Testing and go-live best practices for a successful dashboard rollout

Testing and go-live best practices for a successful dashboard rollout Dr. Berg Comerit Inc.

Background Planning for the Xcelsius Dashboard Initiative The JAD, RAD, Agile (XP) or ASAP methodologies Getting the Right Dashboard Requirements Upgrade and Tool Migrations The Xcelsius Testing Approach Big-Bang Vs. Gradual Go-lives The BI Support Organization Wrap-up What We’ll Cover …

During the planning phase you should also start planning your go-live strategy. This include answering the following questions: Where are my users located? What is the network capacity? Do I need support people for extended time periods - different time zones? Do I need multi-currency support on my dashboards? Do I need multi-language support? What type of users do I have in each region? Go-Live Planning for the Xcelsius Dashboard Initiative Create a user map as part of your project planning. This will help you understand your user base

There are four core options for the training strategy: Classroom training Best when users are similar and centrally located On-line training Best when users are dispersed, dashboards are simple or go-live over long time period Train the trainer Best when users resides in many locations, multiple languages are involved and when there is a very high number of users One-on-one training Best for executives and senior management. Should be done at each user's office. User Training Options Source: dashbaord insights, 2009 Communicate and schedule training early in the project, so that everyone will be available

If users need training you have often failed to create a good dashboards. However, there are times when training are needed this include: Interactive dashboards and dashboards with complex graphing User Training for Complex Dashbaords In this dashboard, users can budget for travel categories, for each month, and also save scenarios. Some training is therefore required and should be planned early.

On-line help should be created for each dashboard Plan for an On-Line Help System for Your Dashboard Go-Live The on-line help system should explain • how number are calculated, • how to read graphs • what functionality is embedded

Some ways to create a low-cost on-line help system Include: Flash files Create a simple help dashboard & embed this into the overall dashboard Word Create a word document with screenshots. Save it as HTML and store the web pages on a web server. You can then link the URL on your dashboard. Custom Application Use a tool like front-page or any web authoring tool and create a complex on-line help system with menus, search functionality, movies that shows demonstrations etc. How to Create On-Line Help Systems On-line help centers can include contact information, training schedules. They can also be used to communicate information on future projects

There are several options for the Xcelsius Dashboard project Joint Application Design (JAD) Rapid Application Development (RAD) Agile, or Extreme Programming (XP) Accelerated SAP Methodology/ System Development Life-Cycle (SLDC) Many of the methodologies are not appropriate for the dashboard development effort The JAD, RAD, Agile (XP) or ASAP methodologies Pick your Xcelsius methodology carefully. Do not use ASAP unless you project is part of a budgeting, consolidation or planning effort.

The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodologies, such as ASAP, are known collectively as "waterfall methodologies". They give a false sense of clear cut stages and does not address substantial functionality changes during development. It is hard to fix missing functionality during integration test. The "Waterfall Methodologies" are Not Good for Dashboards The waterfall The challenge with ASAP is that users don't know what they want until they see it...

The SAP ASAP Methodology Overview

1. Facilitator – Facilitates discussions, enforces rules 2. End users – 3 to 5, attend all sessions 3. Developers – 2 or 3, question for clarity 4. Tie Breaker – Senior manager. Breaks end user ties, don’t attend 5. Observers – 2 or 3, do not speak 6. SMEs – A few subject matter experts (SME) for understanding business & technology Keep it very focused and explore the interfaces. How do the user want to see the screen layouts and functionality? Joint Application Design (JAD) - Who participates? A study of 60 development projects and found that without JAD, 35% of the functionality was missed (Source: Caper Jones)

RAD has an abbreviated blueprinting phase where meetings are executed in short succession to get the requirements. Most of the blueprinting and realization phase of the project are combined. The first meeting: a one or two days work session with uninterrupted time Who: Power users, casual users, people who today interact with the current system and managers who have a stake in the outcome of the dashboards How many: A rapid pace is kept in these meetings and the number of attendees is kept at no more than 7 people in attendance. The coordinators should focus on shared information needs and conduct multiple sessions (typically once a week) Rapid Application Development - RAD Why RAD?.. Increase involvement, less business disruption, less opinions, more consensus, information sharing and an education event.

The argument for XP is that other methodologies were developed to build software for low levels of change and reasonably predictable outcomes. But, the business world is no longer very predictable, and software requirements change at extremely high rates. Development can be completed faster with collaborative efforts of paired programmers with small 'sprint' timelines and many go-lives'. Agile and Extreme Programming (XP) for Xcelsius Dashboards XP was started by programmers who decided that the traditional requirements gathering sessions took too much time and often just verified what they already knew. The core premise of XP is that you can only pick 3 out of these 4 dimensions: cost, quality, scope, time.

Framework for picking your Dashboard Methodology Source: Dr. Berg, DM Review, 2006

Business requirements can be collected in a variety of ways based on the methodology that the company employs. It is a complex process and involves a period: Discovery and Education, Formal communication, Prototypes and Reviews Final approvals. The Xcelsius Business Requirements A dashboard implementation does not simply involve a series of black-and-white technical decisions; just because something is technically feasible does not mean it is wise or desirable from a business perspective. Source: Gooy_GUI, 2007

Where to you start? - First Alternative • You can start with start with a blank template and fill-in the capabilities • Focus on graphs, layout, measures & navigation. • One method is to write story-boards from a user perspective and add needed functionality to support this

Where to you start? - Second Alternative • Get a group of 5-7 people for a brainstorming session. • Draw the solution, knowing that it may look somewhat different once developed. • Focus of the use of space, graphs, navigation, available data and the purpose of the dashboards. • Do not design fixed format 'reports'

If you can make a 'mockup' in Excel, users can see what it may look like very quickly. You do not need to have any BOBJ tools installed. Building a Mockup in Excel This can be done in 30-60 minutes

Once the first day of brainstorming is completed, you can create data in Excel and prototype the solution in Xcelsisus. Focus on layout, space management, colors and basic formatting. Prototyping The Dashboard Requirements Plan for multiple weekly prototypes before you get the solution that everyone can agree on.

There are often disagreement on how to present numbers and graphs. Flexible Options to Meet Many Requirements • Make your dashboard flexible and present data in many interactive ways. • Amount Vs. Percentages • Different graphs • Users can select what they want graphed

When you upgrade your Xcelsisus dashboards consider a two step approach: Conduct a developer training or workshop session to learn the new functionality and agree on the upgrade timeline Do a technical upgrade over the weekend Copy all of the dashboards Implement new functionality on the copied dashboards Have a formal feedback session with user involvement to see how they like the changes Implement the new changes 2-6 weeks after the technical upgrade Tool Upgrades and Deployment of New Xcelsius Functionality Stability is the key to success in all end user systems. Even if the new functionality is better, users do not like a system that changes look and feel frequently.

If you are migrating users from a legacy reporting tool to your new dashboards you need a formal migration strategy. This could include: Maintaining two systems (not recommended) Running two systems in parallel for short time to reconcile results Remove legacy reporting tool as part of go-live (recommended) When Vikings settled new lands, they always burned the boats so that the settlers was 100% committed to the new situation. While it caused some anxiety, this is a great migration strategy that can be used for system migration efforts as well. Tool Migration Strategy A "burn the boats" reporting migration strategy assures high commitment to the new solution and possibly a high number of new requirements after go-live. Be prepared to support this...

Dashboards testing should follow a formal methodology The Dashboard Test Methodology Test Strategy • The test strategy is written at the beginning of the project and should include: • What will be tested • Who will test it and approve it • Where will the test occur • When will the test be scheduled Test Plan Test Execution Problem Resolution The test plan is more detailed and should be written once the first prototype is built

By requiring each of the 5-7 UAT members to complete a form for each dashboard, you get solid feedback that you can use in the next RAD development cycle During each UAT test cycle, you should solicit detailed feedback on layout, graphs, theme, tables and navigation. The Xcelsius User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Form This form is also on your memory stick

The load testing is intended to show any performance issues prior to the go-live. While all areas cannot be tested, this will give you an idea on bottlenecks. For large scale go-lives, you should consider having test PCs in multiple locations The Xcelsius Load Testing Form This form is also on your memory stick

Stress testing is very similar to load testing The difference is that the number of concurrent users are expected to be doubled Not all companies will use a stress test, nor pass it. This is due to the unrealistic concurrent load and the high hardware costs of meeting them. However, it provides very useful information The Xcelsius Stress Testing Form This form is also on your memory stick

Key Activities: Xcelsisus Dashboard Test Planning • The business analysts are responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing the testing of dashboards

Each UAT team could have dedicated time in the test room Provide food and snacks At least two testers (preferably more) should be assigned to test each functionality Large-Scale Xcelsisus Test Scheduling: Example All test results should be logged so that fixes do not impact other dashboards and consistency is maintained

There are many ways to do a gradual rollout of the dashboards The simplest way is: Bring all content into the production box, Setup the roles in production environment Gradually release roles to the end users. The benefit of doing this is that you can see how the system performs and solicit feedback from an increasingly large user group, before you release the dashboards to many users. A gradual go-live can reduce the potentially negative impact on the organization. Big-Bang Vs. Gradual Go-lives Unless the dashboards are for a single department, or very few users, you should always plan for a gradual go-live

A gradual go-live by region makes sense if: Training is needed Multi-language support is required A high number of users are expected Dashboards are tailored to local needs When you use a regional go-live strategy, you can also roll out the dashboards to power users first (i.e. one month before go-live) to see how the system works in a real production setting Gradual Go-lives by Region Global dashboards require serious attention to language support, user support, 24/7 availability and attention to non-native English speakers.

A gradual go-live by Organization Units makes sense if: Organization is very large Departments have very different needs Dashboards are tailored to dept. needs Data must be secured between organizations When you use an organizational go-live strategy, you need to focus on the branding of each dashboard (i.e. logos of subsidiaries) and on integration of support functions in their organizations (i.e. helpdesk). Xcelsius Dashboard Go-lives by Organization Units Departmental dashboards should have first level support in their respective business units.

You need to separate the operations of BI systems from the project work If there is no support organization, the BI system quickly becomes an orphan when the project ends Without a support org. there is a risk that future BI projects are delayed since the project team has to support previous projects BI Support Organization — Big Picture

This large team can support complex applications, cockpits, BI portals, and broadcasting while providing training and help desk support as well as on-going data warehousing production support. An Example of a Large BI Support Team Note: Job areas are meant for illustrations, and will vary depending on the BI applications supported Support leader Full time Data loads & fixes Full-time Dashboards i.e. Xcelsius Full-time SAP BI Basis Full-time Helpdesk, user support Full-time BI Query i.e. WebI, BEx Full-time Data loads & fixes Full-time Training, user support Full-time Data quality & data resource mgmt. Full-time Portal, collaboration, KM, security Full-time

What to Include in a BI Dashboard Service Level Agreement (SLA) When must data stores be loaded by (time) What will happened if a persistent problem occurs (“swat” teams)? Who is responsible for fixing process chains and who pays? Do you get a discount for each DataStore that is not loaded in time? How should Service Packs and Fix Packs be applied When will SP, FP and SAP Notes be applied? Who pays for it? Who is responsible for testing them? When will the BOBJ system be upgraded When will upgrades occur, how is the pricing determined? Who pays for it and who is responsible for testing? How long can the system be off-line? Minimum uptime and target uptime What is uptime defined as (data store loaded vs. queries available vs. security fixes applied vs. portal uptime vs. third-party reporting tool uptime vs. network uptime vs. Xcelsius issues, etc.)? What are the penalties (money) for missing the dashboard uptime requirements?

Issues log What issues must be logged? Who owns the log? Do you have access? Can entries be updated, or must an audit trail be preserved? Backup and disaster recovery What is included in the backup and when is it taken? When will restore abilities be tested? How fast must restore occur, and what data stores and users will first have access (priority list)? Who owns the data If you switch vendors, who owns the data? How will you get access to the data? Do you get full insights to all? Who, of the vendor’s employees, gets access to your data? Can they share it with your competitor? Service tickets When will service tickets be monitored? What are the categories and who will resolve them? What are the resolution process and timelines? How are customer and support satisfaction measured? What to Include in a Dashboard BI SLA (cont.)

Escalation process What will happened if an issue cannot be resolved by the internal IT department/ vendor and your business SLA manager? What are the steps needed to terminate the SLA contract and are there any payments/fault payments or budget recourse (i.e., move money from cost centers)? What to Include in a BI Dashboard SLA (cont.) The more details you put into the dashboard SLA up- front, the easier it will be to measure and the more likely you are to have a successful relationship

Examples of reasonable performance targets: 90% of all dashboards run under 20 seconds System is available 98% of the time Data loads are available at 8am — 99% of the time User support tickets are answered within 30 minutes (first response) User support tickets are closed within 48 hours — 95% of the time. System is never unavailable for more than 72 hrs — including upgrades, fix packs, service packs, and disaster recovery Delta backups are done each 24 hrs cycle and system backups are done every weekend Reasonable Xcelsius Dashboard SLA Performance

Project Management Metrics, KPIs, and Dashboards: A Guide to Measuring and Monitoring Project Performance by Harold Kerzner, Aug. 2011 Agile Project Dashboards - Bringing value to Stakeholders and top management (What can you do for your PO Today?)by Leopoldo Simini, July 2011 Key Performance Indicators: Developing, Implementing, and Using Winning KPIs by David Parmenter, Jan 2007 Resources

Use a RAD, JAD or XP approach for your dashboards Have multiple meetings with the user groups Build interactive prototypes and expect requirements changes Plan for a formal load testing of the dashboard Have a rollout plan and a long-term vision of how to get there Requirements gathering is interactive and users are discovering what they want Spend serious time planning for a support and on-going enhancement of your dashboards, or they will become useless in a very short time... 7 Key Points to Take Home

Your Turn! How to contact me: Dr. Berg bberg@comerit.com

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Testing and go-live best practices for a successful dashboard rollout

Testing and go-live best practices for a successful dashboard rollout

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