A Menu of Topics

I have a couple of topics in the pipe line, which I would like to throw out there in summary. I am a big friend of interaction, feedback. Intelligence, after all, encompasses learning, and learning relies on feedback loops.

I appreciate any input on priorities, additional topics, scope, depth, relevance on what I have in mind so far for future articles in this series...

Why Scorecards without Discussion are useless

Numbers (quantitative data) without context (qualitative information) don't explain anything.

A good business leader will use scorecards to initiate conversation with business stake holders, inquire context, stimulate exchange on background and ideas to respond to realities. Reflexive response to numbers without context is NOT business intelligence.

Social Business Intelligence

Self-serve analysis tools integrating different users' interests, sharing the patterns with each other, surfacing correlations of interest and overlapping functions, increasing transparency and accountability. The dawn of B.I. Wikis.

The Power of Reflection

Reflexive behavior has its purposes. But it needs to balance out with deliberation, intentional delay in response, to consider. Just like any good diplomat knows, sometimes delaying action is a good response to a crisis, for example to avoid escalation, going down the wrong direction.

The non-functional requirements
The following aspects are a case in point that "Business Intelligence" is not mainly about technology, software, or databases, but starts with people.  A business, as we know it today, is still largely comprised of and driven by people, humans with individual personalities, preferences, and attitudes. Thus, it is important to recognize the non-functional pre-requisites necessary to support any Business Intelligence effort.

More on the LEGO principle and how to apply it to B.I. 

• Build complex solutions by combining the simple
• How do you keep control over the emerging complexity?
• Self managing parts emerge in responsibility for the whole

All these dependencies and assumptions 
Why the distinction between "structured" and "unstructured" data? 

Streaming Business Intelligence
No more "ETL"! The usage of data will have to be driven at demand-time, not design-time.

The historical strata of B.I. / Decision Support

At any given time we have to support and integrate that which we built in the past with that which we need today, and with that where we may go in the future.