Adopt a Practical Approach

Adopt a Practical Approach
After the entire project management principles are enunciated, numerous planning methods are described, and several theoretical nuances arc explored. a practical approach is still best for achieving results. Do not get bogged down in the strictness of the principles, rules, and methods. Adopt a practical approach to managing the project. Results alone matter: just being active and running around chasing the theoretically principles NVIII not produce the desired outcome.

A practical approach is simply a common-sense approach that has a nice blend of practical wisdom and bard-core theory. While using a practical approach, you are totally results-oriented. You constantly balance the significant activities against the less important ones and adjust the priorities. You are not driven by technology just for the sake of technology itself: you are motivated by business requirements. In the context of a data warehouse project. Here are a few tips on adopting a practical approach:

• Running a project in a pragmatic way means constantly monitoring, the deviations and slippage, and making iii-flight corrections to stay the course. Rearrange the priorities as and when necessary.
• Let project schedules act as guides for smooth workflow and achieving results, not .just to control and inhibit creativity. Please do not by to control each task to the    

Figure 4-13 Analysis of a successful data warehouse.

• Un-test detail. You will then only have time to keep time schedules up-to-dale, with less time to do the real job.
• Review project task dependencies continuously. Minimize wait times for dependent tasks.
• There is really such a thing as "too much planning." Do not give into the temptation. Occasionally, ready-fire-aim may be a worthwhile principle for a practical approach.
• Similarly, "too much analysis" can produce "analysis paralysis."
• Avoid "bleeding edge" and unproven technologies. This is very important If the project is the first data warehouse project in your company.
• Always produce early deliverables as part of the project. These deliverables will sustain the interest of the users and also serve as proof-of-concept systems.
• Architecture first, and then only the tools. Do not choose die tools and build your data warehouse around the selected tools. Build the architecture first, based on business requirements, and then pick the tools to support the architecture.

Review these suggestions and use them appropriately in your data warehouse project. Especially if this is their first data warehouse project, the users will be interested in quick and easily noticeable benefits. You will soon find out that they are never interested in your fanciest project scheduling tool that empowers them to track each task by the hour or minute. They are satisfied only by results. They ate attracted to the data warehouse only by how useful and easy to use it is.