Agile methodology is gaining importance in all the aspects of Information technology and Business Intelligence cannot be secluded from this trend. While most of the Business Intelligence projects are executed in waterfall, executing a project in Agile was never acclaimed even though it existed. The requirements of modelling, data kept changing as per business’ discretion. Introduction of fresh data in midst of testing phase resulted in developers struggling to complete the new requirement. The issues with data accuracy and inconsistencies haunted the team till the very release of Project. So the big question is what difference will implementation of Agile make to Business Intelligence projects?
Agile should be the way of implementing project right from requirement gathering, prototyping and defining the boundaries of project. Post the initial analysis of available data and business requirements around this data, teams should envision the initial architecture and environment required. The teams and capabilities should be planned around the same. Once the basic requirements are prioritized then framework should be in place with defined standards and initial guidelines.
As the iterations proceed this initial framework will act as a baseline and working model will be available for the businesses to use in short time. Giving more time for any tweaks in the early phase of development instead of waiting till the very end.
The continuous process would involve all the stakeholders. The approach should be Design, Build and Test. Deployment of the product internally and initial documentation for every requirement should be in place. The next iteration should follow the same and additionally taking care of any changes and defects in the previous iterations. The final iterations should involve closing of all requirements, fixing defects, documentation and training the end users for hands on use of software.
The benefits of shifting to Agile will be enormous, wherein the business, developers and testers will be in sync for the requirements in any iteration. Hence complete testing and quality checks will be performed and data will be ready for perusal of users. The fact that users can start using the system after completion of the first iteration is a big advantage in itself. This ensures faster time to market and increases BI adoption within the user community.
Overcoming Challenges to Implement Agile:
Agile too like standard SDLC method faces challenges while implementing for a BI project.
- Major challenges like Data inaccuracy, inconsistency, unit testing and data quality checks for each and every iteration. Unit testing for current iteration along with integration testing for all the modules delivered in all previous iterations to ensure all the modules overcome data quality challenges.
- Lack of knowledge and willingness to adopt Agile and its principles to apply in projects. Should be tackled by increasing awareness and team orientation.
- Understanding complex business requirements within short duration due to frequent iterations. Concentrating on few critical requirements at a time, will help to focus on a specific aspect of software.
- Huge team size hampers communication and at times difficult to get everyone on same page. Being well organised and light management is the primary condition of Agile.
- Involve support/operations and maintenance teams along with end users team earlier in the iteration to give a hands on idea of project and for see any difficulties at a later stage.
Disclaimer
All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. Netfotech Solutions provides no endorsement and makes no representations as to accuracy, reliability, completeness, suitability or validity of any information or content on, distributed through or linked, downloaded, or accessed from this site.
Netfotech Solutions will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use of the information on this site. All information is provided on an as-is basis without any obligation to make improvements or to correct errors or omissions. This site may contain links to other web sites. Netfotech Solutions makes no guarantees or promises regarding these web sites and does not necessarily endorse or approve of their content. You may not modify any part of the blog. Inclusion of any part of this blog in another work, whether in printed or electronic or other form, or inclusion of any part of the blog in another web site by linking, framing or otherwise without the express permission of Netfotech Solutions is prohibited. This site may not be used for any illegal or illicit purpose and Netfotech Solutions reserves the right, at its sole discretion and without notice of any kind, to remove anything posted to this site. By using this site, you hereby acknowledge that any reliance upon any materials shall be at your sole risk.