The More, the Merrier?: The Interaction of Critical Success Factors in Business Intelligence Implementations

Business intelligence (BI) is a term that refers to a variety of techniques and software applications used to analyze an organization’s raw data. Companies use BI to improve decision-making, identify opportunities, and cut cost. However, implementing a BI system is challenging. Critical success factors (CSFs) are necessary elements for a project to succeed. The aim of this article is to identify critical CSFs and find possible interrelationships. Using a framework of CSF constructs, the authors conducted a qualitative case study at Norway Post, a large company that successfully implemented a BI system. This research offers three contributions. The first is identifying ten CSFs for a BI implementation, and the second is a ranked list of these CSFs. The third is the CSFs interrelationship model, which may be the most exciting result for BI practitioners. Knowing which factors to fulfill and how they interrelate will increase the chances of achieving a successful BI implementation.