Evaluating the benefits of business intelligence systems: a design science approach

Business Intelligence (BI) is the current approach to supporting management decision-making, and is a top technology priority for IT managers. BI allows organisations to integrate data from multiple sources, consolidate and present it for decision-making purposes. BI systems provide managers with the ability to move beyond 'traditional' IT, and enhance decision-making through the provision of consistent, meaningful information. The successful implementation of BI enables organisations to have access to more timely, reliable, and better quality information. This enhanced capability is reflected in increasing adoption rates and high investment figures. The benefits of BI, which can include improvements to organisational efficiency and effectiveness, are widespread. The effective evaluation of the value of IT investments has been a notoriously challenging undertaking, particularly with systems providing intangible benefits. BI is an example of such a system. While efficiency projects are relatively straightforward to assess, improvements in organisational effectiveness are more problematic. Effectiveness benefits go further than simple cost reductions, and provide organisations with ways of doing things better, which ultimately leads to increased service or revenue. This research aims to improve the effectiveness of the evaluation of BI investments. BI is an industry-led discipline, and as such, this research is grounded in the experiences of industrial practice. Using a design science research methodology, this research builds and evaluates a method for the effective evaluation of BI systems. The method is further refined using focus group and case study approaches, leading to the creation of a tested design artefact that addresses what is currently a concerning gap in BI practice.