As healthcare business intelligence professionals, we recognize the value of fast data insights for making informed decisions. However, a backlog of BI requests might cause bottlenecks and slow progress.
This blog gives 5 immediate ways to address your BI backlog and ensure your team delivers the right information stakeholders want.
1. Prioritize Ruthlessly:
- Collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize backlog items based on their impact on patient care, cost savings, or operational efficiency. Prioritize high-impact projects with direct implications for key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Identify time-sensitive reports that require quick action (e.g. regulatory compliance deadlines).
- Determine the feasibility of each request by assessing its technical complexity and resource requirements. Prioritize projects using easily accessible data and manageable development timelines.
2. Streamline Request Process:
- Standardize report request templates with explicit data criteria and success indicators. This saves time on back-and-forth clarifications.
- Use self-service BI products for basic reporting. Empower stakeholders with simple dashboards for routine data exploration, decreasing the workload on your team.
3. Leverage Existing Resources:
- Standardization and Reusability: Encourage the reuse of current reports and data models wherever practical. This frees up precious resources for actual new needs.
- Use centralized data repositories to simplify data access and eliminate unnecessary efforts.
4. Communication is Key:
- Ensure transparency by informing stakeholders about project timeframes and prioritizing decisions. Manage expectations by setting realistic delivery dates.
- Collaborate with business users to ensure reports meet their needs and goals.
5. Invest in Efficiency:
- Use automation technologies for repetitive processes like data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL).
- Use user-friendly visualization tools to provide clear reports for stakeholders, reducing the need for additional clarification.
Remember, reducing the BI backlog is a continual endeavor. By taking these early steps and cultivating a culture of collaboration and efficiency, you can ensure that your BI team provides meaningful insights that lead to improved healthcare outcomes.