Overview

Background

This service improvement project is part of the Digital Transformation – Business Intelligence Tools Programme. The aim of the wider programme is to implement a range of BI tools for use by staff across the University.  A glossary of BI and Analytics terms can be found here.

Until now the University and the Information Systems Group has supported a single “Corporate” reporting solution, SAP Business Objects BI Suite. Many staff responsible for providing reports and business intelligence have not found that this service meet their needs.  As a result, individual Colleges and business units have purchased independent copies of a number of BI tools, most notably Microsoft Power BI and Qlikview. These have no associated support service at this time.  A separate project to procure additional Qlikview (DTI033) licenses has started.  This will be followed by an Qlikview implementation project.  

Enterprise wide “Premium” licencing for Power BI has been purchased and the Power BI Gateway has been implemented.  The gateway component is currently limited to a small number of people in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science. This project will scale this capability for University wide consumption.

Please see here for a description BI & Data Analytics Functions & Services.

 A view was taken that, in the absence of any consensus as to which tool set might form the basis of a single corporate solution, the University should aim to support a set of tools which end users have found valuable.  These tool need to be implemented and supported in a robust technical, service and support environment.

There are dependencies on this is project  from the imminent BI Suit upgrade,  Qlikview procurement and availability of the EDW.  These dependencies will be managed as part of the BI Tools Programme.

The Business Reporting and Analytics Service (BRAS) is currently set up and configured to provide support for SAP Business Objects BI Suite only .  The service needs to be reviewed, extended and enhanced to provide appropriate levels of support for the current service and also to add Power BI and later Qlikview services.  This will include support to access the EDW.  The ability of end users to request “small changes”, must also be defined and enhanced.  "Small Change" is the term used across the University that is a service request to make modifications to existing reports or dashboards that cannot be completed by the data or report owner and must be performed by IS. It is not an incident/fault that requires a fix to be implemented.

The training offering will be reviewed  including including  the publication of guides to assist users in selecting which tool to use.  Once implemented the service will then be extended to support Qlikview.  Additionally, the RACI model created as part of the EDW programme will be enhanced to cover BI services.

Scope

Service Analysis and Requirements

Service - Analysis  of the current service.  This will compare the service model with the ITIL standard and identify gaps. This will include reviewing and defining how “Small Changes” fit into the service. This will include Power BI and Qlickview tools. 

The project will map out changes to the service including revised service definitions, processes  and service metrics.

The review will map how different elements of the service are funded and identify any issues.

Security - Review of all processes to comply with new security and DP requirements.

• Review current Service Security Model and Policies (BI Suite).
• Perform gap analysis (tested against emerging GDPR policies).
• Build new policies required to support current service and new tools. Generic coverage.

Training – Assess the level of training provision provided  and close gaps in respect of end user guides, FAQ's and external sources.  Include a review of funding arrangements.

Document BRAS role in the provision and level of training.  Include training from Data owner, data stewards, Help desk and central report writers.

Implementing the generic service

The project will implement the required service changes.

The project will communicate the changes to service users and to wider stakeholders.

The project will implement the generic enhancements to the service.

Scope

Tools Service Coverage

The target operating model shall include include SAP Business Objects Suite, Power BI and Qlickview tools.

Out of Scope

GDPR projects, Delayed BI Upgrade.

Data training.

Legacy reports and reporting.

Objectives & Deliverables

Benefits

Additional and enhanced services and responsibilities offered from BRAS in respect of data and reporting.

A benefits map has been created which can be found here. This maps the work to be carried out in the projects to the business changes which they will enable. These, in turn, are mapped to the objectives laid out in the BI/MI Strategy, which can be found here.

The project will contribute to the following business benefits across these identified stakeholders;

• New and enhanced services to the end user community
• Improved controls and governance of data
• Controlled, quick, efficient and sustainable process for small changes
• Improved provision of training in use of tools
• Improved the presentation and layout of reports produced
• Reporting solutions that integrate data from multiple areas

Measurable benefits will be tracked across stakeholder groups starting with this as a baseline.

Success Criteria

• There is a clear statement of the services which the team provides including

  • The scope of the services and responsibilities and, if appropriate, exclusions
  • There are clear performance measures for delivery of the services
  • Clear instructions on how to access the services
  • Information provided about this to users of supported BI Tools
• All services are assessed for the impact on data governance and all processes and procedures are compliant with data governance policy and procedures
• A clear training offer is defined based on user needs and the scope of the service. It is in place for all supported tools
• The tools identified are procured and implemented within the standard University infrastructure and are accessible to appropriate users
• Tools are configured to use data from multiple sources either directly or through the Enterprise Data Warehouse Business objectives and deliverables
• The service must be sustainable with an agreed business and technology roadmap covering at least the next 3 years
• End user stakeholders will agree that the revised service better meets their groups needs
• Senior management agree that the revised service better meets the strategic  business reporting and analytics needs of the University

Project Milestones

Target Date	Previous Date	Title	Stage	Complete
16-Mar-2018	No date available	End of Planning	Plan	Yes
23-Mar-2018	No date available	Service Enhancement Review Complete	Deliver	Yes
21-Apr-2018	No date available	Target Operating Model Complete	Deliver	Yes
27-Apr-2018	No date available	Small Change Process Delivered	Deliver	Yes
18-May-2018	No date available	Security Policy Review Complete	Deliver	Yes
31-May-2018	No date available	End User Training Review Complete	Deliver	Yes
02-Jul-2018	No date available	Power BI Service Extension	Execute	Yes
20-Jul-2018	No date available	Project Closure	Close	Yes

Attachment	Size
benefits_map_v0006.pdf	615.67 KB
bimi_glossary.pdf	189.94 KB
bi_tools_definition.pdf	337.91 KB
bi_stakeholders.pdf	240.84 KB
list_of_benefits_and_measures_v1.xlsx	15.36 KB
here	751.89 KB
20141101-bimi-strategy-final.pdf	751.89 KB