Business Intelligence Operations #
In my view, Business Intelligence (BI) isn’t just about deploying tools that deliver insightful analytics. True success, in my opinion, depends on a robust governance framework that sets clear guidelines for security, access management, performance monitoring, and other topics that could otherwise become operational pain points.dsa
This means, when considering changes to the BI stack, I go through the below list of questions and write down high level responses. These responses give me insights into how and at what cost operations will scale, offering a good foundation for decisions.
When implementing changes to the BI stack, the below questions also help setting up necessary processes and best practices. The ideal set of tools make it easy to implement all of the below while allowing Analysts the build satisfying dashboards and insightful reports seamlessly.
These governance principles largely also apply to other data-related operations. However, additional considerations for topics like disaster recovery, data retention policies, and metadata management may be needed.
Essential Governance Framework for BI Operations #
This is a short collection of Governance Activities that I consider essential for Business Intelligence operations.
1. Security & Compliance #
Ensure sensitive data is protected from unauthorized access and meets regulatory standards.
Key questions:
- How do we prevent data leakage and secure data at rest and in transit?
- Do we have proper logging, auditing, and controls in place?
- Which regulations (e.g., GDPR) apply, and how do we comply?
2. Permission & Access Management #
Defines who owns each data asset and how permissions are granted or revoked.
Key questions:
- Who is responsible for data/dashboards access?
- How is data and dashboard ownership structured?
- How do we assign and track user roles and privileges?
- How does this translate into a process for requesting and approving access?
3. SLA Management #
Monitor performance against agreed metrics to ensure users experience minimal downtime and issues.
Key questions:
- What performance metrics (e.g., latency, uptime) must be met?
- How do we track and address user complaints and/or slow data load times?
- Do we proactively monitor usage patterns to prevent issues?
4. Data Quality and Incident Management #
Govern how issues are detected, escalated, and resolved.
Key questions:
- How do we identify, categorize, and prioritize incidents?
- Who is notified and who resolves incidents?
- How do we track lineage so we can trace back and find root causes?
- How do we ensure data quality and learn from past incidents?
5. Release Management #
Ensure updates or new features (e.g. table schema changes) do not break existing functionality.
Key questions:
- Do we have proper testing and rollback processes in place?
- How do we verify that changes won’t impact existing Dashboards, other SLAs or security?
- Is there a clear plan for versioning and deployment?
6. Cost Management #
Tracks expenses to identify major cost drivers and optimize resource usage.
Key questions:
- Which tables or Dashboards incur the highest costs?
- Are costs transparent, and do we regularly review them?
- What strategies do we have for optimizing resource usage and licensing?
This framework outlines key governance practices that, in my view, are essential for effective Business Intelligence (BI) operations. By using these questions, teams can easily identify tools that enable analytical while satisfying operational needs.