Centers of Excellence
Data, Analytics & Business Intelligence
Data, Analytics, and Business Intelligence (BI) is about empowering decision-makers to optimize business processes. For Delegata, this is not a technology project; it is a secure business program that delivers decision information to key staff, so that they are able to extract business value from the vast—and sometimes overwhelming—amounts of data available.
Data, Analytics & Business Intelligence Solutions
Leverage Analytics to Unlock Business Value
The Challenge
Enterprise analytics is a common buzzword used in every industry today. Analytics professions are over 50 years old, yet Business Intelligence (BI) implementations fail due to misapplied or incomplete analytics at a higher percentage year after year – 70 to 80% by current estimates. Many lessons learned reports point to unrealistic expectations, lack of understanding for how analytics can be effectively used, and dependence on experts to produce results that are not sustainable with enterprise resources. With the high faliure rate defined by Gartner Research, the problem is far more serious than historical software development project failure rates. Fortunately, mitigations can be identified and successfully managed.
The Approach
Delegata focuses first on analytics in Business Intelligence (BI) as a means to emphasize the importance of preparing the right kind of BI for
the individuals running the business and to enhance success rates. Our “Architecture for Analytics” recognizes the difference between operational
systems – those that enable transactions – and strategic capability – those which try to extract the value from data in the operational environment to enhance internal decision making. How the operational environment fits within industry norms may additionally help to ensure that the types of
decisions are supported by a statistically sound approach to usable results.
The Solution
Delegata establishes information usability by working with business function layers. Each function has a purpose, processes, roles to achieve results for customers they serve (internal or external). When making decisions about a topic area (such as customer service), the types of questions to ask and answer (such as which customers are most important, or what is the fastest way to resolve a problem), require statistical analysis suited to each functional layer. This combination of topic area, type of question, and statistical method forms an incremental understanding of functional depth that is actionable; overviews or combined layering is not actionable. Individuals dealing with these component layers can identify root cause and solutions that facilitate decision making for the business. As those incremental components are gathered, evaluated, and used, the increments can be accumulated into a cohesive infrastructure to realize comprehensive and integrated efficiency. Without this peeling of the onion and rebuilding a composite view, the value of analytics and BI is highly likely to prove immaterial to solving business problems. Effective efficiency and transition programs depend upon the ability to realize sustained value.
The Benefits
The benefit of this analytical approach and solution is the interaction with the business to incrementally apply analytics to achieve value. This business-first approach reduces project failures, provides incremental and immediate value, and accelerates the level of understanding and acceptance of the business drivers required for success.
Use Incremental BI to be More Agile
The Challenge
The most common, and well documented, reason that BI projects fail at an alarming rate is that a technology solutions are implemented without first understanding how the business could benefit from the results. It is also clear that hype is a key driver, leading to unrealistic expectations from both technology and business organizations. Organizations that are used to operating in a transactional mode usually have not had the time or inclination to understand skills, processes, technologies or other factors necessary to operate from a strategic perspective to help focus resource allocations, efficiencies, and quality. Implementing technology without the ability to understand the underlying benefits of BI is the major inhibitor to BI success. Incremental exposure to BI provides a more agile way to understand and realize the benefits of BI.
The Approach
Delegata defines BI as the ability to deliver the right information, in the right place, at the right time to enhance business performance and decision making. By understanding from business subject matter experts and analytics experts what incremental solutions would provide value, the BI implementation team is able to prioritize and incrementally deliver the required capability. These incremental solutions also provide an aggregated baseline of components that benefit the enterprise. Components of the BI baseline can be re-used to construct other BI services. This approach facilitates Agile techniques, as the components are already available, yet fit into a new problem solution. This approach also emphasizes the importance of layering functional components in requirements gathering; incremental components are essential to building valuable BI by function, by service program, and by business offering.
The Solution
Delegata uses analytical teams focused with clients to build and deliver BI solutions for enterprise customers (internal or external). By working directly with those who will benefit from the resulting capability, solutions can be made and prototyped in increments that make sense for various functional areas. The BI team institutionalizes each incremental solution by integrating it within the evolving enterprise architecture domains so that the implementations are holistically established as an approved and supported enterprise capability. Our analytics solution packages combine business topic area, type of question, and statistical method to form an increment that can be acted upon. Delegata’s BI implementation also includes educational campaigns to help users understand what they will be able to use as new enterprise capability. The institutionalized BI capability incorporates enterprise modeling for the data and deploying the right data as delivery sources for BI tools to access. Standard technology implementations using Agile or Incremental models can deliver highly capable solutions quickly and allow high agility for those working with the business users. Governance of implementing decisions at an architecture level, verifying correct implementation, and validating results should also be a part of the process of implementing BI solutions.
The Benefits
This BI approach incorporates a high level of agility with business users, and ensures incremental stability in developing the infrastructure that would allow appropriate enterprise users to leverage as much capability as would be meaningful to them. Since the BI work is often less interactive with the business, education campaigns are essential to ensure individuals have the capability to understand the BI analytics available to them.
Data, Analytics & Business Intelligence Client Samples
Manage Constituent Communications
The Challenge
The most common, and well documented, reason that BI projects fail at an alarming rate is that a technology solutions are implemented without first understanding how the business could benefit from the results. It is also clear that hype is a key driver, leading to unrealistic expectations from both technology and business organizations. Organizations that are used to operating in a transactional mode usually have not had the time or inclination to understand skills, processes, technologies or other factors necessary to operate from a strategic perspective to help focus resource allocations, efficiencies, and quality. Implementing technology without the ability to understand the underlying benefits of BI is the major inhibitor to BI success. Incremental exposure to BI provides a more agile way to understand and realize the benefits of BI.
The Approach
Delegata defines BI as the ability to deliver the right information, in the right place, at the right time to enhance business performance and decision making. By understanding from business subject matter experts and analytics experts what incremental solutions would provide value, the BI implementation team is able to prioritize and incrementally deliver the required capability. These incremental solutions also provide an aggregated baseline of components that benefit the enterprise. Components of the BI baseline can be re-used to construct other BI services. This approach facilitates Agile techniques, as the components are already available, yet fit into a new problem solution. This approach also emphasizes the importance of layering functional components in requirements gathering; incremental components are essential to building valuable BI by function, by service program, and by business offering.
The Solution
Delegata uses analytical teams focused with clients to build and deliver BI solutions for enterprise customers (internal or external). By working directly with those who will benefit from the resulting capability, solutions can be made and prototyped in increments that make sense for various functional areas. The BI team institutionalizes each incremental solution by integrating it within the evolving enterprise architecture domains so that the implementations are holistically established as an approved and supported enterprise capability. Our analytics solution packages combine business topic area, type of question, and statistical method to form an increment that can be acted upon. Delegata’s BI implementation also includes educational campaigns to help users understand what they will be able to use as new enterprise capability. The institutionalized BI capability incorporates enterprise modeling for the data and deploying the right data as delivery sources for BI tools to access. Standard technology implementations using Agile or Incremental models can deliver highly capable solutions quickly and allow high agility for those working with the business users. Governance of implementing decisions at an architecture level, verifying correct implementation, and validating results should also be a part of the process of implementing BI solutions.
The Benefits
This BI approach incorporates a high level of agility with business users, and ensures incremental stability in developing the infrastructure that would allow appropriate enterprise users to leverage as much capability as would be meaningful to them. Since the BI work is often less interactive with the business, education campaigns are essential to ensure individuals have the capability to understand the BI analytics available to them.
DOJ | Enterprise Data Sharing – Enterprise Table Projects (ETP)
The Client
The Attorney General also assists district attorneys, local law enforcement, and federal and international criminal justice agencies in the administration of justice. To support California’s law enforcement community, the Attorney General coordinates statewide narcotics enforcement efforts, participates in criminal investigations and provides forensic science services, identification and information services and telecommunication support.
In addition, the Attorney General establishes and operates projects and programs to protect Californians from fraudulent, unfair, and illegal activities that victimize consumers or threaten public safety. The Attorney General also enforces laws that safeguard the environment and natural resources.
Under the state Constitution, the Attorney General is elected to a four-year term in the same statewide election as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Controller, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Insurance Commissioner. In 1990, voters imposed a two-term limit on these statewide offices.
CDI’s Mission is to:
- Protect consumers
- Seek innovative ways to foster healthy and fair market competition;
- Vigorously ensure that insurance companies fulfill their legal and contractual obligations
- Ensure that consumers have full and meaningful information about insurance products, companies and agents
- Maintain an open, equitable regulatory process
- Fairly and impartially uphold the law
The Challenge
The California Department of Justice (DOJ) Hawkins Data Center provides operational services to DOJ and over 800 local criminal justice agencies throughout California. Critical criminal justice operations warranted an enterprise solution and information sharing model. The challenges that led to a transformative effort included:
- Enterprise data in silos
- Expiring application/vendor support
- High-level of data administration
The Solution
DOJ selected Delegata to manage, develop and implement the Enterprise Tables Project (ETP), a custom web-based application based on an “enterprise data model.” The model supports data as a service (in line with DOJ’s Service Oriented Architecture concept) for reusability on future operations. ETP enables DOJ to share enterprise and community master data with other entities such as Automated Criminal History System, Automated Fingerprint Identification System, California Law EnforcementWebs, Live Scan, Mental Health and more.
The Benefits
Delegata delivered a flexible architecture that enables DOJ to easily maintain their enterprise data. ETP interprets data models and enables business owners to define and enter business rules so when a new enterprise table is defined, it can be easily introduced to the system without changes to code.
Improved work-flow processes where data owners can easily add, review, approve and publish to other systems Enhanced security with role-based access Accurate and timely information based on elimination of data overlap Reduced and standardized business rules Enterprise data sharing with legacy systems Development of new enterprise tables without dedicated IT
In addition to managing and implementing ETP utilizing proven methodologies from Diamond and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Delegata partnered with DOJ to conduct thorough knowledge transfer so that new processes and systems were effectively integrated into the DOJ team.
Delegata and DOJ received the 2008 Best Solutions Award at the Government Technology Conference (GTC) for the Enterprise Tables Project.
ADP | Enterprise
The Client
For nearly 30 years, the Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs (ADP) has been California’s authority on substance abuse prevention and treatment. ADP’s responsibilities range from licensing and certification of providers to delivering strategies and standards throughout the state. In November of 2000, the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA) required ADP to rapidly implement statewide policy, forcing it into a period of dynamic change. Recognizing that its future success would depend, to a large degree, on its ability to effectively manage and apply information, ADP partnered with Delegata to help meet the challenge.
The Challenge
ADP requested that Delegata perform a technical study to develop an organization-wide data structure direction and strategy. The study included the need for a combined data structure, shared access for multiple business areas, an implementation strategy, and a transition strategy. The scope of the project included an analysis of three pilot projects and a number of various legacy systems.
The Solution
Delegata leveraged the Diamond © methodology and conducted a thorough study of existing systems and data. The study delved into multiple program areas to determine user requirements, needs and expectations. Having completed our investigation, we worked with ADP to create a future vision and developed a strategic roadmap for implementation of the solution.
Delegata performed an analysis and facilitated the development of a strategy that was defined at the executive level. Our strategy included an integrated solution with infrastructure, systems, and processes that included a data warehouse for analysis and decision support. The strategy positioned ADP to provide services through its existing infrastructure while moving towards a long-term, full implementation goal.
The Benefits
Delegata successfully integrated the results of several previously unfinished data warehouse studies. We identified 18 systems and 6 process areas to better integrate and share data. ADP’s new strategy included how to proceed with current “pilot” applications, built on Oracle Forms. Additionally, we reviewed the final strategy, and set a course for implementing state-of-the-art technology systems that are clean, user-friendly, and deliver accurate, meaningful context.
AALICO | Princess Noura Unviersity for Women
The Client
The Arabian Agriculture and Livestock Investment Company (AALICO) provides landscaping services across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). AALICO was expanding to take on larger Landscaping and Irrigation System Implementation projects within KSA and won a $22M bid for soft landscaping (delivery and implementation of living plants) and irrigation construction for Princess Noura University for Women (PNUFW).
The PNUFW project alone expanded AALICO’s revenue by more than twelve times their previous company revenues. Such larger projects bring a higher risk of performance and higher cost due to the infrastructure required to ensure the project can be completely responsive to contract requirements and standards that are not normally present in smaller projects. The focus for AALICO was Landscaping and Secondary Irrigation installation to be completed in two years for the entire University while it was under construction. With the risks of managing and implementing one of the largest single site landscaping projects in the world, AALICO partnered with Delegata to prepare itself for such larger projects through the establishment of a Project Management Office (PMO).
The Challenge
AALICO was awarded a very large contract by Princess Noura University that presented considerable execution challenges. During initial realization of the project there were significant conflicts and misunderstandings with the prime contractor that indicated a need to correct internal engineering practices, project management execution, contract management and communications management to prevent termination. The focus for AALICO was Landscaping and Secondary Irrigation installation to be completed in two years for the entire University while it was under construction. This presented significant challenges for time constraints and interdependent impacts between other construction companies.
The Solution
Initially focused on preventing contract termination, the Delegata program and project management solutions for contract, configuration, risk, and scope change management were introduced. Relationship management solutions were put in place to help the prime contractor begin to see the responsiveness and accountability of the organization to requirements as well as the ability to hold the prime contractor accountable for their responsibilities. As the relationship and performance stabilized, the work effort was sustained and additional effort was placed into development of project management standards for large project performance, definition of technical support systems, analysis of job cost systems to support large jobs as well as hiring assistance and training in the various aspects of individual performance required to execute the contract. The PMO documentation was delivered and put on hold while contract execution and relationship management were sustained through contract project end dates. (This aspect continued for some time due to scheduling extensions from the prime contractor for issues in providing areas for work to be completed.)
The Benefits
BUSINESS BENEFITS
With the Delegata solution, AALICO was able to retain the large contract and stabilized the execution of the project performing to a set of standards for large projects. Even though performance was not supported with a business system for job cost project management, records were manually kept and were sufficient to defend AALICO and to prove performance that kept pace with the prime contractor. Significant revenue was preserved and the PMO documentation in itself is an investment to help perform on large projects in a more consistent manner in future initiatives.
TECHNICAL BENEFITS
AALICO incorporated improved communications capability for project execution on a project site both among the delivery team members as well as with the prime contractor with better access to e-mail, improved planning desktop tools and tracking capabilities that provided an acceptable communication capability for the prime contractor. A job cost system recommendation was also made to help build the future technology infrastructure required for large projects.
