Measure to success? : Business dashboard implementation in Finnish mid-sized company
Nauholz, Niko (2021-05-27)
Measure to success? : Business dashboard implementation in Finnish mid-sized company
(27.05.2021)
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
avoin
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on:
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2021060333801
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2021060333801
Tiivistelmä
This thesis describes the implementation process of a business intelligence-based dashboard in a Finnish mid-sized company. The company is going through significant change, as the company is internally reorganizing, and the business environment is normalizing after years of exponential growth. The company’s new management team needs a clearer picture of the current business to make well-informed decisions going forward and to improve the company’s performance.
The thesis relies on design science research, where an artifact is designed to meet the business problem on the case company. The artefact creation process is grounded in existing theory, utilizing available knowledge, and expanding it during the design process. Business intelligence proposed the most suitable alternative to information gathering, processing and dissemination. The most visible part of the solution is the designed business Dashboard, which displays key information on internal processes and company performance to the management team.
In order to create the business dashboard, a business intelligence process had to be established first in the case company. The adopted process model was modified from existing models, whereby the model had already strong evidence of usability based on the literature review. The modified process model suited the company’s needs and combined best practices and insight from several proposed frameworks in the academia.
To evaluate the problem relevance and validate the artefact design, the artefact was created in close co-operation with the management team. Formal interviews were held to determine the information needs of the managers, as suggested in the theory. Once the design process was finished, the dashboard was introduced to the management team, receiving positive feedback. To ensure that the artefact was taken into routine use and answered the given business problem, a second round of interviews was to collect feedback on the design and usability after three months of experience with the artefact. The results were again very positive, as the managers signaled increased visibility and understanding of the company’s current performance through the dashboard.
The contribution of the thesis is giving insight into the business intelligence implementation in mid-sized companies, as well as confirming earlier theoretical findings on business intelligence, dashboards and utilizing design science to tackle business problems. Additionally, the business problem in the case company was to a large degree solved, as is the target in design science research.
The thesis relies on design science research, where an artifact is designed to meet the business problem on the case company. The artefact creation process is grounded in existing theory, utilizing available knowledge, and expanding it during the design process. Business intelligence proposed the most suitable alternative to information gathering, processing and dissemination. The most visible part of the solution is the designed business Dashboard, which displays key information on internal processes and company performance to the management team.
In order to create the business dashboard, a business intelligence process had to be established first in the case company. The adopted process model was modified from existing models, whereby the model had already strong evidence of usability based on the literature review. The modified process model suited the company’s needs and combined best practices and insight from several proposed frameworks in the academia.
To evaluate the problem relevance and validate the artefact design, the artefact was created in close co-operation with the management team. Formal interviews were held to determine the information needs of the managers, as suggested in the theory. Once the design process was finished, the dashboard was introduced to the management team, receiving positive feedback. To ensure that the artefact was taken into routine use and answered the given business problem, a second round of interviews was to collect feedback on the design and usability after three months of experience with the artefact. The results were again very positive, as the managers signaled increased visibility and understanding of the company’s current performance through the dashboard.
The contribution of the thesis is giving insight into the business intelligence implementation in mid-sized companies, as well as confirming earlier theoretical findings on business intelligence, dashboards and utilizing design science to tackle business problems. Additionally, the business problem in the case company was to a large degree solved, as is the target in design science research.