A framework for governing responsibilities in self-service business intelligence & analytics (SSBI&A)

Self-Service Business Intelligence & Analytics (SSBI&A) is a modern approach to data analysis in which tasks for decision-oriented data usage are transferred from specialised experts (so-called power users) to casual business users. However, this self-empowerment of casual users also creates challenges for an organisation. A typical problem with this self-service approach is that casual users may receive more responsibility than is appropriate, given their individual skills in using and analysing data. The resulting consequences of improper use of SSBI&A include the generation of incorrect analyses and reports, as well as inadequate distribution and maintenance of reports. Therefore, clarity is needed in differentiating responsibilities in the SSBI&A context. This article addresses the corresponding issue of governing SSBI&A: It is necessary to determine which SSBI&A use cases are appropriate for pure ‘self-service’, which should at least be supported by experienced power users, and which clearly fall outside the competence and responsibility of casual users. To address this issue, this study proposes an ‘SSBI&A Responsibility Framework’. This framework implements two criteria-based dimensions of SSBI&A use case evaluation: ‘Difficulty’ and ‘Relevance’. In a matrix, four scenarios for governing, i.e. allocating responsibilities, can be derived. An evaluation based on real-life application scenarios demonstrates its utility.