Myth #1: Data Projects Are About Technology

Here's how it often starts:

A vendor takes an executive to lunch. They've known each other for years.

"Everyone's moving to technology solution X. Your competitors are using our new analytics platform. Look at these dashboards... imagine having this kind of visibility into your business."

Next thing you know, there's a seven-figure purchase order getting pushed through procurement. Your boss assigns you the task with a side of AI features because, let’s be honest if AI isn’t on your roadmap, then is it even 2025??

Gut punch. Ouch.

Not asking why

Here’s an all too real example of this problem and actually the reason why we decided to start this blog series:

We recently helped a client implement a new data and analytics platform. The technical part? That was easy. Moving data from on-prem servers to Fabric? No problem.

The hard part? Nobody could answer: "Why, besides moving data off an on-prem server, are we even doing this project?"

Four months later:

• Dashboards sat unused
• Requirements kept shifting
• AI features never materialized
• Money spent, little value gained

Work for the bottom up

Why? Because the project started at the top of the pyramid then proceeded to try and figure out the rest.

Avoid the 87 percent

Want to avoid joining the 87% of failed data and analytics projects? Start here:

"Why is your business going to be better off at the end of this project?"

Too difficult? How about we break this down into some more straightforward starting points…

1. What are the Pain Points?

• What decisions take too long today?
• Where do you lack visibility?
• Which processes cause the most frustration?

2. Quantify the Impact

• How much time/money does the current situation cost you?
• What would faster decisions be worth?
• What opportunities are you missing?
• How does this project enable the business into the future?

3. Define Success Clearly

• Which specific metrics need to improve?
• How will the business change post-implementation?
• How will you measure ROI?
• How does this project fit within the broader business vision and strategy?

These answers become your north star throughout the project.

Remember: It doesn't matter what technology solution you choose, how sophisticated your data pipeline is, how rapidly your system scales, or how lightning-fast your queries run. Even real-time data capabilities are irrelevant if your users only need daily updates.

What matters is the business impact.

Discovery Worksheet

Pro Tip: Use our Miro Data Planning Discovery Worksheet to organize your thinking, or let us help with an unbiased discovery session. Either way, you'll start armed with clarity about what matters most. Don't use Miro? Download the PDF.

Next up: Myth #2: If You Build It, They Will Come (and use it) – where we'll explore why the shiniest dashboards often sit unused.