There comes a time for every analyst, business intelligence engineer, or data engineer where your successes lead to more and more formal and ad hoc requests. It might not even be requests for work but simply your time to discuss ideas, challenges, and projects. The most important aspect of your work will now become managing priorities. Without a well established process, work will overcome just about anyone, leading to decreased performance or worse.
Now is the time to review or adopt an intake and prioritization process for your team or simply for yourself if you’re on your own. Below we’ll walk through designing a generic BI request intake process.
Designing a business intelligence (BI) request intake process involves creating a streamlined and structured approach for capturing and managing BI requests from stakeholders within an organization. Here’s a step-by-step guide to designing an effective BI request intake process:
- Define the Intake Form: Develop a standardized intake form that captures essential information about the BI request. This form should include fields such as the requester’s name, department, contact information, the purpose of the request, specific requirements, and any relevant deadlines.
- Identify Request Channels: Determine the channels through which stakeholders can submit BI requests. This could include email, an online submission form, a dedicated BI request portal, or a ticketing system. Ensure that the chosen channels are easily accessible and convenient for the users.
- Establish a Centralized Intake Point: Designate a centralized point for receiving and managing BI requests. This could be a dedicated team or an individual responsible for triaging and routing the requests to the appropriate parties.
- Implement a Prioritization Framework: Create a framework to prioritize BI requests based on their urgency, impact on business objectives, and alignment with the organization’s overall strategy. This framework will help in determining the order in which requests are addressed.
- Review and Validation Process: Set up a review process to assess the feasibility and validity of each BI request. This step involves evaluating the clarity of the requirements, the availability of data sources, and the potential value of the requested insights. It may require collaboration with stakeholders and subject matter experts to validate the requests.
- Assign Responsibility: Assign responsibility for each request to the appropriate team or individual who will be responsible for fulfilling it. Consider factors such as workload, expertise, and availability when assigning responsibilities.
- Communication and Feedback: Establish a communication plan to provide regular updates to the requesters on the status of their requests. Communicate timelines, progress, and any challenges or delays encountered. Also, encourage feedback from stakeholders to continuously improve the process.
- Track and Monitor: Implement a system or tool to track and monitor the progress of BI requests. This allows for easy monitoring of request status, identifies bottlenecks, and helps in resource allocation and capacity planning.
- Documentation and Knowledge Base: Maintain a comprehensive repository of completed BI requests, including the analysis, insights, and reports generated. This knowledge base can serve as a valuable resource for future reference and avoid redundant requests.
- Continuous Process Improvement: Regularly review and assess the BI request intake process to identify areas for improvement. Analyze feedback, measure key performance indicators, and refine the process to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and stakeholder satisfaction.
Remember, the specific details and steps may vary depending on the organization’s size, structure, and industry. Customizing the process to fit your organization’s needs is essential for a successful BI request intake process.
