Previously, we’ve discussed the first two stages in the business intelligence life-cycle, capture and processing. Once you’ve completed those steps and have data in your data warehouse or Microsoft Access database, what then? The answer to that question depends on the (1) questions you want to ask and (2) how you want to interact with the data.
The Questions I Want To Ask?
Well, duh, you say. But believe it or not, it seems to me that sometimes business people think the software is going to tell them everything they need to know without needing to ask. I remember as a kid watching the old “Batman” TV series. (Yes, it was first-run, not reruns; I am that old.) Whenever the Caped Crusader got stumped, he would feed the available data into the trusty “Bat Computer” and it would spit out the exact answer he needed. It seemed effortless, especially to a seven-year-old. (OK, I’m not that old!) Even the tools we have today for data mining and analytics aren’t as precise as the Bat Computer. So, although it may seem ridiculous you really do need to think about what kinds of questions you want to answer.
The more specific you can make your questions, the better off you’ll be. For example, “how are we doing this quarter?” isn’t really that great a question. A better question would be, “what are the trends of our sales and profit, for the quarter to date, quarter over quarter, and year over year?” If you’re already thinking in those terms, great! We’re ready to start thinking about how we interact with the data.
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