Graham Dewar – Enterprise Performance Management lead

No one is in any doubt that Frank Lampard scored a goal against Germany. However, the only person who needed to know at the critical time (the referee) didn’t have the right information at the right time to make the right decision. The question is simply framed, “Was a goal legally scored?”, and the answer is readily available via replay or goal line technology. However, the senior management of FIFA have resisted change, using the trusted ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ management philosophy.

So rule #1 for business intelligence is to get key stakeholder buy-in, even where the solution seems so obvious it hardly seems necessary.

But FIFA also make a good point. If you introduce technology, where might it end? How do you govern a game without spoiling the flow and entertainment? Too many organisations, with the best intent, loose their way in the data fog. Too much information provided to too many people all of the time.

That leads us to rule #2. Don’t measure something just because you can. Make sure it is useful and valuable and will lead to meaningful decisions. In our example, the only measure FIFA should be concerned with is “Was a goal legally scored?”.

Finally, don’t get distracted by the wrong data. A player writhing around on the floor in false agony is usually a compelling enough reason to dismiss an opponent, but all too often play-acting is involved.

Rule #3. Make sure your data has integrity, otherwise you risk making the wrong decisions.

In many ways, FIFA are right, it’s not about the technology, it’s about the people and processes – but well placed enabling technology can help us all.

At Atos Consulting, Business Intelligence is part of our Added Value focus.

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