 3: Project Planning

Step 4: Project Requirements Definition

Step 5: Data Analysis

Step 13: Data Mining

Step 16: Release Evaluation

Project Managers

The project manager is responsible for the entire development effort and must therefore be intimately familiar with all development steps. He or she must read all chapters in the book and use the matrices in Part II as an ongoing reference guide, as shown in Table P.3.

Table P.3. Chapters for Project Managers
Guide to the Development Steps
Part I: Stages and Steps
Part II: At a Glance

Note:BI projects are not for inexperienced project managers. A thorough understanding of project management principles is required.

Technicians

Various types of technicians work on BI projects. Some technicians are assigned to the core team on a full-time basis, such as a lead developer; others are on the extended team supporting the development activities on an as-needed basis, such as a security officer. (For an itemized list of roles assigned to the core team and to the extended team, refer to Chapter 0.)

• Core team technicians should read all the chapters in the book and use the matrices as an ongoing reference guide, as shown in Table P.4.
• Extended team technicians should read, at a minimum, the chapters listed in Table P.5. However, these technicians would gain a greater understanding of the BI decision-support development process if they read all the chapters in the book.

Table P.4. Chapters for Core Team Technicians
Guide to the Development Steps
Part I: Stages and Steps
Part II: At a Glance

Table P.5. Chapters for Extended Team Technicians

Guide to the Development Steps

Step 2: Enterprise Infrastructure Evaluation

(especially Section A, Technical Infrastructure Evaluation)

Step 3: Project Planning

Step 4: Project Requirements Definition

Step 16: Release Evaluation

Additional chapters on an as-needed basis

(For example, an ETL developer should read Step 9: Extract/Transform/Load Design, Step 11: Extract/Transform/Load Development, and Step 15: Implementation.)

COMMENTS

Despite the large collection of topic-specific BI material, we observed a strong need by project teams for a unified plan or method to follow. Therefore, we started this book with the notion of writing a complete development methodology for BI decision-support projects. We quickly realized that to meet such a goal we would have to produce a multivolume work—something not feasible for most project managers and project team members to read. Our original plan quickly gave way to a general roadmap that would serve as an umbrella for all the major development steps, topics, considerations, and activities of a BI project. In addition, at the end of each chapter we provide a list of references that are most applicable to the topics of the chapter.

We also wanted to share with project managers, project teams, and business representatives our personal discoveries about what works and what doesn’t work on BI projects. Therefore, the information we present in the matrices in Part II is an accumulation of our own personal observations, experiences, and judgments.

Finally, to enhance the readability of this complex technical material, we broke up the text with as many tables, graphs, pictures, and other visuals as possible. We hope these visual aids make this book easier to read in addition to clarifying the topics presented.

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