Business Intelligence For Dummies
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Business intelligence (BI) is an activity, tool, or process that allows businesses to create clarity and support around their decision-making approach by determining key performance indicators (KPIs). The success level of any business endeavor can almost be measured or quantified in some aspect:

Step 1: Build or define the core business strategy or objectives

Step 2: Specify progress metrics (KPI’s), and define thresholds that indicate degrees of success.

Step 3: Measure performance over time as a baseline

Step 4: Adjust tactics and gauge correlative changes in success metrics

Step 5: Apply lessons to subsequent strategy definition

But business intelligence is very much a cultural phenomenon, moving away from gut-feel strategic choices and moving toward an evidence-driven rational approach to business.

About This Article

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About the book author:

Swain Scheps is Manager of Business Analysis at Brierley + Partners, Inc. and a technology veteran making his first foray into the world of book authoring. He wrote the masterpiece resting in your hands with a great deal of input and inspiration from BI guru and fellow For Dummies author Alan R. Simon.
In the late 1990’s Swain, along with most people reading this book, had his dot-com boom-to-bust experience with a company called. . .well, that’s not really important now is it. (Anyone interested in buying some slightly underwater stock options should contact the publisher immediately.) After that there were consulting stints at Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and Best Crossmark developing sales support applications and reporting tools. As of this writing, Swain basks under the fluorescent lights of Brierley, a technology company whose specialty is building customer relationship and loyalty management systems for retailers. The author has had the opportunity to learn from the very best as Brierley also provides unparalleled business intelligence and analytics services for its clients.
Swain lives in Dallas, Texas with wife Nancy and a mere four dogs. He writes about more than just technology; his work has appeared in Fodor’s travel guide books, military history magazines, and even another For Dummies book.

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