How do you use BI to support decision making and problem solving in your organization?

1 Define your goals and questions

Before you dive into data, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and what you want to know. What are your business objectives and challenges? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure your success? What are the specific questions that you need to answer with data? By defining your goals and questions, you can narrow down your data sources, select the appropriate BI tools, and design the relevant reports and dashboards.

2 Choose the right data sources and tools

Depending on your goals and questions, you may need to use different types of data sources and tools. For example, if you want to analyze historical trends and patterns, you may need to use a data warehouse, which is a centralized repository of structured and organized data from various sources. If you want to explore new data or perform ad hoc queries, you may need to use a data lake, which is a large collection of raw and unstructured data from various sources. You also need to choose the right BI tools that suit your needs and preferences. For example, if you want to create visualizations and interactive dashboards, you may need to use a BI software, such as Power BI, Tableau, or Qlik. If you want to write queries and scripts, you may need to use a BI platform, such as SQL Server, Oracle, or AWS.

3 Analyze and interpret the data

Once you have the data and the tools, you need to analyze and interpret the data to find answers and insights. You can use various methods and techniques, such as descriptive analytics, predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics, or machine learning. You can also use various charts and graphs, such as bar charts, line charts, pie charts, or heat maps. However, you need to be careful and critical when analyzing and interpreting the data. You need to check the data quality, validity, reliability, and accuracy. You also need to avoid biases, assumptions, and errors that may affect your results and conclusions.

4 Present and communicate the results

After you have analyzed and interpreted the data, you need to present and communicate the results to your stakeholders, such as managers, customers, or partners. You need to tailor your presentation and communication to your audience and purpose. You need to use clear and concise language, visuals, and stories to convey your message and recommendations. You also need to use feedback and collaboration to improve your BI process and outcomes.

5 Monitor and update the data

Finally, you need to monitor and update the data regularly to ensure that your BI is relevant and accurate. You need to track the changes and trends in your data sources, tools, goals, questions, and results. You also need to update your data warehouse, data lake, BI tools, reports, and dashboards accordingly. By monitoring and updating the data, you can keep your BI fresh and useful for your decision making and problem solving.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?