Big Data and AI

If you are a business intelligence (BI) professional, you know how important it is to understand the needs and expectations of your clients and stakeholders, and to plan your project accordingly. In this post, you will learn how to create two essential documents for any BI project: a Stakeholder Requirements Document and a Project Requirements Document. A Stakeholder Requirements Document is a document that summarizes the information you gather from your client and other stakeholders about the business problem they want to solve, the goals they want to achieve, the data they have available, and the constraints they face. It helps you to define the scope and objectives of your project, identify the key stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities, and ask relevant questions to clarify their requirements and expectations. A Project Requirements Document is a document that outlines the details of your project, such as its purpose, audience, features, dependencies, success criteria,...

If you are a business intelligence (BI) professional, you know how important it is to have a strong set of skills and experience that can help you deliver data-driven insights and solutions to businesses. But how can you prove your value and stand out from the crowd in this competitive field? The answer is simple: you need a portfolio of projects . A portfolio of projects is a collection of work samples that showcase your BI skills and achievements. It can include reports, dashboards, visualizations, code snippets, case studies, blog posts, videos or any other format that demonstrates your BI capabilities. A portfolio of projects can benefit you in many ways: •  It can help you land your dream job or project. A portfolio of projects can show your potential employers or clients what you can do for them, how you approach BI problems, what tools and techniques you use, and what results you have achieved. It can also help you highlight your strengths and areas of expertise, as well as ...

Summary: Gap analysis is a method for examining and evaluating the current state of a process in order to identify opportunities for improvement in the future. In this post, you will learn what gap analysis is, how to do it, and how it can help you optimize your business intelligence (BI) systems and tools. What is gap analysis? As a business intelligence (BI) professional, you know how important it is to choose the right metrics to measure the success of your projects. But how do you measure the success of your entire business or team over time? That's where gap analysis comes in. Gap analysis is a process of comparing the current state of a process with the desired state of a process. It helps you understand where you are now compared to where you want to be so that you can bridge the gap. BI uses gap analysis to do all kinds of things, such as improve data delivery systems or create dashboard reports. For example, suppose a sales team uses a dashboard to track sales pipeline pr...

Summary: A north star metric is a crucial metric that reflects the core value of a business and guides its long-term growth. In this post, you will learn what a north star metric is, why it is important, how to choose one, and some examples from different industries. What is a north star metric? As a business intelligence (BI) professional, you know how important it is to choose the right metrics to measure the success of your projects. But how do you measure the success of your whole business or team over time? That's where a north star metric comes in. A north star metric is a single metric that reflects the core measurable value of your business's product or service. It is intended to represent your business's mission and vision, and to drive your business forward. That's why it's called a north star metric– like the north star can be used to navigate the wilderness, this metric can be used to navigate your business decisions and lead you to growth. Why do you ne...

If you are a BI professional, you know how important it is to choose the right metrics for your dashboard. Metrics are the indicators that help you measure the success of your project and guide business decisions. But how do you choose the best metrics among the many available? In this post, we will give you five tips to select the most effective and relevant metrics for your BI dashboard. 1. Limit the number of metrics More information is not always better. If you fill your dashboard with too many metrics, you might confuse your stakeholders and distract them from the ones that are really crucial for the project's success. Key metrics are those that are relevant and actionable, meaning that they tell you if you are reaching your goals and what you need to do to improve. For example, if metric X goes down, is that a good or bad thing? What action would you take if it went down that would be different if it went up instead? Your goal is not to cover every single use case, but 90% of...

  As a business intelligence (BI) professional, you use data to create solutions that provide insights and help organizations make better decisions. But to do that effectively, you need to handle data ethically, privately, and reliably. In this post, you will learn what these concepts mean, why they are important, and how to overcome the challenges and limitations related to them. Data Ethics : Respect the Rights and Interests of Data Subjects Data ethics is the application of well-founded standards of right and wrong to how data is collected, shared, and used. You have a responsibility to treat data ethically, especially when it involves personally identifiable information (PII), which can reveal a person's identity. Treating data ethically means respecting the rights and interests of the data subjects, such as: •  Protecting their data from unauthorized access or inappropriate use •  Allowing them to inspect, update, or correct their data •  Obtaining their consent...

Business intelligence (BI) professionals use various tools to create data-driven solutions, such as data models, pipelines, visualizations, and dashboards. These solutions can provide valuable insights and help organizations make better decisions. But to do that effectively, they need to have data availability . Data availability refers to the degree or extent to which timely and relevant information is readily accessible and able to be put to use. However, there are many factors that can affect data availability and compromise the quality of BI solutions. In this post, we will discuss some of these challenges and how to overcome them. What are the Data Availability Challenges? Some of the most common data availability challenges are: •  Integrity •  Visibility •  Update frequency •  Change Let's look at each challenge in more detail. Integrity Data integrity involves the accuracy, completeness, consistency, and trustworthiness of data throughout its entire life cycl...

Data analytics is the process of transforming raw data into meaningful information. But to do that effectively, you need to contextualize your data. This means putting it into perspective by considering its origin, background, motivation, setting, and impact. Contextualization gives your data more meaning and helps you and your users understand it more completely. It also supports fairness and reduces bias when you want to gain useful insights from your data. In this post, we will explore how to contextualize data and dashboards in a business intelligence (BI) setting. We will also share some best practices and tips on how to create contextualized BI solutions that align with your business objectives and user needs. What is Context in BI? Context in BI is not only about the data itself, but also about the tools you create for your users to interact with the data. One key practice that promotes context is to put the data in a central location, such as a well-designed dashboard. A dashbo...

  In this post, you will learn how to ask effective questions as a data analyst using the SMART framework and fairness . You will also understand why stakeholder expectations are important for your work and see some examples of stakeholder needs in a project. •  Stakeholders are the people who have invested time, interest and resources in the projects you do as a data analyst. You need to understand their needs and communicate with them effectively. •  To ask effective questions , you need to follow the SMART framework , which means that the questions must be s pecific, measurable, action-oriented, relevant and time-bound. •  To ask specific questions , you need to focus on a single topic or a few related ideas. For example, instead of asking "Do children get enough physical activity today?", ask "What percentage of children achieve the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity at least three days a week?". •  To ask measurable questions , you need to be ...

Have you ever checked out an online store and added something to your cart, but then backed out of buying it? Maybe you were shopping for a new camera, a fitness tracker, or a gift for a loved one. But then you changed your mind because you found a better deal elsewhere, or you realized that you didn't really need it, or you got distracted by something else. When that happens, the online store has what's called an abandoned cart. According to e-commerce platform Shopify, online merchants lose 20 billion dollars a year in sales revenue because of cart abandonment. This is a huge challenge, but it's one that business intelligence professionals are very good at tackling. In this post, we'll show you exactly how they do that. How BI Professionals Use Data to Understand Customer Behavior BI professionals can use data to track where a customer came from, whether it was a Google search, an email link, or a social media post. Then they can visualize the journey the shopper took...

  Business intelligence (BI) is not just about building BI tools; it’s about making those tools accessible to users to empower them with the data they need to make decisions. As a BI professional, you need to master the art of communication to ensure that your stakeholders and project partners understand and use the BI systems you create. In this post, you will learn some key communication strategies and best practices that will help you in your BI career. You will also discover the importance of fairness and avoiding bias in BI, and how to promote ethical and inclusive data analysis. Make BI Accessible to Stakeholders Communication is a vital skill for any BI professional. You need to be able to simplify technical processes and present data insights in a clear and concise way to a variety of users who might not have the same level of knowledge or expertise as you. You also need to be able to ask the right questions, define project deliverables, and share business intelligence effe...

Software projects are complex initiatives that bring together different skills, perspectives, and responsibilities. A strong software project team is not just a group of developers; it is a balanced mix of business and technical roles that work together to deliver value, quality, and reliability. This post introduces some of the key roles in a software project team and explains how they contribute to the success of the project. Project Sponsor A project sponsor is a person who provides support and resources for a project and is accountable for enabling its success. The project sponsor is usually a senior manager or executive who has a stake in the project's outcome and can influence the organization's strategy and direction. The project sponsor's main responsibilities are: •  To define the project's vision, scope, objectives, and benefits •  To secure the necessary funding, resources, and approvals for the project •  To monitor the project's progress, risks, and iss...

Our world is constantly changing and evolving. Companies everywhere are racing to create the next big thing, while customers expect fast deliveries, smooth digital experiences, and services that “just work.” In this environment,  speed  has become one of the most valuable assets in business. Seeing an opportunity or a problem is important. But the real competitive advantage comes when you spot that opportunity  before  others do, or catch a problem  before  it becomes critical. Today, organizations collect more data than ever about markets, customers, competitors, operations, and employees. Data alone, however, is not enough. To make smarter decisions faster, businesses need something more:  Business Intelligence . What Is Business Intelligence (BI)? Business Intelligence (BI)  is the set of technologies, processes, and practices that transform raw data into meaningful, actionable insights for decision‑makers. Instead of leaving data scattered in ...