Business Intelligence: Why Data Projects Fail to Deliver Real-Life Impact (Part I: First Thoughts)

Business Intelligence Series

A data project has a set of assumptions and requirements that must be met, otherwise the project has a high chance of failing. It starts with a clear idea of the goals and objectives, and they need to be achievable and feasible, with the involvement of key stakeholders and the executive without which it’s impossible to change the organization’s data culture. Ideally, there should also be a business strategy, respectively a data strategy available to understand the driving forces and the broader requirements. 

An organization’s readiness is important not only in what concerns the data but also the things revolving around the data - processes, systems, decision-making, requirements management, project management, etc. One of the challenges is that the systems and processes available can’t be used as they are for answering important business questions, and many of such questions are quite basic, though unavailability or poor quality of data makes this challenging if not impossible. 

Thus, when starting a data project an organization must be ready to change some of its processes to address a project’s needs, and thus the project can become more expensive as changes need to be made to the systems. For many organizations the best time to have done this was when they implemented the system, respectively the integration(s) between systems. Any changes made after that come in theory with higher costs derived from systems and processes’ redesign.

Many projects start big and data projects are no exception to this. Some of them build a costly infrastructure without first analyzing the feasibility of the investment, or at least whether the data can form a basis for answering the targeted questions. On one side one can torture any dataset and some knowledge will be obtained from it (aka data will confess), though few datasets can produce valuable insights, and this is where probably many data projects oversell their potential. Conversely, some initiatives are worth pursuing even only for the sake of the exposure and experience the employees get. However, trying to build something big only through the perspective of one project can easily become a disaster. 

When building a data infrastructure, the project needs to be an initiative given the transformative potential such an endeavor can have for the organization, and the different aspects must be managed accordingly. It starts with the management of stakeholders’ expectations, with building a data strategy, respectively with addressing the opportunities and risks associated with the broader context.

Organizations recognize that they aren’t capable of planning and executing such a project or initiative, and they search for a partner to lead the way. Becoming overnight such a partner is more than a challenge as a good understanding of the industry and the business is needed. Some service providers have such knowledge, at least in theory, though the leap from knowledge to results can prove to be a challenge even for experienced service providers. 

Many projects follow the pattern: the service provider comes, analyzes the requirements, builds something wonderful, the solution is used for some time and then the business realizes that the result is not what was intended. The causes are multiple and usually form a complex network of causality, though probably the most important aspect is that customers don’t have the in-house technical resources to evaluate the feasibility of requirements, solutions, respectively of the results. Even if organizations involve the best key users, are needed also good data professionals or similar resources who can become the bond between the business and the services provider. Without such an intermediary the disconnect between the business and the service provider can grow with all the implications. 

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ERP Implementations: It’s all about Partnership II

When starting an ERP implementation project an organization needs to fill the existing knowledge gaps in respect to whatever it takes to achieve the goals associated with the respective project. Therefore, it makes sense to work with a implementer that can help cover the gaps directly or indirectly. Moreover, it makes sense to establish a long-term relationship that would allow to harness ERP system’s capabilities after project’s end, increase the ROI and, why not, find other areas of cooperation. It’s in theory what a partner does, and a strategic technology partnership is about – providing any kind of technological expertise the customer doesn't have in-house. 

Unfortunately, from being a ‘service provider’ to becoming a ‘partner’ is a challenging road for many organizations, especially when this type of relationship is not understood and managed accordingly. Partnership’s management may resume in defining common goals, principles, values and processes, establishing a communication strategy and a common understanding of the challenges and the steps ahead, providing visibility into the cost estimates, billing, resources’ availability and utilization. Addressing these aspects would offer a framework on which the partnerships can nourish. Without considering these topics, the implementer remains just a 'service provider', no matter of the names used to characterize the relationship. 

Now, the use of the word ‘partner’ would make someone think that only one partner is considered, typically a big to middle-sized organization that would have this kind of resources. The main reason behind this reasoning is that the number of functional areas and volume of skillset required for filling the requirements of an implementation are high compared with other projects, the resources needing to be available on-demand without affecting the other constraints: costs, quality, time. This can be challenging, therefore can be met scenarios in which two or more external organizations are involved in the partnership, ideally organizations that complement each other. 

It is common in ERP implementations to appeal also to individual consultants for specific areas or the whole project. The principles and values of a partnership, as well the framework behind, can be applied to individual consultants as well. Independently of resources’ provenience more important is the partnership ‘mindset’ - being together in the same boat, working together on a shared and understood strategy, with clear goals and objectives.

Moreover, the people participating in the project must have a ‘partner's mindset’ as well. Without this, the project will likely get different impulses in the wrong direction(s), as a group’s interests will take priority over the ones of the organization. Ideally, this mindset should extend to the whole organization as topics like Data Quality and Process Improvement must be an organization’s effort, deep imprinted in organization’s culture.

More like ever, it’s important for the business to see and treat the IT department as a ‘partner’ and not as a ‘service provider’ by providing the needed level of transparency in requirements, issues, practices and processes, by treating the IT department as equal party in the decision-making and addressing its current and future strategical requirements. Ideally, this partnership should happen long before the implementation starts, given that it takes time for mentalities and practices to change, for knowledge to be acquired and used appropriately. 

Building a partnership takes time, effort and strategic thinking, this on top of the actual implementation, increasing thus the overall complexity, at least at the beginning. Does it pay off? Like in a marriage, it’s useful to have somebody you can trust, who knows you, whom you can rely upon, and talk with to find solutions. However, only time will tell whether such expectations are met and kept till the end. 

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