Canadian Tire Case
Michael Eubanks of Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) is in charge of the implementation of a business intelligence (BI) system for the company. This implementation began in 2003 and was to be completed in 2005. In 2006, the project is only in the 2nd of 3 phases. He is now faced with a problem. The implementation is going much slower than he anticipated. His goal is to implement BI as soon as possible, so what does he need to do so that he can reach this goal?
In order to reach his goal, there are many issues that need to be addressed. The first issue is that in order to ensure that the data in the data warehouse is correct, there needs to be strong data governance by all users. The 2nd concern is that users of the current systems will not use BI; they might stick to what they’re comfortable with. Another problem he came across was that one of the key sponsors of the project had left the company, which brought the project to a halt in 2004. In order to keep the project moving, it is critical that there is buy-in from the Company’s upper-management. Another crucial issue was that data was inconsistent, due to the fact that data was collected and managed differently. If this data were loaded into BI in its current state, it would be useless. Garbage in will always result in garbage out. An issue in the company culture was also present. Users were concerned that there were not enough resource to dedicate to cleaning the data. Executives were reluctant to move away from the tools they were currently using.
There are many options the company can take to resolve this issue. The first option is to continue working on the project in the manner it is now. It will eventually get done and it will not put a strain or pressure on current users. However, because this is a reactionary form of BI Maturity, much time is spent resolving issues and has little time to focus on the future of the project.
Another option would be to take a strategic approach of BI Maturity. This
In order to reach his goal, there are many issues that need to be addressed. The first issue is that in order to ensure that the data in the data warehouse is correct, there needs to be strong data governance by all users. The 2nd concern is that users of the current systems will not use BI; they might stick to what they’re comfortable with. Another problem he came across was that one of the key sponsors of the project had left the company, which brought the project to a halt in 2004. In order to keep the project moving, it is critical that there is buy-in from the Company’s upper-management. Another crucial issue was that data was inconsistent, due to the fact that data was collected and managed differently. If this data were loaded into BI in its current state, it would be useless. Garbage in will always result in garbage out. An issue in the company culture was also present. Users were concerned that there were not enough resource to dedicate to cleaning the data. Executives were reluctant to move away from the tools they were currently using.
There are many options the company can take to resolve this issue. The first option is to continue working on the project in the manner it is now. It will eventually get done and it will not put a strain or pressure on current users. However, because this is a reactionary form of BI Maturity, much time is spent resolving issues and has little time to focus on the future of the project.
Another option would be to take a strategic approach of BI Maturity. This