Some Insight With Your Coffee: BI Technology Tips from Dunkin' Donuts

When Dunkin' Brands Inc. wanted to keep tabs on whether in-store ice machines at Dunkin' Donuts outlets could keep pace with orders for ice coffee, the Canton, Mass.-based company turned to business intelligence (BI) technology. Dunkin' Brands' BI expert Steve Allocco and IT Strategy Director Richard Broughton offer the following 10 best practices to help companies implement smart BI programs:

  • Focus on the most significant pain point.
  • Ensure that the infrastructure is in place before the development of the application.
  • Provide short-term wins while quickly delivering milestone results.
  • Establish tight integration with business strategy.
  • To justify major enhancements, provide ROI analysis on the proposed work.
  • Grow the IT environment as needed by aligning costs with business needs.
  • Leverage cross-functional user groups to ensure that the application meets requirements prior to a large-scale rollout.
  • Establish quarterly deliverables to ensure a sense of urgency and quality.
  • Follow an iterative development methodology.
  • Select a vendor that has the BI experience and a proven track record.

This was first published in September 2005

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