Introduction to Business Intelligence:
Designing a Successful BI Program

What is this course about?

Setting up a business intelligence (BI) program takes more than just installing the technology. A successful BI program involves a set of concepts and methods designed to improve the business decision-making process by putting targeted information into the hands of those who need it most. This course provides a multitier process to design and implement an effective BI solution that maximizes your organization's business opportunities.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course benefits those interested in implementing a business intelligence (BI) program in their organization. Often, those involved in the implementation process are program and project managers, business and statistical analysts, and marketing directors. This course is valuable for those throughout an organization looking to apply a BI program.

What background do I need?

Prior BI experience is not required.

I've heard about Business Intelligence, but I'm not sure what it is. Will this course give me a good overview that I can take back to my business?

Yes. This course covers setting up a BI program and a Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC). You learn about key business analytics tools, which include dashboards, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and scorecards.

This course offers excellent preparation for managers who would like to gain familiarity with key BI concepts and tools in order to brief key decision makers in their organization.

Our entire team, including executive management and IT personnel, needs assistance in building a BI solution. How can this course help?

An effective BI solution is the sum total of the efforts of every member within an organization.

This course introduces a BI methodology that begins with managers defining the goals of the organization and ends with the implementation and the utilization of a technology system to render data that will assist the managers and other team members in making the best decisions to accomplish these goals.

How is this course different from other BI courses on the market?

Most BI courses focus on the specifics of the underlying technology and data collection. Technology is a major component of a BI solution, but a complete BI solution requires a process that will assist managers in asking the right questions and getting the right answers. This course introduces such a solution, incorporating an outcome-focused methodology that can be used with a wide range of technology. The methodology is focused on establishing the value to the business at the start of the BI process and will deliver immediate benefits to your organization.

Will I see how other organizations have used BI to achieve success?

Yes. Several case studies of organizations that have implemented BI solutions are used to demonstrate both optimum and sub-optimum BI systems so that you can learn from the strengths and weaknesses of others.

Will I learn how to structure SQL queries to extract information from our data warehouse?

No, this course focuses on the business analysis process that is needed to deliver BI benefits. For information on structuring SQL queries, please see Course 534: Developing SQL Queries for SQL Server^®: Hands-On, and Course 234: Developing SQL Queries for Oracle^® Databases: Hands-On.

This course does not address the mechanics of BI-related tools, but it does demonstrate the utility of these tools to extract meaningful data to aid in the decision-making process.

How much time is spent on each topic?

My organization already has a BI system. How can this course help me?

Many BI systems deliver little benefit to the enterprise. This course provides a clear methodology for re-engineering your existing system to give more timely and accurate information and actionable outcomes.

We currently don't have much of anything related to BI in our organization. We are essentially starting from scratch. How can this course help us?

This course helps you define the appropriate questions to ask regarding the implementation of a BI solution. You can then take the proper actions to invest resources in the acquisition and implementation of an effective BI solution for your organization.

This course focuses on an iterative process that allows you to start small and grow your BI process at a rate you are comfortable with so that small successes will mature into large ones.

How much of this course is hands-on?

Approximately 65 percent of the course is spent participating in hands-on exercises, which include

• Applying a multitier BI process
• Analyzing successful systems to identify what works
• Building a simple BI system
• Combining simple systems to create a complex BI solution
• Creating an information flow diagram and business rules
• Organizing a Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC)
• Incorporating BI tools to evaluate data quality
• Mapping operational data to a data warehouse

Is this course endorsed by the IIBA^®?

Yes. Learning Tree is an Endorsed Education Provider (EEP^TM) by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA^®). This course has been approved by the IIBA^® as supporting core concepts and knowledge outlined by IIBA^®'s Business Analysis Body of Knowledge^® (BABOK^®). Completion of this course counts as 17 continuing development units (CDUs) that will assist you in qualifying for or maintaining the Certified Business Analysis Professional^TM (CBAP^®) certification. For more information about CDUs and how to register them with the IIBA^®, please see the Learning Tree IIBA^® EEP^TM Q&A or http://www.theiiba.org.

The IIBA^®, an independent, nonprofit professional association for business analysts, created the BABOK^®, which is a collection of knowledge for professional business analysts. The BABOK^® reflects generally accepted practices and describes business analysis areas of knowledge, their associated activities and tasks, and the skills necessary to be effective in their execution.

Is this course applicable toward a Project Management Institute (PMI) certification?

Yes. Though this course is not designed as preparation for an exam, it is beneficial to anyone working toward, or maintaining, a PMI certification. Most PMI certifications require a specific number of PDUs in order to obtain and maintain the credential. Completion of this course provides 17 professional development units (PDUs).

Learning Tree offers several courses that help you prepare for PMI certifications, including Course 276: Preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP)^® Exam, which prepares you for PMI's most popular certification. For more details on these courses and PMI certifications, please see the Learning Tree PMI Registered Education Provider Q&A.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

• Course 211: Introduction to Business Analysis: Defining Successful Projects, provides the foundational knowledge of the role and function of the business analyst
• Course 212: Building an Effective Business Case, provides the knowledge and skills to analyze initiatives to construct a clear business case that enables organizations to make better decisions
• Course 912: Creating a High-Impact Work Plan for Business Analysts, provides practical project management methods, tools and techniques to adapt a work plan to the needs of the project and its stakeholders
• Course 913: Preparing for the IIBA^® CBAP^® Certification Exam, provides an in-depth review of the six knowledge areas included in the exam
• Course 315: Developing User Requirements: The Key to Project Success, offers the knowledge to enhance your requirements development processes and develop individual skills for getting the right information from your stakeholders
• Course 218: User and System Requirements for Successful Software Development, provides the knowledge and skills needed to capture software requirements using clearly defined processes