This document provides a template for defining analytics and reporting requirements, detailing the structure and criteria to collect necessary information for producing various reporting outputs. It includes sections for identifying business needs, data sources, delivery methods, documentation, and relevant exceptions or constraints. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of a consistent approach to reporting processes and outlines the role of analytics in improving business outcomes.

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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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Information Strategy | Data Governance | Analytics | Better Business Outcomes
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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2 Reporting Requirements Survey Template
ORIGINATING
REPORTING
REQUIREMENT
The statement of need for the business user to produce reporting output
 e.g. a statutory obligation, an information request from a
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
PURPOSE
Business purpose or outcome supported by the report; why is the report
needed?
REPORTING
REQUIREMENT
AUDIENCE
Who is requesting the reporting output?
UNSW REPORTING
OWNER
Who is the nominated UNSW person accountable for producing the
reporting output?
DATA STEWARD(s): Who else is actively involved in administering the data sets and preparing
the associated reports?
SOURCE DATA
INPUTS
What data is required to fulfil the requirement?
Where does this data originate from?
REPORTING
DELIVERY
METHODS & DATA
UPDATE
PROCESSES
What process is followed to produce the required reports?
What steps are involved?
(Include any details of manipulation that may be applied to source data)

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EXCEPTIONS,
CONSTRAINTS &
EXCLUSIONS
Are there any exceptions or constraints that limit the scope of report
delivery?
Is there are any data that explicitly won’t be included?
DETAILED DATA
DEFINITIONS &
BUSINESS RULES
Define any specific terms, calculations or business logic that are used within
the report.
REPORTING
DOCUMENTATION
What documentation exists for this reporting process?
E,g. minutes, design documents, updates to metadata repository etc.
OTHER RELEVANT
REFERENCE
MATERIALS
What other principles, guidelines and reference materials relate to this
requirement? (e.g. legislation, regulation, policies and standards)
IDENTIFIED
DEPENDENCIES
Pre-requisites etc. that need to be satisfied before the report can be
prepared.
RELATED UNSW
BUSINESS
PROCESSES
Identify other existing UNSW processes impacted by the delivery of the
report.
OTHER
INFORMATION &
NOTES
Please include any further information that you consider of relevance.

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Information Strategy | Data Governance | Analytics | Better Business Outcomes
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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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/

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http://informationaction.blogspot.com
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Information Strategy | Data Governance | Analytics | Better Business Outcomes
Intellectual curiosity
Skeptical scrutiny
Critical thinking
http://www.informationaction.blogspot.com.au/
@Alan_D_Duncan
http://www.linkedin.com/in/alandduncan