BI Maxims

A simple collection of lessons learned in 25 years of BI.

“Above all, show the data”—Edward Tufte

“If your statistics are boring then you’ve got the wrong numbers”—Edward Tufte (1983)

BI and people
• All BI is local.
• People are smart.
• Work with purpose.
• Deliver value early and often.
• What’s the point?
• Better information leads to better business.
• Business data owners know their data best.
• Closeness counts.
• All data is true; all truths count.

The nature of BI
• BI does not make decisions, it supports decision makers.
• BI is concerned with that area that will always be beyond the horizon of automation systems.
• BI not equal to data warehouses.

Building BI solutions
• It’s not the tool, it’s the talent that matters.
• It’s design all the way down.
• Usability matters.
• Do the (right) first thing first.
• Don’t BI blind.
• You can’t start with everything—because (if you try) you’ll never have anything.
• Beware BI’s fatal attraction: the seduction of “one version of the truth”.

The nature of (business) intelligence
Thinking is not trivial or obvious—if it was simple anyone could do it. Presumably, decision makers are in their positions because of their skill in making good decisions. It is therefore incumbent upon BI professionals to provide the best quality information to the decision makers.