A CEO bases their decisions on data. They do that because they’ve learned how important it is to make decisions around insight. Some of these decisions have massive implications on the short and long-term success of a business, so it’s an understatement to say that data is important. So how can CEOs trust what they see on screen?
There are many reasons that people come to distrust what they see in an app. Whether it’s inconsistencies in presentation, or old data still being delivered, people responsible for building BI applications need to know how to deliver up-to-date, accurate data, in the way their business users need – particularly if it’s the CEO. But what’s stopping them from doing that already, and how can they overcome these roadblocks?
What CEOs Need To See
There are two components that determine the quality of analysis – data and the overall quality of the app.
Firstly, the output of any app is going to be built on data. The end product can have a perfect UX, but if the data isn’t up to standard, then the app won’t be as effective, or reliable, as it could be. There is a wide range of governance principles that control data, and most companies these days have a decent handle on making sure their data is well looked after and under control from a quality perspective.
While many businesses have a good grasp of their data, most companies don’t have a great workflow in place to manage, check, and test the quality of an app. We’ve worked with large businesses that are manually moving apps from development to testing, then to production, which means their developers have to sign in, upload app updates, and change data connections – all inside of live apps.
Because there isn’t a lot of governance surrounding the way to manage the development, testing, and deployment of apps, companies have let their processes develop organically, meaning they’re not particularly efficient and have the significant downside of potentially delivering apps that don’t work to end users, or worse, apps running on wrong data.
A CEO wants the whole IT chain connected because that will give them trust in the output they see. They’re at the end of the chain, so the app, the data, and the developers all need to be properly connected, visible, and traceable if a CEO is going to be able to rely on what they see in front of them.
All In The Detail
That’s where our solution comes in. We can completely isolate the production server from any individual developer because the only user that has access is the PlatformManager solution. There are internal users who can get access to what they need, but it all goes through PlatformManager.
You can even enforce that just PlatformManager’s internal user has access to the Qlik production server, giving them ultimate sign-off on app deployment. That means you can have it so that a single person can be responsible. Any CEO is going to appreciate being able to go to one person to get more information on an app, as well as knowing that the process is under tight control and totally traceable.
Beyond the user control, there are functions within PlatformManager that can be activated so that for an app to go live, it must be signed off by the developer as tested, DBA verified, all dependencies checked, and all data sources correct. This type of system creates accountability within a DevOps team and ultimately ensures that apps are fully checked before they’re delivered to the top of a business.
If for some reason there is an issue with an app you can also just restore previous versions so that end users are never without access to what they need. This can help give them confidence that there is consistency on the platform and that what they are seeing is correct, it’s just that for some reason the update hasn’t worked, but ultimately, the validity of the data hasn’t been undermined.
CEOs are looking for something they can trust. It’s all about the right data and the right version of the app – it’s what you present and how you present it. Getting your production controls in place is critical if you want your business leaders to trust what you deliver them. It massively impacts the quality of everything you produce and the decisions they’re able to make.
Need help with production controls? You need PlatformManager.