When people first get a hold of Business Discovery they are ravenous! They chew through data and gnaw on any juicy bits they can find. You’d be crazy to put your arm in front of that feeding frenzy and stay “Stop, you’re putting the wrong data together! You can’t make decisions on data you don’t have! That chart looks like candy but it’s meaningless!”
The mania of self-service will die down, but then the self-service becomes a burden. After I have found the report I need, how do I get back to it quickly without rebuilding? How do I share it with others? How do we as a company make it authoritative? This is the maturing process for Business Discovery in your organization.
This is the challenge when rolling out self-service tools with the best of intentions. Balance is needed between self-service and structured reporting.
By rolling out some clearly defined, authoritative reports, we give people markers and guides. People need to compare their numbers to a trusted source. They need a reference for how each metric is correctly calculated. By establishing processes for making reports authoritative, you keep the best of what users produce without getting in the way of creativity.
To achieve these goals, Business Discovery tools need to handle both assembled analysis and ad-hoc discovery. Finding the right blend is a challenge that depends on who is using the tool, what they need, and what they might find.
With our extensive experience we can develop a solution that feeds everyone in your organization.
Contact us now for more information and for a free consultation.
