Alignment, Iteration and Business Intelligence
March 25, 2010
For most of the last two decades, LÛCRUM has participated in creating over 100 solutions for some of the most prominent organizations in business and education. In 1998, LÛCRUM published its first full Business Intelligence Methodology, iStream. The word “stream” was used to symbolize the continuous aspect of the software development lifecycle versus traditional “waterfall” SDLC’s. This post is intended to conceptually explain how LÛCRUM’s iStream is a differentiated and unique approach to the development of successful Enterprise Business Intelligence Solutions. After years of focus on the delivery of Data oriented projects, LÛCRUM has continued to refine its methodology, leveraging the continuous learning from each new engagement to benefit the next, and to enrich the iStream process itself.
The first and probably most important non-technical differentiated aspect of iStream is the concept of Alignment. Many consulting organizations and internal IT organizations have some type of design or planning step often called “Envisioning” as an initial step in their development process. This is for good reason: understanding the customer’s end goal or picture of success is critical to the success of the project. At the same time, this does not procedurally support the fact that many individuals are involved in determining the success of a project, and further, in most cases these individuals are not in detailed agreement in regards to what that success looks like, or how it is defined. Alignment takes this into account, and is a prescribed process to ensure a common understanding of the success criteria by the key stakeholders involved in any enterprise project, including department heads and/or the Information Technology department. This includes a focus on ensuring that a miscommunication cannot occur where language is not specific enough, for example in clarifying the accepted definition of the term “Sales” in a company. To explore this a bit, is “Sales” the number of transactions? The dollar volume closed? Over what timeframe? By what channel? (sales people, resellers, distributors, telesales, etc.) As simple as this concept may sound – misunderstandings or assumptions in areas as simple as this are generally a key reason for project failure. In this area, LÛCRUM is unique and differentiated in its development approach.
Another key differentiation of LÛCRUM’s approach, particularly as it relates to Business Intelligence, is in the concept of the iteration of a project. The iStream methodology allows for iteration in the development of the end result, particularly through the recognition that many pieces may make up the whole. For example, related to Business Intelligence; we may begin by working with an individual decision maker, say the VP of Marketing. In working with this person we may offer to them the YourView Instant Analytics solution, allowing them to rapidly see their information in a new way through the combination of several different reports or sources into a single view. Per the YourView solution, this can take place in a matter of days; however by definition it follows the iStream process – however abbreviated – as it is focused on only a single user. When that VP is prepared to create a complete solution for the Marketing department, the initial work now functions as a pilot/proof of concept rolling into the Alignment, Discover and Architect components of iStream for the larger YourView 360 (Data Mart) project. In this fashion, we are “iterating” our development of the data mart through one or more “Instant Analytics” projects. Both projects follow iStream; however the smaller engagements feed into the larger. When that organization is prepared to roll out an Enterprise Data Warehouse – the same holds true, the work that had been completed at the Data Mart level for the Marketing department will now be employed in the Alignment, Discover and Architect phases of the Enterprise Data Warehouse project. In this fashion the work that we accomplish at any level of the Business Intelligence Solution chain is applicable for the next, and all would be accomplished using iStream.
While the items above are not descriptive of the entirety of iStream, nor of the entire list of benefits of the LÛCRUM approach, they are absolutely two of the components of iStream which differentiate it from the plethora of SDLC approaches available in the market, and another aspect of what makes LÛCRUM a unique Business Intelligence Consultancy.
LUCRUM and Central Clinic Partner-up
February 22, 2010
Central Clinic is expanding their services in 2010 and therefore requires an enhancement and modernization to their current system. LÛCRUM Inc has been awarded a contract to provide consulting services focused on the Alcohol and Drug (AoD) Application for Central Clinic utilizing the program for client treatment history and billing/payor accounting. The primary deliverables are focused on Universal Payer Changes, SQL Server Upgrade and Application Enhancements. LUCRUM and Central Clinic have partnered on other applications in the past and we look forward to continuing that partnership in 2010!
Predictive Analytics & Healthcare
February 12, 2010
As a follow up regarding my post yesterday on Predictive Analytics, I wanted to bring attention to an article that Wired Magazine had last November on a predictive concept for “Modeling Human Drug Trials – Without the Human.” Using similar concepts, as well as rules which were indeed put in place by PHD’s, these folks replicated human trials which had taken 7 years of study – in about an hour. Yup, hit run on the computer, and an hour later the results popped up – which according to the article hit 2 of the 4 markers studied perfectly, the 3rd within an approved margin of error, and the 4th was just below the accepted margin of error. Ok, the computer model took 2 months to setup, and 1 hour to run, but running this model in 2 months and 1 hour, compared with the actual trial which involved thousands of people, millions of dollars, and 7 years? WOW, very very powerful, controverisal for sure, but very powerful. Here’s the link for your reading pleasure. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/11/ff_archimedes/…
Microsoft Predictive Analytics!
February 11, 2010
Data Mining. Predictive Analytics. Quick what comes to mind? Expensive. Complicated. Statistical PHD required. Right? Not anymore, I’m very excited that Microsoft has entered this field with SQL 2008, and it appears could make a big difference regarding time, complexity and cost associated with leveraging your historical data to predict future events related to your organization.
- Which products will sell best in a down economy?
- Who is likely to be a loyal customer, and who is not?
- Which treatment would be the most effective for this patient?
Answers/predictive models based not upon gut instinct – but upon the facts derived from the very real treasure trove of data locked up in transactional IT systems. Very cool concept. It may not be an iPad – but I think Microsoft’s predictive capabilities will have a big impact on their intended market nonetheless, and I’m very excited to be a part of it!
Just Say No!
September 14, 2009
With the difficult economy comes difficult choices. LÛCRUM is focused on helping our customers to realize the value of their data. This enables us to focus on what we do best, and continue to strengthen our skills in this area. This additionally increases our success in our work, as we only offer our expertise in the areas in which we truly are world class – data oriented solutions. This does however mean that on occasion we have to say no to our customers. This would typically be due to the fact that we are being asked to do work that is not truly within our focus. We have recently turned down infrastructure, pure design oriented development, and custom development requests. This is not easy to do in a difficult economy, but frankly is a critical aspect of our business – Focusing where we EXCEL. This has also given us the opportunity to partner with some great local firms. KiZAN, US Digital Partners, and recently DLP Solutions. These firms practice this focus, and it’s a pleasure working with them. I look forward to our long term partnerships, and to continuous improvement in our focus area – helping our customers to Realize the Value of their Data.
Shocking Statistics on Spreadsheets
June 3, 2009
A number of recent studies have shown that, among other things, up to 94% of spreadsheets used today contain errors. Read more