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Business Intelligence

Practice

Agenda

• BI Overview

• BI Current State

• Agile BI – A new Methodology

• Agile BI – Case Study – Abercrombie & Fitch

• Questions

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Business Intelligence

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Don Jackson draws on more than 27 years experience in the

information systems industry to help businesses achieve

greater profitability and reduce the cost of Business

Intelligence within their IT departments.

His team consists of over 70 dedicated professionals with

years of BI experience and industry certifications.

We have successfully implemented large DW projects for

both public and private sector clients including:• A & F

• AEP

• Abbott Nutrition

• Cardinal Health

• Nationwide Bank

• Nationwide Financial

• Nationwide Insurance

• NetJets

• State of Ohio Agencies

• Worthington Industries

Business Intelligence

On-Shore

Business Intelligence at

Off-shore Prices

Agile BI Methodology

• Information Factory

• Agile BI Development

• Business Sponsor / IT Alignment using Consensus

Centers of Excellence (COE)

• Data Architecture

• Enterprise Data Integration

• Information Delivery/Presentation/Visualization

Industry and partner certifications

• IBM, Informatica, MicroStrategy, Microsoft, Netezza,

Oracle, SAP/Business Objects

• Gold level certification

• TDWI, DAMA (CBIP, CDMA industry-certified)4

Applying

Agile Principles to

Business Intelligence

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Agile Business Intelligence

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Lessons learned from the trenches

2009 Agile Projects

Abercrombie & Fitch

Abbott Nutrition

Cardinal Health

Nationwide Financial

NetJets

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A&F – Enterprise Data Warehouse – 6 months

•DataStage, Netezza, and OBIEE

Abbott Nutrition – Customer Profitability – 16 weeks

•Consensus, Informatica, Oracle, Cognos

Cardinal Health – MAPS – 12 weeks

•Consensus, SSIS, SqlServer, Performance Point

Nationwide Financial – 12 weeks

•Informatica, Teradata, MicroStrategy

NetJets – Enterprise Data Warehouse – 6 months

•Consensus, Business Objects, BODI, Oracle

BI Development

Inefficient and Expensive

Labor intensive: too much time spent gathering and

organizing data

Tools are not integrated: reporting and analysis are not

linked with the processes that ensure accuracy

Lack of consistency between monitoring, analysis, and

reporting due to poor data lineage

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Inefficient, labor intensive process without automation

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Analysis &

Reporting

Data Models

Data

Movement

& Quality

Source

Data

DeployTestBuildDesignAnalysisRequirements

Entity Relationship

Diagram

in ERWin

by Data Modeler

ETL Modules

in PowerCenter

by ETL Developer

Use Case

in Excel or Word

by Business Analyst

Manual rekeying?

Manual rekeying?

Business Object

Definition

in Excel or Word

by Solution Architect

Manual rekeying?

Cube

by OLAP Developer

Manual rekeying?

Tables

in SQL

by DBA

ETL Test Scripts

in Excel or

Quality Center

Manual rekeying?

Manual rekeying?

Reports

by Report Developer

In SQL

By DBA

User Documentation

by Business Analyst

ETL Documentation

In Word or Visio

Operations

Documentation

in Word

Manual rekeying?

Manual rekeying?

BI SDLC: Waterfall

1

Business Case

Assessment

2

Enterprise

Infrastructure

Evaluation

3

Project

Planning15

Implementation

16

Project

Evaluation

8

Database

Design

12

Application

Development

11

ETL

Development

13

Data Mining

10

Metadata

Repository

Design

14

Metadata

Repository

Development

9

ETL Design

Justification Initiate

5

Data Analysis

4

Project

Requirements

Definition

6

Application

Prototyping

7

Metadata

Repository

Analysis

Solution Scoping Design Develop/Test

Implement

Proceed

Gate

Define

Gate

Commit

Gate

Accept

Gate

Close

Gate

Begin

Gate

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Time to Value:

1 – 2 Years

Status Quovs. Agile

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Manual, Paper Based, Slow, Error

Prone

Automated, Online, Reusable, Accessible,

Governed

Agile Overview

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Will adopting an Agile Methodology solve our issues?

The Agile Manifesto

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

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Scrum Methodology Scrum is based on a "Sprint," which is “typically” a 30-

day period focused on a specific deliverable.

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1. Product backlog is

determined

2. Backlog is prioritized

3. 30 day sprint is

commenced

4. Daily standup

meetings are directed

by the Scrum Master

5. Product is delivered

Key Agile Principles!

The Fundamentals

To achieve breakthrough performance and cost savings would require a development process with the following:

Mandatory Characteristics of Methodology:

As business and IT friendly as possible

As lean as possible

As repeatable as possible

With the highest quality possible

At the lowest cost possible

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Agile Alignment

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Information

Process

Technology

Users and Tools

Stewardship

How does ICC’s methods identify the right metrics

for senior management?

How does ICC’s methods capture business rules,

calculations and measures? Why is it faster?

How can you incorporate our current technology

platform into an Enterprise Data Warehouse?

How does the Agile process address divergent

user needs for analysis and reports?

How does the Agile process ensure data accuracy

and integrity?

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Finance

• Income Statement

• Drill-down Variance

• Operational Plan Variance

• Cash Flow/Working Capital

• Balance Sheet

• CapEx/Strategic Investments

• Treasury

Marketing

• Market Opportunities

• Competitive Positioning

• Product Life Cycle Management

• Pricing

• Demand Generation

Sales

• Sales Results

• Customer/Product Profitability

• Sales Tactics

• Sales Pipeline

• Sales Plan Variance

Customer Service

• On-Time Delivery

• Information, Complaint, and Claims

• Service Benchmarks

• Service Value

Product Development

• Product & Portfolio Innovation

• Product Development Milestones

• Market & Customer Feedback

Operations

• Purchasing and Procurement

• Production and Capacity

• Inventory Management

• Distribution and Logistics

• Cost & Quality Management

• Process Efficiency

Human Resources

• Organization and Staffing

• Compensation

• Talent and Succession

• Training and Development

• Benefits

Information Technology

• Business Value Map

• IT Portfolio Management

• Project/SDLC Management

• IT Vendor Management

• IT Compliance Management

Executive Management

• Financial Performance • Risk Management • Compliance Management

CommonBusiness Functions

Shared Data – Conformed Dimensions

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Capital

Expenditure

Planning

Expense

Planning and

Control

Headcount and

Compensation

Planning

Sales Planning

and Forecasting

Financial Summary

Balance Sheet

Income Statement

Cash Flow

Strategic Financial Planning & Forecasting

Finance

Sales

HR

Operations

Hea

dco

un

t E

xp

en

se

sR

eve

nu

e P

lan

Ma

rke

t D

em

an

d

Cap

ita

l Exp

en

ditu

res

Depreciation

Expense

Operating Expense

Financial Process Flow

Operations

Re-thinkEverything!

Change the way we:

Capture and document requirements

Estimate and manage work

Design the architecture and build models

Develop and test ETL code

Implement data stewardship

Deploy BI Systems

Build Enterprise Data Warehouse Systems

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People

Process

Platform

Business and Technical Value Chains

A framework to organize

Agile BI processes

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Value Chains

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Value Chain Deconstruction

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Analysis & Reporting The Business Value Chain

• “Objective Modeling” is used to break down (analyze) and align broadly stated objectives (epics) into a hierarchy of manageable, easily understood questions and ideas (stories).

• Stories are shared with Data Architecture and Data Integration and linked to the Business Value Chain to provide continuous focus on delivering Business Value.

These stories go through a five-step process to transform them into elements of a meaningful dimensional model (synthesis)

1. Business Questions Business Terms

2. Business Terms + Dimensional Functions (topic, category,

measure)

3. Dimensional Functions are assembled into Multi-dimensional

Information Packages

4. Queries & Dashboards are created from the Info Packages

5. Queries & Dashboards are reviewed to confirm they answer

the target business questions

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DataArchitecture

The Technical Value Chain

After receiving the business terms from the business value chain, initial requirements and data architecture are determined.

Major deliverables include:

Initial Architecture Modeling (review existing models)

Conceptual Data Models,

Logical Data Models,

Physical Data Models,

Data Model Patterns and

Reference Models (per release cycle)

Coordination with enterprise architecture group is essential

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Data Integration

The Technical Value Chain

• The business and architecture value chains are used as inputs to create the data integration stories.

• These stories are used to identify target-to-source data

mappings and identify the elements that will comprise

the ETL rules for each sprint cycle.

Major deliverables include:

• Data Quality Profiles

• Target to Source Maps

• ETL Process Flows

• ETL Reference Patterns

• ETL Test Scripts

• ETL Code

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Scrum Story Cards

Horizontal vs. Vertical Slice

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Account Payable

(Mainframe)

Account

Receivable

(Mainframe)

Flat File

Flat File

Account Payable

Staging Area

(Oracle DB)

Account

Receivable

Staging Area

(Oracle DB)

SOURCEPSA

(Staging Database)

Mickey

(Lotus Notes DB)

Flat File Mickey Staging

Area

(Oracle DB)

TIPS

(Lotus Notes DB)

Excel / Flat File TIPS

Staging Area

(Oracle DB)

Account Payable

Datamart

(Oracle DB)

Account

Receivable

Datamart

(Oracle DB)

TARGET

(Datamarts)

Freight Payments

Datamart

(Oracle DB)

Sales Activity

Datamart

(Oracle DB)

Financial

Adjustment

Datamart

(Oracle DB)

Profitibility

Datamart

(Oracle DB)

Cognos Frame

Work Model

P&L Reporting

PackageP&L Report

P&L Ad Hoc

Queries

Profitibility Process Flow – Logical View

COGNOS

CONSENSUS

Customer

Profitability:

Reuse Example

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1. AR Business Terms

2. AR Modeling Objects

3. AR Info Packages

4. AR Source to PSA Code/Audit

5. AR Source to PSA Code Tables

6. AR PSA to EDW

7. AR EDW to AR DM Code/Audit

8. AR EDW to AR DM Codes Tables

9. AR Data Mart

10.AR Cognos Framework

1. Reset Audit Table (21)

2. Load Audit Table (21)

3. Reset PSA Table (4)

4. Load PSA Table (4)

5. Verify AR Table (6)

6. Verify AP Load (1)

7. Verify Load (13)

8. Load Staging Table (11)

9. Load Dim Table (3)

10.Final Load (9)

Value Chain ETL Patterns

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Case Studies

Sprint Cycles

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In a perfect world – 2 week Sprint cycles

In the real world – Velocity and business requirements

determine length of Sprint cycles

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A&F - Retail Merchandising System

November 10,

2009

A&F ETL IF Project

Abercrombie & Fitch ETL Information Factory Project:

• ETL transformations using IBM DataStage version 8

• Multiple sources systems, ranging from Oracle RMS, PeopleSoft,

and DB/2. Abercrombie team populates into Staging database.

• ICC Information Factory development to transform Staging to

Netezza Data Warehouse foundation target.

• Around 300 ETL jobs delivered during the six month project.

• Sprint activities include: Mapping, Design Specifications,

Development, Code Reviews, and QA Testing.

A&F Product Backlog Subject Areas

Maturity and Velocity

Quality

Speed

People

Platform

Process

0Current State

1Defined

2Architected

3Implemented

4Integrated

5Optimized

Combined

Velocity

Efficiency Gains

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0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Sprint 2 Sprint 3 Sprint 4

2.31

3.00

3.82

ETL Jobs per Day

Jobs per Day

Productivity increased by 66% from

Sprint 2 to Sprint 4

0%

30%

66%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Sprint 2 Sprint 3 Sprint 4

Efficiency

Efficiency

Cost per Sprint

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$-

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

$350,000

Sprint 2 Sprint 3 Sprint 4

$339,960

$279,360 $259,560

Cost per Sprint

Sprint 1 – Training and Setup

Three week Sprint 1 for training and prep:

• Information Factory members trained and educated on IBM DataStage and Netezza.

• Senior team members installed IBM DataStage environment and laptop configurations.

• Analysis & Design team members created Design Specifications and QA Test Plan documentation.

• Aggressive December timeline in order to start Development in Sprint 2. Team was flexible with their schedules.

• Helpful task: Performed team building exercises to establish group dynamics.

Sprint 2 – Three ETL Subject Areas

Five week Sprint 2 on three subject areas:

• Large hierarchy subject areas where our „preparation and setup‟ from Sprint 1 was put to the test.

• Helpful tool: Daily Scrum meeting to communicate and discuss tasks at hand.

• Helpful rule: If the source was not defined by the deadline, the ETL job was pushed into the next Sprint backlog.

• Helpful task: Unit Testing, Code Review, and plenty of QA testing to prevent defects and rework.

• Helpful communication: Mercury Interactive Quality Center to track and log defects.

Sprint 3 – Four ETL Subject Areas

Six week Sprint 3 with Reusable Code:

• Efficiencies kicked-in with consolidated A&F QA process, utilized previously developed reusable code, and split team into two „pods‟.

• Helpful activity: Added Design Review with A&F internal team to prevent downstream QA bugs.

• Helpful task: Coding re-use of existing jobs, shared containers, documentation, and standards.

• Helpful environment change: Migrated from Windows to LINUX platform to speed up development without server lockups.

• Helpful team knowledge: Project experience allowed Sprint to be completed early.

Sprint 4 – Transactional Data in Subject Areas

Six week Sprint 4 to transform large data volume:

• Large data volume in Sprint required team to monitor

performance and speed within the ETL jobs.

• Overcame hurdles with unexpected source design changes via a

flexible SOW schedule.

• Final game-plan established for a strong finish to deliver by the

end of May.

Share a strong sense of purpose with a commitment to

performance objectives:

• Experienced Project Managers, Architects, and Sr. Developers

were responsible for ensuring successful project delivery.

• Junior developers completed the ICC Apprentice Program and

ETL training to become highly skilled ETL developers.

• Created “project specific library” of reusable components.

• Test-driven development reduces defect rework which saves time

and money.

• Continuous visibility of progress and work product review.

Unique and Successful

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Summary

Process

Agile Business

Intelligence

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Program Management

• Business Justification, Financial Management, Portfolio Management

Scrum Management

• Release Planning, Sprint Planning, Sprint Execution

Business Modeling

• Business Questions, Business Terms, Business Objectives, Business Stories

Solution Prototyping

• Topics, Categories, Measures, Information Packages

Value Chain Deconstruction

•Business Analytics, Data Integration, Data Architecture

Test-Driven Development

•Business Value validation, Technical Value Test Scripts, Automated &

Continuous Integration/Regression Testing, Business-led Acceptance Testing,

Production & Operation Support

•Training & Deployment, Service Level Agreements, Operations Support &

Maintenance

Agile Alignment

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Information

Process

Technology

Users and Tools

Stewardship

We quickly capture the right metrics and analysis

requirements for each user group

Our process provides dynamic business rule and

data classifications, that are reusable

We are certified in all major technologies and can

assist enterprise architecture to ensure scalability

and flexibility

We are experts in delivering real value in terms of

analytics, dashboard and detailed drill down

reporting to all user audiences

Our process implements stewardship from the

start and ensures data accuracy and integrity

ICCAgile BI

A Game Changer

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•We have applied Agile principles to address the

current inefficiencies in BI development

•We have created an integrated process that

automates many of the coding activities

•We have connected the Business value with the

Technical value so all parties understand their

dependent relationship

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There is no method or process “silver bullet”

Methodologies continue to evolve and agile

philosophies are a key component.

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IT organizations need to find the balance

between formality and agility.

Adequate planning is a mix of long-term

strategy and short-term execution.

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Economic risk can be reduced by

implementing Sprint cycles.

At its core, Scrum is about people and

deliverable-based project management.

Your Questions?

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