Example Data Specifications &

Information Requirements Framework

ANALYTICS & REPORTING

REQUIREMENTS TEMPLATE
Alan D. Duncan

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Analytics & Reporting Requirements Template

1 Purpose
This document template defines an outline structure for the clear and unambiguous definition of
analytic, reporting or informational outputs (including standard reports, ad hoc queries, Business
Intelligence outputs, analytical models etc).
It provides a self-service survey template that can be used by business users to outline and the
reporting outputs that are currently responsible for, and to document the process by which reporting is
produced.
This template forms part of an example data specification & information requirements framework. The
framework offers a set of outline principles, standards and guidelines to describe and clarify the
semantic meaning of data terms in support of an Information Requirements Management process.
(See the Framework Overview for further details.)

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Analytics & Reporting Requirements Template

2 Reporting Requirements Survey Template

ORIGINATING The statement of need for the business user to produce reporting output
REPORTING e.g. a statutory obligation, an information request from a
REQUIREMENT government department, a standing commitment to a peer-group
forum, or internal reporting specification.
This may be a reference to an originating document, memo or specification.

REPORTING Business purpose or outcome supported by the report; why is the report
PURPOSE needed?

REPORTING Who is requesting the reporting output?

REQUIREMENT
AUDIENCE

UNSW REPORTING Who is the nominated UNSW person accountable for producing the
OWNER reporting output?

DATA STEWARD(s): Who else is actively involved in administering the data sets and preparing
the associated reports?

SOURCE DATA What data is required to fulfil the requirement?

INPUTS Where does this data originate from?

REPORTING What process is followed to produce the required reports?

DELIVERY What steps are involved?
METHODS & DATA
(Include any details of manipulation that may be applied to source data)
UPDATE
PROCESSES

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Analytics & Reporting Requirements Template

EXCEPTIONS, Are there any exceptions or constraints that limit the scope of report
CONSTRAINTS & delivery?
EXCLUSIONS Is there are any data that explicitly wont be included?

DETAILED DATA Define any specific terms, calculations or business logic that are used within
DEFINITIONS & the report.
BUSINESS RULES

REPORTING What documentation exists for this reporting process?

DOCUMENTATION E,g. minutes, design documents, updates to metadata repository etc.

OTHER RELEVANT What other principles, guidelines and reference materials relate to this
REFERENCE requirement? (e.g. legislation, regulation, policies and standards)
MATERIALS

IDENTIFIED Pre-requisites etc. that need to be satisfied before the report can be
DEPENDENCIES prepared.

RELATED UNSW Identify other existing UNSW processes impacted by the delivery of the
BUSINESS report.
PROCESSES

OTHER Please include any further information that you consider of relevance.
INFORMATION &
NOTES

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Analytics & Reporting Requirements Template

Supporting notes:
The Business Intelligence Competency Centre (BICC) or other expert analytic personnel
should follow up with more detailed analysis of reporting and analytic processes and seek
opportunities for more consistent, sustainable, repeatable approach.
Identified reporting requirements may give rise to evaluating the methods, standards,
guidelines & protocols in use.
Consideration should be given to the type of data content to be reported, and the intended
audience for that data. (e.g. there may be additional considerations to be addressed if
releasing data to 3rd parties)
The principle of manage by exception should be applied where possible.

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Information Strategy | Data Governance | Analytics | Better Business Outcomes
Analytics & Reporting Requirements Template

About the author

Alan D. Duncan is an evangelist for information and analytics as

enablers of better business outcomes, and a member of the
Advisory Board for QFire Software.
An executive-level leader in the field of Information and Data
Management Strategy, Governance and Business Analytics, he
has over 20 years of international business experience, working
with blue-chip companies in a range of industry sectors. Alan
was named by Information-Management.com in their 2012 list of
Top 12 Data Governance gurus you should be following on
Twitter.
Twitter: @Alan_D_Duncan
Blog: http://informationaction.blogspot.com.au/

http://informationaction.blogspot.com
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Information Strategy | Data Governance | Analytics | Better Business Outcomes
Analytics & Reporting Requirements Template

Intellectual curiosity
Skeptical scrutiny
Critical thinking

http://www.informationaction.blogspot.com.au/

@Alan_D_Duncan

http://www.linkedin.com/in/alandduncan

http://informationaction.blogspot.com
Tw: @Alan_D_Duncan
Information Strategy | Data Governance | Analytics | Better Business Outcomes