To more effectively transform data into valuable information and insights, data governance must be comprehensive, consistent, accurate, and up-to-date. BI governance facilitates the development of these business requirements by clearly communicating strategic objectives and establishing clear metrics and goals, maximizing the value of initial BI investments.
This is not a problem that technology alone can solve. Surprisingly, one of the biggest challenges organizations face when adopting a BI solution is understanding the impact of the transition across all business areas and creating a tactical adoption plan
Given the level of investment many companies are making today in business intelligence and related performance management applications, the adoption of BI governance should not be underestimated. Most BI adoption projects do not consider ongoing data management, change management, and controls aligned with a clear BI strategy. This is a serious mistake.
Establishing a BI governance structure can help companies more clearly understand the benefits that a BI solution can provide in terms of return on investment. Regardless of the size or type of business, companies can benefit from BI governance best practices to ensure they achieve their current and future business strategies and goals.
When starting a BI governance program, there are many components to consider, including data architecture, metadata, data integration, data security, end-user information provision, and change management. With a holistic approach, a BI governance framework should bring all these components together through a coordinated process and connect each of these components to the overall BI vision.
The proposed structure of the BI governance model shown in Figure 1 ensures that data governance, which is typically driven by IT, is also linked to business functions. Figure 1 proposes a comprehensive BI governance structure that aligns business and IT goals under common pillars such as data quality, ownership, management, and strategy. As a starting point, the enterprise’s vision, direction, and desired future state of its BI strategy should underpin the first pillar of the BI governance model. As an enterprise increases its use of BI, it will need an ongoing process of measuring performance and comparing achieved results to business goals. BI governance should include refining the BI strategic direction as needed as the organization evolves through the BI maturity stages.
