“If no one’s using your solution, then it’s not a good solution.”

Unused reports and solutions, abandoned in pre-production environments like victims of an apocalyptic data war. We’ve all seen it, heard it or experienced it ourselves. It’s thus not surprising to hear Gartner predict that through 2022, up to 8 in 10 business & analytics projects will fail to help the business. What can we do, then, to help ensure adoption of our Power BI report?

In this talk, I highlight three key areas that impact adoption: measuring success, monitoring data quality, and promoting user engagement. To illustrate my points, I’ll use a hypothetical business case enriched by relatable, real-world experiences. First, I’ll demonstrate some ways that success can be measured, both during development and after launching the reports. Next, I’ll show an easy way to monitor the data quality in your Power BI reports. Finally, I’ll promote a simple post-launch practice to drive user engagement, promote data literacy, and foster an accepting, open data culture between report users and developers.

Achieving success in a business reporting project is a complex endeavor for which there are no quick-win formulas. However, taking steps to ensure proper engagement and collaboration with users can dramatically improve not only chances at success, but also the overall experience.