Instant Warehouse: Reduce Risk

Ensure the project meets the need, before it's built
Involve users at the earliest stages
Gain acceptance before you implement

Ensure the project meets the need, before it's built

There are many risks when you undertake a new project. Many can significantly impact the success of your project. Some common risks include:

• The available data may not be sufficient to meet the required needs
• With longer implementation time lines, the requirements may change before the user sees the result
• The data may present access challenges that were unforeseen
• Unexpected data quality issues can increase implementation effort
• Unexplained data contents can also increase implementation effort

While it is impossible to eliminate risk, many risks are more controllable than you might think. For example, all of the above risks can be mitigated at the prototype stage, before implementation starts, through the use of a tool like Instant Warehouse.

It just makes good business sense to take whatever cost-effective steps you can to minimize risk.

Involve users at the earliest stages

Using agile methodologies, you start by providing direct access to the core information, with a minimum of up-front planning required. You then easily and iteratively update the Instant Warehouse model to reflect the evolving scope and requirements of your project, as your users work with the model.

The users see the source data, so they can much more readily relate to the results. This provides additional benefits, as the users can quickly identify problems or opportunities in the data that would never have come to light through a documentation review. You can also identify and address data quality and other issues at this stage, while your response can still be flexible.

Gain acceptance before you implement

As agile modeling continues, the users immediately see the results, provide instant feedback, and further refine the model. When you have finished, you know that the modeled system meets the intended needs, and that you have minimized the risks associated with unexpected data problems or functional changes.

An expected, and valuable, consequence of agile modelling is a dramatic reduction in completion time versus traditional methodologies. This inevitably results in a much more timely delivery of the solution, with corresponding decreases in cost and increases in acceptance.