To identify the appropriate BI tool, the University of Illinois took a user-centered approach. Focus groups were established to interview over 200 users from various user communities to identify requirements. The needs assessment was two-fold. Firstly, it would identify the requirements for static reports; and secondly, it would assess the functionality for ad hoc reports that would enable users to create their own reports. One of the key needs of user-enabled report building was a user-friendly environment. Due to the new ERP implementation, user focus would be concentrated on the new enterprise-wide system, as opposed to access to data for reporting. Additionally, the DS group identified several static reports, such as standardized budgets and student lists. Based on the focus group results, a team of core users was chosen to help with the software selection process. This selection extended beyond the simple features and functionality provided by vendors. In addition to the criteria collected, the vendor's scalability, growth, costs, support, and technical expertise were taken into account.
Additional vendor criteria to take into account:
* scalability—the ability to meet the growth requirements of an organization with minimal impact on performance and cost
* growth—how the vendor compares in the market, and what it is doing to expand functionality by improving on its strengths and overcoming its challenges
* costs—the price of the software, licenses, servers, support, future releases, and upgrades
* support—the level of support provided by the vendor (gauged from vendor service-level agreements [SLAs], as well as references)
* technical expertise—expertise at the vendor level, and the ability to transfer that expertise to the user community
With the results captured, the DS group shortlisted five vendors and selected for vendor presentations using a sub-set of the university's data. After the demonstrations, the university chose Business Objects, for two main reasons. The first reason was scalability regarding the ability of its servers to accommodate large amounts of data and to leverage data from all required data sources. The second reason was its ease of use from the user perspective, due to its web-enabled environment.
The DS group wanted to keep the core focus on users, to keep the project business-focused as opposed to information technology (IT)-centered. The issue surrounding this strategy was the ability of the IT staff to leverage their expertise of technology and to anticipate the requirements based on their knowledge of the ERP system without overshadowing the needs of users. Additionally, the various business units would have a feeling of ownership over the process and implemented system, which would transfer into user buy-in.
Critical success factors:
* advantageous SLAs with vendors
* user focus (as opposed to IT focus)
* flexible architecture
* robust research and development (R&D) on the vendor side
* satisfaction of needs based on request for proposal (RFP)
Additional vendor criteria to take into account:
* scalability—the ability to meet the growth requirements of an organization with minimal impact on performance and cost
* growth—how the vendor compares in the market, and what it is doing to expand functionality by improving on its strengths and overcoming its challenges
* costs—the price of the software, licenses, servers, support, future releases, and upgrades
* support—the level of support provided by the vendor (gauged from vendor service-level agreements [SLAs], as well as references)
* technical expertise—expertise at the vendor level, and the ability to transfer that expertise to the user community
With the results captured, the DS group shortlisted five vendors and selected for vendor presentations using a sub-set of the university's data. After the demonstrations, the university chose Business Objects, for two main reasons. The first reason was scalability regarding the ability of its servers to accommodate large amounts of data and to leverage data from all required data sources. The second reason was its ease of use from the user perspective, due to its web-enabled environment.
The DS group wanted to keep the core focus on users, to keep the project business-focused as opposed to information technology (IT)-centered. The issue surrounding this strategy was the ability of the IT staff to leverage their expertise of technology and to anticipate the requirements based on their knowledge of the ERP system without overshadowing the needs of users. Additionally, the various business units would have a feeling of ownership over the process and implemented system, which would transfer into user buy-in.
Critical success factors:
* advantageous SLAs with vendors
* user focus (as opposed to IT focus)
* flexible architecture
* robust research and development (R&D) on the vendor side
* satisfaction of needs based on request for proposal (RFP)
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