Category: Business Intelligence

  • Clearing the SQL Server Analysis Services Cache

    Preparing to do some MDX performance testing?  Step one for each and every test should be to clear the cache.  This will ensure you are seeing the performance results without the benefit of having data already loaded up in memory.  How do you empty the MS SQL Analysis Services cache prior to running your query?

  • Free Zip Code, City, County, State, CSV

    Free Zip Code, City, County, State, CSV

    Free Download of the zip code CSV file available at the bottom of this post. Why this is so hard to track down I don’t know.  We were looking for a comma delimited list which would map zip code to county since county is the lowest grain available in the out of the box SQL […]

  • Execute Stored Procedure From Excel With Temp Table

    Do you want to execute a stored procedure from Excel?  No problem!  Does your proc contain a temp table? Problem!  Actually, don’t panic.  The fix is incredibly simple.  Tracking down this post was probably the most difficult part.  When executing a SQL Server proc with a temp table you must remember to “SET NOCOUNT ON” […]

  • The Three Best Tips For Effective Code Reviews And Preventing Knife Fights!

    Bring a group of senior business intelligence professionals or SQL Server pros together to review each others code and you have all the potential for a good knife fight.  As our team is getting ready to make design/code reviews a regular part of our development process we’re looking to make sure we get off on […]

  • The Houston Rockets Say “Better Data, Not Better Analysis” Is The Key

    Came across this post on the Harvard Business Review site by the GM of the Houston Rockets.  Thought provoking stuff.  As the title implies the data you have is more important than the analysts using the data.  If you’re too lazy to read it here are my cliff notes (you lazy bum):

  • Most Effective Business Intelligence Charts And Graphs

    As software vendors flood us with flashy dashboards and widgets for our BI projects, some of which clearly obscure information more than they illuminate, I started  hunting for research documenting which methods of charting are the most effective.  Naomi B. Robbins “Creating More Effective Graphs” presentation fits the bill (turns out the presentation is based […]

  • Business Intelligence Teams Could Learn Something From Barcelona Football

    Just came across a brief but interesting article looking at how the top ranked Barcelona Football Club has handled some tricky management issues, one of which is particularly common to the business intelligence team:

  • Radar Chart? You must be kidding.

    I’ve been thinking about the display of data quite a bit lately.  Some ways of presenting data are clearly more effective than others.  When providing data in a visual format the goals are one of the following:

  • Using Power, Seduction, and War To Improve Productivity

    Ouch! Fail! Just endured a smack down at the hands of my team.  I pointed out a clear issue affecting the team’s productivity (with a solution ready in my back pocket).  The team denied it was an issue, saying it was in fact one of the things they take pride in.  I was left in […]

  • Rebuilding A Business Intelligence Team

    On April 29th I took on a new position as the lead of the Business Intelligence Team for a local money management firm. To make the story a bit more interesting, I had worked for the same firm five years earlier as the supervisor of their database group. Since that time the firm’s assets