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July 9, 2008
Simple and Effective- Periodic Reports Rationalization
There are more simple steps an organization can take to manage its information than complex technology driven ones (though both are necessary). These steps do not need massive IT investments. They not only boost effectiveness, but also create a strong foundation for your IT-based BI platforms. Here is one of such steps:
On periodic basis, rationalize your reports and views in terms of
-- Reports not getting used
- Duplicate or nearly duplicate reports
- Report having mis-matching formulae.
You can address the above by de-activating the un-used reports, creating super-set reports, fixing formulae etc...
Key points to note are:
- It takes little time. I have seen people rationalizing 200 reports in a single day, after few months of experience.
- You don't need perfection. 70-75% achievement is good
- This does not require funding, high-level sponsorship or a go-ahead etc. It can be driven by the CIO along with assigned IT and business analyst.
The critical success factor is regularity. If you do it well, when you go for your BI investments, you will have much smarter (and leaner) business requirements in place. If you have not been doing this, please try it once and share your feedback.
More details on this subject are in Periodic Rationalization & Prioritization of Information has multiple benefits in my portal www.bipminstitute.com
.Posted by Rajan Gupta at July 9, 2008 10:30 PM
