Late night, I started thinking of some recent conversations I have had and how its a repeating pattern with other clients from the past. So here it is, many are in a hurry to get those shiny insights rolling out, especially with all the AI hype and vendors promising the world on a silver platter.

Now, before I continue... YES! I understand the important of receiving insights in a timely manner, I understand the priorities of an organisation change quickly. However, with that said, its about striking a balance. Even in agile or fast-pasted prokects, taking that time to nail down the basics can make all the difference, so on we go...

I've seen too many data projects such as establishing underlying semantic models, developing reporting solutions, migrating from one platform to another, get to the finish line only to not be used/fail. Why? I find it's due to wanting to jump straight into development (move fast) without nailing down the core stuff first. Today, I want to chat about why we need to spend more time understanding the "core stuff".... the fundamentals, the design, before hitting that build button. It's all about striking that balance, right?

Again, I get it... accessing insights in a timely manner is crucial. No one wants to drag their feet when the business is screaming for data driven decisions. But here's the thing, it all depends on your current state. If your data quality isn't in a good place, if data literacy levels across the team are low or if you don't have that top-down support from leadership, you can't just charge ahead. Sure, if everything's aligned, good data quality, people who know how to read and use the data, people understand their KPIs, the logic to derive the measures, the processes that need to be followed to ensure data is correctly fed into source systems and buy-in from the top, then yeah, you can move faster into development. But if those elements are missing? It's understandable that it'll take a bit longer. And trust me, it's worth it.

You are about to invest time, money and effort, so why not just spend a little more time upfront to ensure your overall investment was worth it?

But why? Because if you rush into development without locking down the basics, the design, is it really worth the time, money and effort? I've had clients where we've taken the extra time upfront and in the end, they've ended up with solutions that are genuinely actionable, packed with real insights, scalable for the future and.... bonus, they actually teach the organisation something along the way. It's like building a house, skip the foundation and the whole thing collapses when the first storm hits.

Now, with AI bursting onto the scene and all these vendors promising "instant insights" like it's microwave Pot Noodles, I feel like too many people are falling into the trap. They think they can just skip the fundamentals (building a solid semantic model) and have actionable stuff served up hot and ready. But come on, that's a classic garbage-in, garbage-out situation and I'm seeing it everywhere. I'm all for adopting new tech... heck, I'm excited about what AI can do, but if your data's messy, your processes aren't defined, you don't know your own KPIs and how they should be calculated and you haven't thought through what you even need, no fancy tool is going to magically fix that. It's just another layer of hype leading to disappointment.

One thing I really want to call out here is the importance of a semantic model. And no, to me, this isn't just some technical artifact you slap together in a tool. Sure, there's a tech side to developing it, but at its heart, a semantic model captures all the nitty-gritty details of your organisation. How do we define this metric? What's the logic behind that measure? It forces you to map out the complex web of your business, the processes, who's involved, why they're involved, how it all flows, when things happen and so on. The process of deriving requirements and designing that model? It's gold. It makes everyone think deeper about the business, uncovers hidden assumptions and builds a shared understanding.

But here's where I see many tripping up the most (and I have highlighted the importance of this in many other blogs/videos), they just want to skip straight to the build stage, glossing over the stuff that actually matters. Requirement gathering taking too long? Needing quick wins? Trusting AI to just give you the insights without a foundation? Cutting costs by rushing the process? I've heard these before. But here is my honest opinion. If you don't have a solid foundation, clean data already, no clear understanding of your own KPIs, zero data literacy skills in the team, how do you expect to build something sustainable? I've worked with orgs where their Center of Excellence (CoE) is basically a name on a door with no real data experts inside, I've also worked with organisations who had the opposite of only IT people - we need a balance. Business users are out there stitching everything together in Excel, pulling directly from source systems, finding conflicting numbers and then requiring an "insightful solution" after a single call.

And let’s talk about the vendor trap. Too many teams are swayed by promises of shiny tools that’ll “solve everything.” I’m telling you, whether it’s a ERPs reporting module, Power BI or something else, without clean data and defined processes, it’s meaningless. By processes, I mean the core business stuff, like how your business actually works, how data flows through your systems or what steps ensure accuracy. Often, organisations haven’t even mapped these out themselves. A solid semantic model, built with intention, saves time, reduces errors and scales with your business. Skip it and you’re setting yourself up for rework and frustration.

I know the pressure to deliver fast can feel overwhelming and I totally get how tempting it is to jump straight to building something shiny. But without those foundations such as clean data, involving the right people and a understanding of your business needs, you’re building on shaky ground. Yeah, it might feel slower upfront, but rushing leads to rework, frustration and wasted resources. Instead, take the time to really dig into your business and its core challenges. Work closely with end users during the design phase to ensure what you build delivers real business value. Focus on designing and building with ROI and actionable insights in mind, it’s the only way to make your investment truly worthwhile. Your future self, your team and your organisation will thank you for it.

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