BI Architecture
Analysing service delays by process stage
Rebuild case timelines, distinguish recorded work from elapsed gaps, compare process routes and investigate delays without assuming their cause.
Desk
Desk Data Platform
Looks at storage, modelling and integration choices that sit behind a reporting stack.
Data Modelling
Backtesting a forecast using earlier periods
Recreate historical forecast issue dates, prevent future-data leakage, compare errors at the right horizon and interpret the result’s limits.
Data Modelling
BI data modelling
Define reporting grain, facts, dimensions, dates, measures and changing attributes in a BI model that produces explainable figures.
BI Architecture
BI system performance and cost control
Measure BI delays and recurring costs, locate the responsible workload, and check accuracy and freshness before accepting a change.
Data Modelling
Building a shared calendar for business reporting
Set consistent reporting dates, weeks, financial periods and date roles across BI reports, with practical checks for boundaries and incomplete data.
BI Architecture
Choosing a baseline before adding a complex model
Compare mean, latest-value, seasonal and drift baselines, then decide whether a more complex forecasting model adds useful value.
Data Modelling
Choosing warehouse requirements from reporting workloads
Build a testable warehouse brief from report queries, refresh times, history, concurrent use and acceptance checks.
BI Architecture
Comparing a data warehouse with operational databases
Compare operational databases and data warehouses by query workload, history, freshness and application impact before moving reports.
Data Modelling
Comparing locations without ignoring their different conditions
Compare operational sites using aligned definitions, useful denominators and case-mix context while keeping raw results and uncertainty visible.
Reporting Operations
Comparing scheduled batch loads with near-real-time pipelines
Compare batch and near-real-time paths by decision timing, report completeness, recovery and visible data delay.
BI Architecture
Data integration for BI
Plan how source changes reach BI reports, keep figures traceable and define when a reporting period is complete.
BI Architecture
Data warehouses and analytical storage
Decide when reporting needs a data warehouse, what analytical storage must serve, and which workload and cost questions to check first.
Data Modelling
Deciding which reports need a shared data model
Use meaning, reuse, access and change impact to decide which reports should share a data model.
Data Modelling
Defining facts, dimensions and reporting grain
Define what each BI table row represents, identify valid keys and distinguish additive amounts from balances and ratios before building reports.
Data Modelling
Documenting currency conversion assumptions
Record currency pair, rate source, date, direction and missing-rate treatment so converted BI figures can be reproduced and reconciled.
Reporting Operations
Estimating analytical storage and compute costs
Build a warehouse cost estimate from stored data, queries, running compute and related services, with billing-model caveats.
BI Architecture
Evaluating BI tools using the same dataset
Build a fair BI software trial with one data snapshot, approved figures, matching user tasks and recorded configuration differences.
Data Modelling
Handling changing customer attributes in analytical models
Choose when to overwrite customer details, retain dated versions or show a current grouping, and check how each choice affects historical BI reports.
Reporting Operations
Handling missing source data without silently filling gaps
Distinguish absent source deliveries from genuine zero activity and decide how a BI report should show incomplete data.
Data Modelling
Providing trusted datasets for non-technical teams
Make reusable datasets understandable with approved measures, visible limits, ownership and a practical first-user check.
Data Modelling
Testing a pipeline after a source schema change
Check extraction, mappings, delivered fields and report figures after a source schema changes.