Self-service BI readiness kit
A team that can answer routine questions from shared information
Original synthetic planning example. No client data or measured outcomes. This printable worksheet does not calculate answers, enforce access or configure a reporting system.
Use this kit with a business owner and the people who maintain reporting. Complete the checklist for one department and one recurring question. Write names and evidence beside each item. Then adapt the role matrix to your systems before granting access.
Department / recurring question:
Reporting period / sources:
Business owner / backup / review date:
1. Readiness checklist
| Check | Evidence and named owner | Status / next action |
|---|---|---|
| A useful question | List the question and the detail people need. Confirm that the sources can answer it.Evidence / owner: | Ready / Open / Unknown |
| One meaning for each figure | Record the calculation, included records, period and exclusions. Name who can approve changes.Evidence / owner: | Ready / Open / Unknown |
| Information ready to use | Name the source, last complete period and expected update. Show how incomplete or late records are flagged.Evidence / owner: | Ready / Open / Unknown |
| Suitable access | Test an allowed and a denied action using each role. Check branch limits, downloads and sharing as well as viewing.Evidence / owner: | Ready / Open / Unknown |
| People can use it | Ask a user to answer the question, explain the result and spot an incomplete record without coaching.Evidence / owner: | Ready / Open / Unknown |
| Help stays available | Name the support contact and backup. Agree response expectations, change notices and access reviews when people move or leave.Evidence / owner: | Ready / Open / Unknown |
Use “Ready” only when the evidence has been checked. Any Open or Unknown item means this trial is not ready to expand. Record the next action, owner and date; agree a review before broader use. This is a planning rule for this kit, not a compliance certification.
2. Role and permission matrix
Synthetic starting proposal. Assign named people and agree the specific records each may use. Business approval and technical access are separate: assigning an owner does not automatically grant system permissions. The system administrator must configure and test the agreed limits.
| Role | View / explore | Create / share reports | Change shared calculation | Approve / configure access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branch manager | Own branch only. No customer-level records in this example. | Use the agreed report. No wider sharing or downloads by default. | Request a change; cannot edit it. | Request access; cannot grant it. |
| Trained report author | Only assigned branches and approved fields. | Create drafts from shared information. A named reviewer approves wider release. | Use the approved calculation; request changes. | No access administration. |
| Sales owner | Approved reporting access only. | Review meaning and fitness before wider release. | Approve the business definition and explain changes. | Approve business need; does not configure access. |
| Data maintainer | Approved source access for assigned work. | Maintain the shared information; check completeness. | Implement and test approved changes. | No authority to approve their own expanded access. |
| System administrator | Only the access needed for administration. | Configure approved publishing and sharing limits. | No independent authority to change business meaning. | Configure, test and record approved access; remove it when no longer needed. |
Replace roles with named people: manager ____ / author ____ / owner ____ / maintainer ____ / administrator ____. Support contact ____ / backup ____. Agree a second reviewer when one person holds several roles. Review date ____.
3. Worked synthetic example
Question: what were yesterday’s sales after that day’s returns for Branch A? All values below are invented Saudi riyal amounts. This simplified daily operational measure excludes tax and is not an accounting revenue or profit calculation. Returns are grouped by return date, even when the original sale was earlier.
| Input | Complete example | Incomplete example |
|---|---|---|
| Period / branch | 30 September 2026 / Branch A | 30 September 2026 / Branch A |
| Sales register | 10,000; confirmed complete | 10,000; confirmed complete |
| Returns register | 1,000; confirmed complete | 1,000 recorded so far; completion unconfirmed |
| Rule | Same branch and day; both registers complete; sales minus returns | Same rule; the completeness condition fails |
Complete output: 10,000 − 1,000 = 9,000 riyals. The branch manager may explore the confirmed total within their approved access.
Incomplete output: awaiting confirmation. Do not treat 9,000 as final or replace missing returns with zero. The data maintainer checks the register and updates the status. If the confirmed total remains 1,000, the final answer is 9,000; otherwise recalculate using the confirmed amount.
Permission exception: the manager asks for another branch’s detail. A visual filter is not an access control. The administrator must test that the actual permissions deny this request; the sales owner reviews any business need to expand access before it is configured.
Try your own case: question ____ / source totals ____ / agreed rule ____ / expected answer ____ / incomplete-data response ____ / owner and support ____ / allowed action ____ / denied action ____.