BI Project Scenario

 

Scenario Review the following scenario. Then complete the step-by-step instructions. You are a BI analyst for a grocery store chain that monitors dietary trends affecting in-store purchases. Your company wants you to examine which types of Hass avocados are purchased most often. The avocados are categorized as one of four sizes: small, medium, large, and extra large. In addition to the average price and total volume of each avocado, the date of each sale is also recorded. Using this data, you will create a historical table that illustrates how indexes and partitions work. This will allow you to practice creating partitions and clustered tables and demonstrate how to use them. Your goal is to use partitions and clusters to answer the following question: What is the distribution of avocado sales from 2015 to 2021?

To begin, create a new table without a partition or cluster. This will serve as a baseline to compare to the partitioned and clustered tables. Name it avocados.

Then, in the Editor tab, copy and paste the following SQL code and click Run. 

this is the result:

Next, create a table partitioned by an integer range (the years 2015 through 2022). Name it avocados_partitioned.

Return to the tab you entered the SQL code into. Delete that code then copy and paste the following SQL code. Click Run.

this is the result:

Next, create a table partitioned by an integer range and clustered by type. Name it avocados_clustered.

Return to the tab where you entered the SQL code. Delete that code, then copy and paste the following SQL code. Click Run.

Query the tables and compare performance

Query the Table without a partition or cluster

Query the partitioned Table

Query the partitioned and clustered Table

How Experiential Learning Can Help You Develop Transferable Skills

Experiential learning is a form of education that involves learning by doing. It is based on the idea that people learn best when they are actively engaged in a meaningful task that reflects real-world situations and challenges. Experiential learning can take many forms, such as internships, projects, simulations, games, field trips, service-learning, and more.

One of the benefits of experiential learning is that it can help you develop transferable skills. These are skills that can be applied from one job to another, regardless of the industry or sector. Transferable skills are highly valued by employers because they demonstrate your ability to adapt, learn, and solve problems in different contexts.

Some examples of transferable skills are:

•  Communication: The ability to express yourself clearly and effectively in oral and written forms, as well as listen and respond to others.

•  Collaboration: The ability to work well with others, respect diverse perspectives, and contribute to a common goal.

•  Creativity: The ability to generate new and original ideas, solutions, or products.

•  Critical thinking: The ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from various sources and perspectives.

•  Data literacy: The ability to understand, interpret, and use data to make informed decisions.

•  Digital literacy: The ability to use technology tools and platforms to access, create, and share information.

•  Leadership: The ability to inspire, motivate, and influence others to achieve a shared vision or objective.

•  Project management: The ability to plan, organize, execute, monitor, and evaluate a project from start to finish.

•  Self-management: The ability to manage your own time, energy, emotions, and goals.

How can experiential learning help you develop these skills? By providing you with opportunities to:

•  Apply your theoretical knowledge to practical situations

•  Experiment with different approaches and methods

•  Reflect on your actions and outcomes

•  Receive feedback from peers, mentors, or experts

•  Learn from your successes and failures

•  Transfer your learning to new contexts or challenges

To make the most of experiential learning, you need to be intentional about your goals, actions, and reflections. You also need to document your learning process and outcomes in a portfolio. A portfolio is a collection of materials that can showcase your skills, achievements, and growth to potential employers. It can include:

•  Terms and their definitions from previous modules

•  Deliverables such as reports, presentations, prototypes, or artifacts

•  Evidence of feedback such as comments, ratings, or testimonials

•  Reflections on your learning such as journals, blogs, or videos

•  Metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure your impact or progress

A portfolio can help you demonstrate your transferable skills in a concrete and compelling way. It can also help you avoid vanity metrics that are not indicative of your actual performance or value. For example, instead of stating how many followers you have on social media, you can show how you increased engagement or conversions through your content strategy.

Experiential learning is a powerful way to learn new skills and improve existing ones. It can also help you develop transferable skills that can make you more employable and adaptable in the changing world of work. By engaging in experiential learning activities and creating a portfolio of your work, you can showcase your potential and stand out from the crowd

How to Create a Stakeholder Requirements Document and a Project Requirements Document for a Business Intelligence Project

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, and risks. It helps you to communicate your project plan to your client and stakeholders, and to guide your development process.

To create these documents, you need to follow these steps:

1. 

Conduct a stakeholder analysis. A stakeholder analysis is a process of identifying and prioritizing the people or groups who have an interest or influence in your project. You need to understand who they are, what they want, what they can offer, and how they can affect your project. You can use tools such as stakeholder maps or matrices to visualize and categorize your stakeholders.

2. 

Conduct a requirements elicitation. A requirements elicitation is a process of gathering information from your client and stakeholders about their needs, expectations, preferences, and constraints. You need to ask open-ended questions, listen actively, and confirm your understanding. You can use tools such as interviews, surveys, workshops, or observation to collect data.

3. 

Create a Stakeholder Requirements Document. A Stakeholder Requirements Document is a document that summarizes the information you collected from your client and stakeholders. It should include the following sections:

•  Business problem: A clear statement of the problem that your client wants to solve with your BI solution.

•  Business goals: A list of measurable and specific goals that your client wants to achieve with your BI solution.

•  Data sources: A description of the data that your client has available or needs to acquire for your BI solution.

•  Data quality: An assessment of the quality, reliability, and completeness of the data that your client has or needs.

•  Constraints: A list of limitations or challenges that your client faces or anticipates for your BI solution, such as budget, time, resources, or regulations.

•  Stakeholders: A list of the key stakeholders involved in or affected by your BI project, along with their roles, responsibilities, interests, expectations, and communication preferences.

•  Questions: A list of questions that you need to answer or clarify with your client or stakeholders before proceeding with your BI project.

1. 

Create a Project Requirements Document. A Project Requirements Document is a document that outlines the details of your BI project. It should include the following sections:

•  Purpose: A brief statement of the purpose of your BI project and how it aligns with the business problem and goals.

•  Audience: A description of the intended users or beneficiaries of your BI solution, along with their characteristics, needs, preferences, and feedback.

•  Features: A list of the key features and functionalities that your BI solution should provide, such as data integration, data transformation, data analysis, data visualization, data security, or data governance.

•  Dependencies: A list of the external factors or conditions that your BI project depends on or affects, such as data availability, data quality, data access, data policies, or other systems or projects.

•  Success criteria: A list of measurable and specific criteria that define the success of your BI project and how it will be evaluated.

•  Risks: A list of potential threats or uncertainties that could jeopardize or delay your BI project and how they will be mitigated or managed.

2. 

Plan your approach. Based on the information you gathered and documented in the previous steps, you need to plan your approach to developing and delivering your BI solution. You need to consider aspects such as:

•  Methodology: The process or framework that you will follow to execute your BI project, such as agile, waterfall, or hybrid.

•  Tools: The software or hardware that you will use to develop and deploy your BI solution, such as SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Power BI Desktop (PBID), Power BI Service (PBIS), or Power BI Mobile (PBIM).

•  Timeline: The schedule or timeline that you will follow to complete your BI project, including milestones, deliverables, and deadlines.

•  Resources: The human or material resources that you will need or allocate for your BI project, such as team members, roles, skills, tasks, responsibilities, budget, or equipment.

•  Communication: The methods or channels that you will use to communicate with your client and stakeholders throughout your BI project, such as email, phone, chat, meetings, reports, or dashboards.

By creating a Stakeholder Requirements Document and a Project Requirements Document, you can ensure that you understand the needs and expectations of your client and stakeholders, and that you plan your BI project accordingly. This will enable you to develop an effective and efficient BI solution that solves the business problem and achieves the business goals.

How a Portfolio of Projects Can Boost Your Career as a Business Intelligence Professional

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 your creativity and passion for BI.

•  It can help you improve your skills and learn new ones. A portfolio of projects can be a great way to practice your BI skills and challenge yourself with new and interesting problems. It can also help you learn from your mistakes and feedback, as well as from other BI professionals who share their portfolios online. You can also use your portfolio of projects to experiment with new tools and technologies, and stay updated with the latest trends and best practices in BI.

•  It can help you build your reputation and network. A portfolio of projects can be a powerful tool to showcase your work to the world and attract attention from other BI professionals, influencers, media outlets or potential collaborators. It can also help you connect with other like-minded people who share your interests and goals, and expand your network and opportunities.

Creating a portfolio of projects is not difficult. You just need to follow some simple steps:

•  Choose projects that are relevant to your target audience. Think about who you want to impress or work with, and what kind of problems they face or solutions they need. Choose projects that align with their needs and interests, and that demonstrate how you can add value to them.

•  Choose projects that showcase a variety of skills and tools. Don't limit yourself to one type of project or one tool. Show that you are versatile and adaptable, and that you can use different methods and technologies to solve different BI problems. For example, you can include projects that use SQL, Python, R, Power BI, Tableau, Excel or any other tool that you are proficient in.

•  Choose projects that have clear goals and outcomes. Make sure that your projects have a clear purpose and objective, and that they show the impact of your work. For example, you can include projects that have improved business performance, increased customer satisfaction, reduced costs or risks, or generated new insights or opportunities.

•  Choose projects that are well-documented and presented. Make sure that your projects are easy to understand and follow, and that they have a clear structure and flow. Include documentation that explains the problem statement, the data sources, the methodology, the results and the conclusions. Use visual aids such as charts, graphs, tables or screenshots to make your projects more appealing and engaging.

•  Choose projects that are original and creative. Don't copy or plagiarize other people's work. Show that you have your own style and voice, and that you can come up with innovative and unique solutions to BI problems. You can also include projects that are fun or personal, such as analyzing your favorite movie or sport.

You can host your portfolio of projects online on platforms such as GitHub, Medium, WordPress, YouTube or LinkedIn. Choose the platform that suits your preferences and goals, and that allows you to showcase your work in the best possible way.

You can also promote your portfolio of projects online on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Quora, Stack Overflow or LinkedIn Groups. Share your portfolio with your friends, followers or communities, and join discussions related to your portfolio topics.

A portfolio of projects is a must-have for any BI professional who wants to advance their career and showcase their skills. It can help you land your dream job or project, improve your skills and learn new ones, build your reputation and network, and have fun with data.

So what are you waiting for? Start creating your portfolio of projects today!