DIY

I spent the past weekend with a friend who owns a farm in southeastern Washington State.  I helped him replace the main electric line into his old barn.  After toiling over a keyboard, it felt great to get out and be phyiscally productive; the satisfaction of physical work is different for me than just moving electronic bits around.

I have done my fair share of wiring, but I've never played with the main lines before.  I'm certainly not going to become a lineman, but I can say I did it.

As I drove home, I reflected on my accomplishment and thought of it relative to my client's desires to want to create their own BI reports.  I have always understood the desire to be self-sufficient and the need to manage costs, but I think I have underappreciated the desire to create a useful report.  Of course, I can't personally direct all my clients as my friend directed me, but I can certainly provide an environment in which they can be successful on their own:

• Data - have all the metrics pre-aggregated and ready for any potential use
• Definitions - ensure everything can be explained easily with either a click or a document
• Training - take time to create meaningful scenarios when I show them how the system works
• Examples - have ample existing reports for them to reverse-engineer
• Support - celebrate their successes!

Carl