“We hold these truths to be self evident”

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson’s famous introduction to the United States Declaration of Independence declares, with confidence, that the views expressed within that famous document are indisputable, and require no defence.

Do you have the same confidence in your BI reports?

If you do, is your confidence justified?

Some (mostly BI vendors) would argue that any decision is better than no decision.

In this case, why bother with reports at all?

Simply go with your gut, as discussed in The unbearable truthiness of analytics

If you are relying on reporting to enable you to make an informed decision then you need answers to two key questions.

1. Where does my data come from?

In most organisations, data is split across a multitude of operational and master data systems.

Key sales figures, for example, may be sourced from a departmental system for one report, and from the enterprise CRM system for another. This can cause inconsistency and confusion if, as is common, different systems hold different views of similar data. The ability to trace the source, or data lineage, of your data is a key data governance function.

2. Is the quality of my source data adequate?

There is no point in reporting on a KPI like, for example, “Sales per Quarter” if you are not capturing the date of sale for many of your records.

Data quality measures will give you an indication of the degree of confidence with which other metrics can be used, as discussed in Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

The Importance of Report Certification

Report certification is essential for ensuring the trustworthiness and reliability of business intelligence (BI) reports. It involves a process of validating and verifying the accuracy, consistency, and quality of the data used in the reports, as well as ensuring the integrity of the entire reporting process. Here are some steps to go about report certification:

1. Data Governance: Establish a robust data governance framework that outlines the policies, processes, and responsibilities for managing data quality and reporting standards. Data governance ensures that data is accurate, consistent, and reliable across different systems and sources.
2. Data Lineage: Understand and document the source of your data. Identify where the data comes from, how it is transformed, and where it is used in the reporting process. Data lineage provides transparency and traceability, allowing you to identify potential issues or discrepancies in the data flow.
3. Data Quality Assessment: Evaluate the quality of your source data. Implement data quality measures to assess the completeness, accuracy, consistency, and validity of the data. This involves data profiling, data cleansing, and data validation techniques to identify and resolve any data issues.
4. Report Testing: Perform rigorous testing on the reports to ensure their accuracy and reliability. Test calculations, formulas, and aggregations to verify that the report outputs match the expected results. Use sample datasets or real-world scenarios to validate the report’s functionality and performance.
5. Documentation and Metadata: Maintain comprehensive documentation and metadata about the reports. Document the data sources, transformations, calculations, and business rules used in the report. This documentation serves as a reference for future audits, troubleshooting, and understanding the report’s context.
6. Report Validation and Review: Establish a review process involving subject matter experts and stakeholders to validate the report outputs. Conduct periodic reviews to ensure the reports continue to meet the required standards and align with the evolving business needs.
7. Communication and Transparency: Clearly communicate the certification process, standards, and outcomes to the report users and stakeholders. Foster transparency and provide them with the necessary information to understand the reliability and limitations of the reports.

Conclusion

Together, data governance and data quality can empower you to make better decisions, by allowing you to use key reports when they can be relied upon, and by giving you the focus as to where to improve those reports that cannot be trusted.

By following these steps, organizations can enhance the trustworthiness of their BI reports and ensure that data-driven decisions are based on accurate and reliable information. Report certification helps mitigate risks associated with inaccurate reporting and empowers organizations to make informed decisions based on trustworthy data.

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