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This template is designed to gather clear and actionable requirements for Business Intelligence (BI) projects by asking natural, user-centric questions. These questions aim to translate business needs into metrics, KPIs, and dashboards that provide value.
1. Business Objectives and Questions
a) General Business Goals
- What is the main business goal you aim to achieve with this BI solution? (Example: Increase sales, improve operational efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction)
b) Key Business Questions
- What are the key questions you need answers to? Examples:
- How is our sales performance?
- What are our top 5 products?
- In which region or city do we sell the most?
- What are the trends in customer purchasing behavior?
- Are there specific segments of customers driving revenue?
- What are the areas where we are losing sales?
c) Decisions Based on BI Insights
- What decisions do you plan to make using the insights from this BI solution? (Example: Allocate marketing budgets, adjust pricing strategies, plan inventory for top-performing regions)
2. Key Metrics and KPIs
a) Performance Metrics
- What metrics do you currently track, and what additional metrics would you like to see? Examples:
- Total sales revenue
- Revenue growth rate
- Profit margin by product
- Customer acquisition rate
b) Targets and Benchmarks
- Do you have specific targets or benchmarks for these metrics? Examples:
- Achieve a 10% increase in revenue YoY
- Maintain a profit margin above 20%
- Top 5 products contributing 50% of revenue
3. Data Requirements and Security
a) Data Sources
- What are the primary data sources for this BI project? Examples:
- ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle)
- CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce)
- Spreadsheets or CSV files
- Marketing platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Facebook Ads)
b) Granularity of Data
- What level of detail do you need? Examples:
- Daily, weekly, monthly summaries
- Product-level or category-level details
- Region, city, or store-specific insights
c) Data Access, Permissions, and Security
- What security requirements must be implemented for data access? Examples:
- Restrict access by region, city, or department.
- Define user roles (e.g., manager, analyst, executive).
- Ensure sensitive data is masked or encrypted for unauthorized users.
- Who should have access to the reports and dashboards? Examples:
- Sales managers
- Regional heads
- Executive leadership
4. Reporting, Analysis, and Dashboard Requirements
a) Visualizations and Analysis Capabilities
- What types of visualizations or analysis capabilities would help you best understand the data? Examples:
- Bar charts for top-performing products
- Heat maps for regional sales distribution
- Trend lines for revenue growth
- Cubes with slice-and-dice functionality for exploring data dynamically
- What types of visualizations would help you best understand the data? Examples:
- Bar charts for top-performing products
- Heat maps for regional sales distribution
- Trend lines for revenue growth
b) Drill-Down, Drill-Through, Slice-and-Dice, and Interactivity
- Do you need the ability to dynamically explore data through slice-and-dice functionality?
- Do you require drill-through capabilities to investigate transactional details impacting performance?
- Examples of drill-through and drill-down:
- From region-level sales to city-level
- From product categories to individual products
- From summarized KPIs to specific transactions causing variances
- Do you need the ability to dynamically explore data through slice-and-dice functionality?
- Drill-down examples:
- From region-level sales to city-level
- From product categories to individual products
- Do you need the ability to drill down into specific details? Examples:
- From region-level sales to city-level
- From product categories to individual products
c) Delivery Preferences
- How would you like the reports or dashboards delivered? Examples:
- Real-time interactive dashboards
- Weekly email summaries
- Printable PDF reports
5. Technical and Operational Requirements
a) Refresh Frequency
- How often should the data be refreshed? Examples:
- Real-time updates
- Daily or weekly updates
b) Integration Requirements
- Should the BI tool integrate with other systems? Examples:
- Direct integration with Salesforce or ERP systems
- Export options to Excel or Google Sheets
c) Scalability and Future Needs
- Do you anticipate scaling this BI solution? Examples:
- Adding more users or data sources
- Expanding to additional business units
6. Challenges and Pain Points
- What are the current challenges you face with data and reporting? Examples:
- Lack of centralized data
- Manual processes for creating reports
- Delayed access to critical insights
7. Approval and Feedback
a) Stakeholders
- Who are the key stakeholders for this BI solution?
- Names, roles, and contact information
b) Feedback Process
- How should feedback be collected and addressed?
- Weekly reviews
- Iterative updates to dashboards
Summary of Requirements
- A structured summary of all gathered information to align business needs with BI capabilities.
- Key Questions:
- KPIs and Metrics:
- Data Sources:
- Dashboard Preferences:
- Challenges:
This template ensures that BI requirements are gathered systematically, focusing on business needs while aligning with technical feasibility.
