Building From the Bottom UpMost end users just need reports, not sophisticated analytics. So why are many companies ignoring this fact?In some corporations, as many as 90 percent of business intelligence (BI) software users need static or parameterized reports, not analytics. Yet, this fact is all too often ignored when matching user types to appropriate technologies, forcing business users to struggle with analytic tools that are inappropriate for them. Let's consider the background of this problem and then look at a best practice for avoiding it. BI User PyramidPeople often draw a BI user pyramid when trying to sort out the various types of business users (or end users) for reporting and analytic systems, as well as the relative number of one end-user type vs. another. I'll resist the urge to draw a pyramid here because you've probably seen dozens of them. We call it a pyramid, although most people draw it as a two-dimensional triangle with horizontal strata representing end-user types. The widest stratum is at the base, and this represents the most numerous type of end users, namely the consumers of static reports. The narrowest stratum is at the apex, which typically represents specialized business analysts, who tend to be few in number. This kind of BI pyramid scheme is certainly useful for sorting out end-user types, which is why many data warehousing professionals draw it early in a project to get a sense of a project's business requirements. And the BI user pyramid helps match end-user types with appropriate enabling technologies and vendor offerings. For instance, it's fairly obvious that the business analysts at the thin apex need powerful, feature-laden tools for multidimensional ad hoc query and analysis. Likewise, the great mass of information consumers at the thick base of the pyramid simply need reports, created by someone else, that are usually static in terms of data content (that is, users can't even select parameters, much less define ad hoc queries). Technology requirements for the two extremes are obvious. However, the user types found in the pyramid's middle ground aren't so easily pinned to technologies and products. Marking the Middle GroundThe types of business users found in the pyramid's middle ground vary greatly, depending on the particular user base represented and how it's interpreted. Regardless, here's my characterization of the business users found there. Many end users want to manipulate the data under their reports, to get some flexibility not afforded them by static reporting. These users are fully capable of doing so with reporting technologies and, in fact, are often quite familiar with them. But most can't (or won't) cross the line into the apex to define queries from scratch. For this middle-ground business user, the ideal enabling technology is parameterized reporting, sometimes called managed reporting. The end user selects values for query parameters (from drop-down lists and other easy user-interface controls) or enters values in input fields. Under the hood, the reporting system generates query language statements accordingly, so the end user is isolated from such technical matters. Other middle-ground end users have requirements beyond parameterized reports. Some want to create their own reports. Others need to assemble personalized dashboards. Even so, these and other requirements can be satisfied by most reporting systems today, without forcing end users toward the apex's complex analytic tools.
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