Capturing ROI through Business-Centric BI Development Methods.

This article focuses on the use of business-centric methods in developing business intelligence (BI) initiatives. Business-centric methods go beyond traditional approaches by putting rigor into defining the business value capture mechanism for each BI project. This includes determining and specifying how business processes must change in order to leverage BI investments. This also includes using reengineering and process improvement techniques to ensure that BI projects deliver the intended ROI. When using business-centric methods, the BI team no longer throws the BI application after users have been trained, hoping that the business organization will understand what changes are needed and how to make them. Rather, BI team responsibilities are extended to include helping the business organization execute the changes to the business processes and decision processes that drive business results. Business-centric methods recognize that the missing link in many data warehousing efforts is the lack of clarity in the value proposition and the lack of business process change to capture the business value of BI. All of the traditional data warehouse and data mart architectures and design methods encompass structures, components and activities that seek to put the right information into the hands of the right people at the right time.