A great deal of hard work, money, sweat (and sometimes even tears) goes into the timeous delivery of a BI solution. BI teams work diligently to get these reports signed off and finally ready for business use. And while developers can breathe a sigh of relief for a bit, everyone is aware that until this point, it was all about getting the strikers off the bench - the real game is yet to begin.
So, you've reached the point in the project where you can roll out those fancy new reports and dashboards. Good stuff! Business users have been patiently (and I use that term loosely) waiting for these reports, eager to use a new tool that will help them bring smiles to their bosses. But the support calls start streaming in. Sigh. The business starts using the reports and all that can be heard are complaints... "The reports aren't meeting my requirements." "I don't like the new reports!" "I don't know how to use the reports," and my favourite, "Bring back my old tool."
This feedback works its way into meetings, and - trust me - it becomes a real talent to resist a slow face-palm. In a matter of weeks, the once excited users feel a little let down, and are back to their usual spreadsheets. BI teams leave each meeting feeling defeated; not really knowing what to say to management - surely the problem must be the technology? Right?
Nope. The reality is the technology is just fine, but a crucial step has been missed - user empowerment. The whole team is off the bench, but whoops, the strikers (users) haven't been trained. Due to time and budget constraints, user training is, unfortunately, often neglected in BI projects. This is a lose-lose situation for everybody. Formal BI user training must be scheduled and budgeted for within the project management space.
Beautiful and transparent
Once user training has been approved, here are a few best practices I've learned along the way:
* Be people focused - BI user training should not be about talking up the technology; instead, invest the time in trying to understand and address user needs. Great as the technology is (and it's amazing), users are not as passionate as developers are about their BI products. No songs will be sung about the reports, but users will come to love them when they start being able to access just what information they need, how and when they need it.
* Customise classes - Generic training material and step-by-step documented manuals should be avoided; people just don't have the time to read them (although it is handy to have something basic on hand for those type-A personalities). Customised classes or workshop-style training works best, in my opinion. Ideally, the training should be customised for different teams by inviting grouped users to a training session. Step into 'their' work environment and show the users how to generate 'their' reports with 'their' data. Do a few examples with them - show them how to navigate past the technology and boom, happy users! I read this somewhere and it keeps coming back to me when I'm testing something new: "Good technology is beautiful. Great technology is transparent." Developers need to help users get to where they need to be; the BI technology is only a tool.
* Show them the insight - BI dashboards, cubes and reports are pretty cool, but they don't translate anything unless the business firstly understands what they're measuring, and secondly, derives some value from it. It is only at this point they can start making decisions based on BI. To speak plainly - business users are often less analytical so they can take a little longer to understand the information they're viewing. A BI analyst has to do his/her homework. Understand the data for the client in order to relate to their business - analyse the trends and know what they mean to the business, and be ready to convey that intelligence to the business in its terms.
* Build relationships - Did the BI guy just mention people-to-people contact? Yes, he did. I often read my questionnaires after these sessions and it truly amazes me to see the positive feedback. Glimmers of hope! Are these the same people who were kicking and screaming two hours before? Yes, but now they are simply empowered! The next step is to establish a relationship with these users as their 'guide' - it's important to let them know that you are there for them, and really be there. Be available to them for any support and questions, almost like their personal support line. Expect the odd phone call over a weekend as finance is busy with month-end reporting. Yes, it takes a lot of effort to maintain this new relationship, but trust me; it is worth it in the long run.
* Monitor tool usage - Constant monitoring of report usage is the next step. Hopefully, by now, users will start to feel a bit more comfortable with the tool, and usage is picking up. If not, go back to them and ask why - things change in organisations, people move, reports become irrelevant, requirements change, and the nature of agile BI is that it has to keep up with this.
BI user empowerment is a crucial step in the successful delivery of any BI project. There is nothing more dissatisfying than putting so much effort into something, and then hearing the users say they don't want to use it or they don't see the benefit in doing so.
In this fast-moving and competitive line of work, there is usually a very small window of opportunity to empower and eventually win over the user. BI teams should empower and lead their strikers - they are the match-winners.
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