A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MINING INDUSTRY

by

SHALIN NAIDOO

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTERS DEGREE IN BUSINES ADMINISTRATION (MBA)

in the

Business School

Faculty of Management Sciences

TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Supervisor: Dr. Jan Kruger

April 2013

A SUCCESSFUL BI IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MINING INDUSTRY

SHALIN NAIDOO

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the influencing factors to a successful Business Intelligence implementation in the mining sector. Included in this study are the factors that affect a Business Intelligence solution negatively and positively as well as the benefits and solution that a Business Intelligence solution can provide.

BI has delivered what it has set out to accomplish within the mining industry. Unfortunately these successes are not common. Therefore there is a need for studies such as this to mitigate their risk of BI implementations and successfully deliver the full promise of this vital business tool.

A case study is used to conduct this study, and the findings reveals that a lack of understanding and the reluctance to change are the major factors of a failed BI project. Technology is not a factor in failures and it is found that BI lives up to its promise when successfully implemented. [154 words]

LITERATURE REVIEW

This research study focuses on the dynamics that affect a BI venture within a mining organization. When Business Intelligence is mentioned one talks about processes and procedures as well as the technologies that bind and streamline them. The end result of this architecture is an easily readable, structured, formatted report that may be used for decision making. These decisions can be made for future conditions based on historical data (Sun, Heller, 2012).

The question may also be posed as to what are the constituent factors leading up to a successful business intelligence implementation. These generic factors include establishing a Business Intelligence competency center and center of excellence, selecting the correct project for implementation, establish a solid foundation for the project selected, understand the business and the data from that business that you will transact with, robust speed and capacity performance which will impact the system once there is buy-in from the organization, ensure small, manageable teams with the necessary experience and expertise, establish and maintain good, solid professional relationships with the client, track and measure both technical and business results (Adelman, 2006: 1-12).

The Mining Industry is specifically chosen because of the decisions that are required, which affects one of the largest private employers of human resources on the planet. These decisions therefore need to be quick, efficient and vivid. From production, to human resources to the safety of the mines themselves, decisions using business intelligence can influence their outcomes. These objectives are however not unique to the mining industry (Orr et al, 2005). Documentation regarding business intelligence implementations is relatively few in circulation. This research will serve to fill the gap of establishing a specific methodology in order to execute a successful Business Intelligence implementation. BI tools are implemented without realizing what the benefits are and where they will be optimized in order to increase internal efficiencies. The mining industry requires a single view of the truth across the organization from financial reporting to geology. To achieve this, the storage location of data should be transparent (Goldsmith, 2010). The mining industry needs a holistic view of business and Information Technology can facilitate it (Lundberg, 2006).

THE PROBLEM STATEMENT The main purpose of this study is to identify the factors that will enable the implementation of a successful Business Intelligence solution in the Mining Industry.

This study is elected because of the great amounts of information, the many different BI tools and the disparate information that exists in the mining industry. Users of BI in the organisation need to be informed and trained on these tools before a full rollout of this solution. These factors resulted in many different versions of organisational truth. For this reason it is found that research needs to be done regarding successful BI in the mining industry.

BI in the mining industry is mostly done on an ad hoc basis, that is, it is done spontaneously or as the user requires it. There are no defined requirements. There is no structure when trying to develop an overall BI strategy that is sustainable and controlled.

For a single version of the truth to be achieved these tools need to be reduced to as few as possible with data emanating from a single, consolidated source and aligning the entire organisation with the aim of these BI tools. For control and sustainability to be achieved there needs to be an organisational body or elected sponsor to manage and maintain these types of projects.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY This study will add great benefit to organisations decision makers or champions1 wanting to implement successful, cost effective Business Intelligence in a Mining Organisation. They can very easily reference the advantages and disadvantages of these tools and weigh the pros against the cons. Do the tool/tools in question give them what they want? How will we reap the benefits of implementing these successfully? By looking at these different scenarios one would be able to determine if there should be capital available to undertake these relatively arduous, extensive and expensive projects.

This study is also be applicable to those that have already implemented these solutions. It will enable the project team to refine, trim and make more efficient that which they already have, by looking at some of the guidelines that will be available to them.

The soft issues or social issues that may present themselves in a solution is also available in this research paper. This will assist and inform all entities across board from the first line users to the system developers, system

analysts, business analysts, administrators, all the way to the top of organisational hierarchy which includes the directorship and board members.

This documentation illustrates explicitly the advantages and disadvantages of the BI project that will be attractive to sponsors that are looking for new and old ways of saving time and therefore money. Fixes are sometimes overlooked and therefore solutions become an expensive routine which causes scope creep and therefore a requirement for extra project funding.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The Research Methodology chosen for this study is be based on a qualitative approach. This methodology is chosen because of the manner in which Business Intelligence Systems work. Reporting is conducted postmortem of any decision made within the business. Direct quantification of these analytics is therefore not accurate. Because of the explicit and documented nature of these betterment processes as well as the determination of the soft enterprise issues one can derive that this research will be best described Qualitative. Organizational Information Gatekeepers involved in the information gathered in this paper are: 2 senior BI consultant with vast experience and industries A BI team leader with Impala Platinum with 7 years of Leadership in the BI field Business Information Systems Programme Manager / Integration Manager in Impala Platinum

Work Plan:
2012 Task Planned Advanced l i terature study Fi nal i zi ng research probl em / question Pl anni ng research desi gn Preparation of project proposal Submi ssi ons of Proposal Further l i terature studi es Wri te chapter 1 Wri te chapter 2 Anal yze l i terature work Wri te chapter 3 Desi gn sol ution to research probl em Wri te chapter 4 Wri te chapter 5 Revi ew and edi t draft chapters Fi nal i ze thesi s Proof readi ng Correct mi stakes Handi ng thesi s i n Planned start 20-Jun 01-Aug 15-Aug 29-Aug 19-Sep 20-May 03-Jun 24-Jun 15-Jul 29-Jul 19-Aug 02-Sep 23-Sep 14-Oct 28-Oct 04-Nov 18-Nov 05-Dec 2 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 2 1 2 1 Time in weeks 6 2 2 3 Planned completed 01-Aug 15-Aug 29-Aug 19-Sep 21-Sep 03-Jun 24-Jun 15-Jul 29-Jul 19-Aug 02-Sep 23-Sep 14-Oct 28-Oct 04-Nov 18-Nov 25-Nov 05-Dec J F M A M J x J x A x x x x x x x x x x S O N D J F M A 2013 M J J A S O N D

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Ethical Considerations:
All parties, their rights and integrity, must be upheld and protected at all times during and post study. The highest ethical and principled considerations must be ensured and secured with the proper agreements and documentation. This study should not be used as a tool to manipulate data to fit these success factors identified. Data could be manufactured or influenced to meet the necessary outcomes of a BI project.

This paper will not be used as a tool to instil negative reinforcement of any behaviour untoward the organizational well-being. With expert knowledge of this paper influencers should not use success factors to sway stakeholders within the BI Project at all levels in the organization in order to deliver a seemingly successful project without it being so. REFERENCES Goldsmith, T, (2010). Mining Industry. In Global Mine Bulletin. Australia, December 2010. Australia: PWC. 10. Adelman, S, 2006. The Seven Secrets of Successful Business Intelligence. 1st ed. Sherman Oaks: Sybase. Orr, P, Whittle, D, (2005). Achieving Operational Excellence in the Mining Value Chain. In Achieving Operational Excellence in the Mining Value Chain. Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 18 November 2005. Baguio City: PSEM. 5. Sun, H, Heller, P (2012) 'Oracle Information Architecture: An Architects Guide to Big Data', An Oracle White Paper in Enterprise Architecture, [Online]. Available at:http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/entarch/articles/oea-big-data-guide-1522052.pdf (Accessed: 14 December 2012).