Step By Step
We are often told that data strategies and business intelligence have gone through a lot of changes during the past couple of years. While that's no doubt true, we could also note how often we often find ourselves revisiting the most fundamental questions in our industry. What exactly are we talking about? Why do we care? John Zeller of the Mayo Clinic points out that as BI turns 17 years of age (by some accounts), we're still trying to explain what it is. John enlists a familiar paradox for his argument, which might appear transparent at first glance, but read on and you'll see his point. Throw his argument on a whiteboard and you might educate a few people.It's nonetheless true that metrics and intelligence are surfacing in more discrete business processes. IT portfolio management, for example, is about the same age as business intelligence, and it looks like these disciplines are maturing together. Note how Cheryl Randle at Hallmark links processes to business transformation and competitive agility.
I must admit that I am always drawn to the way business processes are served by business intelligence and vice versa. And, business process management is a lot older than BI, so why do I keep finding people who don't know or care much about it? I think a casual observer at most companies we study would find that the greatest stumbling blocks in operational business intelligence lie in those neglected, unknown or ad hoc business processes. I do catch myself going overboard on this topic, but how many times does it have to be said: Business processes make up the language that is least abstracted from the psyche of the business itself. Since BPM is a necessary precursor to many of the topics we write about, I was thrilled to learn what Yvonne Antonucci and her faculty peers are teaching graduate students at Widener University these days. Some of us who aren't so old can remember the first college computer science courses; maybe it's finally time for a little remedial process education.
Productivity gains keep the economy humming, but better productivity also frees up valuable time for people you'd like to see more of when you really need to - like your doctor or attending nurse. Learn how the huge St. Clare's Health System is incrementally boosting productivity to free years of man-hours for patient care.
Tom Davenport returns with his third analytic column for BI Review on a renewed effort by technologists to take the human factor out of analytic reporting. (The outcome of this latest challenge isn't as lopsided as you may assume.) And Tony Politano and Nadeem Mumtaz have a few tips on what to do when a prime technology vendor partner gets acquired. If and when this happens in your world, whoever writes the contingency plan will be a popular person with the C-level suite.
Watch for our new online columns on risk, governance and data visualization and drop me a line anytime at jim.ericson@sourcemedia.com.
Jim Ericson is editorial director of DM Review, a SourceMedia publication. You can reach him at Jim.Ericson@sourcemedia.com.
