Finding an image for "dark matter" should have been more challenging

“Requirements transmission is the ‘dark matter’ of BI Projects.”

-Me, SQL Saturday Cleveland (in one of my wittier moments)

I’ve always loved the concept:  we know the universe is essentially a lot “heavier” than all the things we can see.  There’s a lot of mass out there that we just can’t see – so-called dark matter.

On paper, BI projects seem pretty simple.  What kind of data do you collect.  What are the kinds of questions you need to answer.  Simple, we draw a line from A to B and off we go.  But then the project runs for a very long time – where does all the time go?

I’ve mentioned this before – the time vanishes in communication, and it vanishes in “ok now that I have what I want, I realize I don’t want that.” 

But in my second post to CIMA Insight, I explain in a bit more depth where and how time and budget manage to disappear in traditional BI projects.

Of course, it’s no surprise that the NEXT part explains how that is greatly reduced with PowerPivot.  I originally planned to include that in the current installment, but those folks at CIMA are strict about that 750 word limit Smile

And yes, the next part ALSO explains how I think traditional BI pros are going to become even more important than they are today.  So if you read this one, traditional BI pros, and want to come rip my head off, please wait until next month Smile

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From the article:  Diagramming some of the hidden costs

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