Q: What is a BIA Diagnostic, and what does it include, exactly?

Answer:

Implementing Business Intelligence processes at your organization can be a daunting exercise, with many risks that need to be managed to ensure the overall project is a success even before it starts.  For this reason we always recommend to carry out a BIA Diagnostic as the first step of a Business Intelligence Platform Implementation.

A BIA Diagnostic is a Business Intelligence Assessment that assesses and quantifies various aspects related to the existing and expected Resources, Systems & Processes of an organization as they relate to all of its Business Intelligence requirements, with the ultimate objective of enabling Easier, Better and Faster Budgeting, Analysis and Forecasting.  In certain circumstances a BIA Diagnostic may include an Implementation Road Map with Delivery Dates, BI Functionality and Expected Efficiencies.

In order to conduct a BIA Diagnostic, an onsite/web-enabled kick-off meeting will take place in order to explain to all main stakeholders the phases of this project.  Questionnaires and tasks will be assigned, and your organization's internal client resources will be responsible for gathering certain information according to the questionnaires and project framework we provide and customize to your needs.  Information to be gathered is generally "objective" in nature, ie. easy to understand, identify, measure and gather.  Interviews by our BI Consultant Staff will be planned with key stakeholders to gather additional "objective" and sometimes "subjective" or "tacit" information and expectations of the new BI Platform.   

On average, a BIA Diagnostic is a mini-project that includes 5-15 person-days from our Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) and/or Certified Management Consultants (CMCs) over the span of one or two calendar months, start to finish.

The final deliverable will include a detailed confidential report with all the findings, including an on-site or web-enabled live presentation to present the findings and allow for Q&A from stakeholders. 

 

Q: Why would I want a BIA Diagnostic?  What can I do with it?

Answer:

A BIA Diagnostic will help an organization objectively quantify the expected net improvement that a planned BI implementation will provide.  It will explicitly define details about what "Easier. Better. Faster." means to your organization.  This expected increase in internal efficiency will also provide the basis for an overall internal economic valuation that will be used to measure how much of an economic investment could be made by the Organization in the new/upgraded BI System to produce the expected efficiencies.  In other words, a neutral or positive ROI is expected as long as the BI implementation and maintenance costs are equal to or below the efficiencies and cost savings gained by the new BI system over the expected life span of the system.

Most importantly, the final actual BI system efficiencies can be objectively measured against the original expectations going into the BI project.  

With this in mind, your organization can reach out to various BI vendors, similar to an RFP process, and compare approaches, experience, expertise and total cost - which should include the initial implementation and the next 5 years of maintenance and support.  We also suggest that your organization contractually hold the BI Consultancy company (such as BIAPRO) and their internal BI team accountable to meeting the expected efficiency improvements included in the BIA Diagnostic, and thereby ensure that the future BI Project is a total success for all stakeholders.  

Overall, a BIA Diagnostic helps to:

  • identify and prioritize the different processes requiring BI support, resulting in a Road Map for enabling BI throughout the organization,
  • quantify several "before and after" operational and financial metrics of efficiencies expected of the BI Platform, and
  • establish the expected ROI of a BI Platform. 

With our BIA Diagnostic, your roadmap to get from your existing Management tools and processes to a fully integrated BI solution is one step closer.

 

Q: How do I request a BIA Diagnostic for my Organization?

Please contact us and ask for additional information regarding the "BIA Diagnostic", and we'll take it from there!