Business Intelligence - Team and Roles
Building a strong Business Intelligence (BI) team starts with picking the right people and making sure each person knows exactly what their role is. Before the team can do their job well, it's crucial to have a solid data infrastructure in place. This means having the right tools and systems ready so the team so that the team can get started straight away.
It's also important to understand your organization's current data capabilities and what you need from the BI team. This helps you set clear goals for them. Lastly having a budget is essential to ensure the BI team has the financial resources they need to do their work effectively.
Additionally, keeping communication open and regularly revisiting these needs and goals can help the team stay aligned with the organization's evolving requirements.
Business intelligence roles can be grouped into three categories −
- Technical Roles
- Techno-functional Roles
- Management Roles
Technical Roles
In a BI team, technical roles are focused on creating and maintaining the technical infrastructure. These team members design, develop, and manage BI solutions. They handle everything from coding and testing to supporting and maintaining the systems that drive business intelligence.
Some of the roles are as follows −
1. Business Intelligence Architect
A BI Architect is responsible for designing and maintaining the overall BI architecture. They ensure that BI solutions meet both business and technical requirements, focusing on scalability, performance, and data quality. They also stay up-to-date with the latest tools and technologies and guide the development teams.
2. Business Intelligence Developer
The responsibilities of a BI developer can vary depending on whether they focus on a specific part of the solution, like the frontend or backend, or handle the entire process from start to finish as a full-stack developer. Typically, a BI developer is part of an agile BI team and reports to a BI team lead or the Head of BI. Their main tasks involve designing, developing, and maintaining BI solutions, which include data warehouses, ETL processes, and reporting tools.
In simpler terms, what a BI developer does can change based on whether they're working on just one piece of the puzzle or managing the whole project.
3. Business Intelligence Quality Assurance Engineer
A BI Quality Assurance Engineer ensures that BI solutions are accurate and reliable. They test data flows, verify metrics, and check for performance issues. Their role is crucial in making sure that the BI system delivers the right insights without errors.
Techno Functional Roles
The techno-functional team forms a connection between technical teams and management teams.
Some of the roles are as follows −
1. Business Intelligence Analyst
A BI analyst's main job is to make sense of data and figure out whats important for the business. They look at the numbers understand what the data is telling them and then turn that information into reports and dashboards that help the company make better decisions. Their goal is to find insights that the business can use.
2. BIBA (Business Intelligence Business Analyst)
A Business Intelligence Business Analyst (BIBA) focuses on helping others, like business users and customers, make the most of BI solutions rather than using them themselves. They act as the bridge between business users and the BI development teams, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Typically, a BIBA is an integral part of the BI team.
Management Roles
Management roles in Business Intelligence (BI) are similar to those in other fields, ranging from Team Leads to high-level positions like VPs and C-Level executives. These roles may vary depending on the size and needs of the organization.
The higher up in the hierarchy, the broader the responsibilities. A Team Lead focuses on guiding their team, a Head of BI oversees an entire department, and so on. Similarly, budget responsibilities also increase with the role, from managing a team budget to overseeing departmental or corporate finances.