TOPIC: Business Intelligence Dashboards

Background

Read Pearson Chapter 2 –

Descriptive Analytics – Nature of Data, Statistical Modeling and Visualization

Business intelligence is not just a set of tools to analyze raw data to help make strategic and operational decisions. It is a framework that offers guidance in understanding what to look for in the volumes of disparate data. As a framework, BI is a continuous cycle of analysis, insight, action and measurement.

Analyzing a business is based on what we know and feel to be important while filtering out the aspects of the business not considered mission critical or detrimental to the growth of the organization. Deciding what is important is based on our understanding and assumptions of what is important to customers, supplies, competitors and employees. All of this knowledge is unique to a business and is an incredible resource when formulating a BI strategy. However, having such granular grassroots knowledge of the business can subconsciously limit the ability to see patterns obvious to others. One of the benefits of BI reporting is performing ad hoc reporting by drilling down layers of data and pivoting on the rows and columns. Such flexibility opens the human inquisitive nature to ask more questions that wouldn’t necessarily be asked if such access to data wasn’t available. Effective analysis helps to understand the business better so to challenge conventional wisdom and assumptions as well as determining that which is the right analysis.

Discussion Topic #1:

Designing the Business Intelligence Dashboard for the Purpose

Discuss how Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards are being designed to present as much or as little information as required in any number of presentations from data visualizations to straight tables and pivot tables?

Also consider whether we should group dashboards and when we should and should not group these dashboards of information? Support your ideas with examples.