Unified Business Intelligence Ecosystem: A Project Management Approach to Address Business Intelligence Challenges

The purpose of this paper is to explore a concept that improves the success rate of Business Intelligence projects by looking at it as an ecosystem rather than standalone project. This paper discusses the importance on Business Intelligence (BI) initiatives and today's challenges in implementing them. The concentration is on using proven practices of project management to reduce the failure rates of the Business Intelligence projects by evaluating currently existing Information Technology (IT) project process, Business Intelligence frameworks and a Project Vulnerability process in order to adopt some of the best project management practices that works for Business Intelligence projects. The paper studies currently existing processes and introduces a new concept which henceforth will be termed as ‘Unified Business Intelligence Ecosystem’ framework (UBIE). This research is based on various project management frameworks, those are proven to increase the efficiency of projects, and far-ranging sources of research on nature of Business Intelligence projects, personal observations and real-world Business Intelligence consulting experience. Research limitations/implications: Business Intelligence is a constantly developing field. Partial standardization and extensive availability and access to Business Intelligence resources has created many definitions and buzz words in the industry. The assumptions described in this research might seem arguable given the reader's experience in this field. Originality/value: The paper presents a different perspective to view and manage Business Intelligence projects. It encourages to interpret Business Intelligence projects as an ecosystem by combining technical, business and management aspect rather than separate, standalone entity. The aim of this research paper is to achieve Business Intelligence success by customizing Project Management (PM) practices to fit the unique need of Business Intelligence projects. Acronyms Business Intelligence — BI Project Management — PM Data Science — DS Information technology — IT Unified Business Intelligence Ecosystem — UBIE Responsibility, Accountability, Consulted, Informed — RACI.