What is a BI Tool and when should my church use one?

A Business Intelligence (BI) tool is a software application that collects and organizes data, making it easier to analyze. Its best use is to go from raw data to decisions, helping you go from yucky and boring tables to the vast world of line charts,bar charts, heatmap, and so on.

But let’s be clear: a BI tool is not a magic wand. You won’t wave it, chant “Expecto Piechartum” and suddenly have the perfect dashboard. Instead, think of a BI tool as a paintbrush - useful to anyone who wants to make art, but only as effective as the person using the brush.

Sticking with the painting analogy, when you first open a BI tool, you might find yourself starting at the most intimidating white canvas you will ever see. You are excited to create something amazing, but a dozen clicks later, and you’ve only created and deleted a few line charts. This is when training and vision come into play.

A BI tool doesn’t replace the need for someone to understand the data, ask the right questions, and visualize the answers. It needs a person who has the skills to turn raw data into something informative. This means that if your church wants to use a BI tool, it will likely have to invest in time and training. A staff member who can be proficient in your church’s data and your BI tool will be invaluable to your church.

Before purchasing a BI tool, you will want to answer the following question: Why does my church need this? If you only care about seeing attendance over time and giving, you can most likely get by with charts.js that is built into Rock. If your church wants to do more and is willing to pay the cost of the tool and the staff to use it, a BI tool may be right for you. If this is the case, you want to make sure that you have a strategy in place. A BI tool should help you achieve your goals, not dictate them. You want to control the tool, not have the tool control you. Start by identifying the questions you hope to answer or the problems you want to solve. A BI tool should be solving those problems and not be a solution looking for a problem.

Here at Spark Development Network, we are looking more into BI tools and how they could integrate with Rock. If you have any feedback on a BI tool you use or are considering using, please fill out this survey - it will help us out tremendously!

If you want to learn more and discuss data analytics strategies with other church leaders, join our data analytics channel in RocketChat.