Are You Ready for WebFOCUS BI Dashboard?

If you are considering building a BI Dashboard using the WebFOCUS software product from Information Builders, hold on just a minute. Before you jump in, here is a checklist for your review.

The BI Foundation
First, you must ensure you have established the right BI Foundation consisting of:

If you are considering building a BI Dashboard using the WebFOCUS software product from Information Builders, hold on just a minute. Before you jump in, here is a checklist for your review.

The BI Foundation
First, you must ensure you have established the right BI Foundation consisting of:

Business Intelligence Team (the right People)
Business Intelligence Standards (the right Policies and Procedures)
Business Intelligence Infrastructure (the right Technology and Data)

Start at the top (people) and work your way down (tools). Too many companies start first with the BI technology and expect to be successful. They buy a box of software and just hand it to the college intern.

Imagine that you have a home improvement project, so you purchase a hammer, nails, and wood. The outcome of a project using those tools will be very different depending to whom you give that material: a twelve-year old child or a twelve-year carpentry expert. Even if you select an expert carpenter to do the work, if you provide no guidance as to what to build your end result will just be a surprise.

When I list those three critical layers, I am making a big assumption. I am guessing that your organization understands the value of Business Intelligence software, has a strategic reason for implementing it, and has the organizational maturity to pull it off successfully. Some organizations are excited about the idea but do not have the capability to create or support a BI infrastructure.

Your Organizational Readiness
To evaluate your readiness, consider the following checklist:

Strategic understanding
Executive sponsorship
Budget approved
Technology implemented
Key metrics formally identified and calculations codified
Common business language codified (e.g., “profit” means the same to everybody)
Data available
Resources available (people, environment, etc.)

The BI Dashboard Layers
At a very high level, a BI Dashboard consists of three main layers:

Operational Systems
Reporting Repository
User Presentation

The critical data is being maintained in your secure operational systems. These are the transactional details that drive your organization. You rarely use BI tools directly against this raw data. Instead, you need to extract the information, transform it for reporting, and load it into the Reporting Repository. For details on why this is so important, see my earlier blog posting.

Your Reporting Repository should be designed for quality, speed, and historical trending. In addition to your reporting data, you need to consider Master Data Management.

Your Human Resources

Let’s face it. It’s all about the people on the team. If you have the wrong people, your BI initiative will never be successful. Here are the people you need to identify to make the project run smoothly:

Executive sponsor
Project leader
Application and BI subject matter experts
DBA, network administrator, WebFOCUS administrator, security expert
WebFOCUS application developers

Do you wonder what a great WebFOCUS application developer looks like? See my earlier blog posting.

BI Initiative Expectations

Before beginning the BI Dashboard, make sure important expectations have been set:

Time and cost expectations
Functionality expectations (features, user presentation types)
Ease of use of the BI application
Ease of application development
Deadlines (firm/drop-dead or flexible/nice-to-have?)
Versioned release schedule

BI Initiative Logistics

This is an important application development project and you don’t want to forget to handle the basic logistics:

Workspaces
Security (network userids, door cards, VPN/Citrix keys, etc.)
Location (address, contact, security procedures)
Working hours
Policies on working remotely

BI Architecture

OK, you have the right people involved and you set the right expectations. What about your technical architecture?

Platforms
Complementary technologies (e.g., ETL)
WebFOCUS release
WebFOCUS images (Development, Test, Production QA, Production, Disaster Recovery)
Automated backup routines
Web tier (web server, Java app server)
Load balancing, fail-over
Security methods (e,g., Active Directory, SiteMinder, MRE, etc.)
Databases
Data access methods (metadata, tables/views, stored procedures, SQL pass-through)
Automated information delivery (Distribution Server and ReportCaster)

WebFOCUS Licensed Software
Consider the different WebFOCUS licenses that you might need for the project, both server and client:

On-demand access through the web browser (“pull,” WebFOCUS Report Servers)
MRE licenses
Automated Information Delivery (“push,” Distribution Server, ReportCaster, Report Library)
Deferred execution
Developer Studio copies
Adapters (data, application, web services, etc.)
Add-ons (Magnify, InfoAssist, Active Reports, R Stat, ESRI, etc.)

BI Application Development Topics

Do not be mistaken: this is a software application development project. Regardless of what you heard about point-and-click GUI Business Intelligence, do not be naive. You need to run a BI project just like you would any other software application development initiative.

Methodology (e.g., none, waterfall, RUP, agile, etc.)
Versioned release schedule (phased rollout)
Source code management (e.g., none, Subversion, etc.)
Quality assurance (e.g., none, Mercury, Bugzilla, etc.)
Requirements definition (e.g., use cases, mockups)
Status meetings, conference calls, reporting
Promotion schedules
Naming standards (libraries, programs, etc.)
Server backup/recovery procedures

Common Dashboard Components

Common components to consider for a WebFOCUS BI Dashboard include:

BI Dashboard
Banner images
Tab Breakouts
Common tab for dashboard release information and alerts
Common alert subsystem

HTML Launch Pages

Typically, each WebFOCUS has its own launch page, where the user can provide parameter values (“filters”) for highly dynamic reports. Components to consider include:

Filters
Static parameter definition
Dynamic parameter population routines and MDM data
Cascading stylesheets
Common JavaScript routines (cookie processing, launch WebFOCUS, edit validations, date logic, toggle logic to “hide” and “show” filters)

WebFOCUS Reports
Of course, with a BI Dashboard you want to display dynamic reports. Consider the following common elements for which you want reusable widgets to reduce the time and cost of the project:

Hierarchy drill-down logic
Standard headings
Standard footings (parameter descriptions)
Export to PDF and Excel
Security (user entitlement rules)
Alerts and Messages
Back navigation
Standard stylesheet
Common No-Data logic
Common Error logic
Common Documentation block
Dynamic legends
Common browser window target logic

Common Reporting Development Topics

Before you build those reports, remember some basics:

Establish color schemes, logos, fonts, reporting standards before developing
Display descriptions, not codes (pass codes for WHERE selections)
Use consistent formatting, look and feel
Recommend visualization (peer graphics, stoplights, images)
Use different formatting for online viewing (HTML), printing (PDF), and analysis (Excel)
Should you use Active Reports?
Are there plans for mobile BI or a universal front-end?
Is there a desire for sizzle (maps, Flash/Flex, etc.) or practical functionality?

Data Topics
If you do not have the proper data in place, then building reports is difficult (or a waste of time and money). For the Reporting Repository, you need to consider the following:

Reporting Repository population routines (initial load and ongoing incremental loads)
Master Data Management creation, load, and maintenance
Scheduled batch jobs

Anything Else?

Wow, that is quite a list! Imagine jumping into a BI Dashboard application development project without even considering these topics–that would be costly, painful, and embarrassing. Yet some people do it.

I hope this checklist provides you with an intelligent approach for your WebFOCUS BI Dashboard initiative and enables you to be successful.

If I can be of service, just let me know.