01 — Discover the reporting problem
We start with the reviews your team already runs. Which decisions need a better picture? Which reports take too much work to assemble? Where do two systems disagree?
Discovery inventories the source systems, available access, existing data platform, locations, business definitions, and reporting owners. We also identify the information that is not available yet.
The output: a reporting inventory, a first set of business questions, and a clear list of source and definition dependencies. Your contribution: existing reports, system context, and the people who know how the business uses the numbers.
02 — Define the scope and measures
We translate the questions into a bounded reporting scope. Each measure needs a definition, source basis, reporting period, population, aggregation rule, and expected interpretation.
The proposal separates the initial build from ongoing responsibilities and additional work. It identifies the reporting views, connection paths, validation controls, customer inputs, and acceptance process.
The output: a written scope and reporting definitions. Your contribution: decisions on business meaning, priorities, access requirements, and the people who can accept the results.
03 — Build the reporting path
We implement the scoped connections, models, reporting contracts, and views around the agreed data foundation.
An existing warehouse may already provide much of the foundation. Other engagements may need source ingestion or transformation work. Those are different amounts of work and appear separately in the scope.
The output: a working reporting implementation ready for controlled review. Your contribution: the agreed source access, system coordination, and answers to definition questions uncovered during the build.
04 — Validate before relying on it
A polished interface is not evidence that a number is correct. We reconcile reporting measures against agreed source controls and review exceptions with the people responsible for them.
Validation considers the requested periods and filters, incomplete sources, unavailable values, distinct counts, and changes in business definitions. If a measure cannot be supported, its limitation stays visible.
The output: documented checks, explained differences, and a defined acceptance record. Your contribution: source expertise and a decision on whether the reporting meets the agreed business contract.
05 — Put the reporting into the review
The rollout introduces the reporting to the people who will use it. The important part is understanding the views, the definitions, and what to do when a result needs investigation.
For a reporting replacement, a parallel review can help the team understand differences before changing its routine. That is especially useful when the new view improves an old definition rather than reproduces it exactly.
The output: a usable reporting routine and a clear handoff. Your contribution: time from the reporting users and an owner for the operating process.
06 — Keep the picture useful
Sources change. Locations open. Campaign conventions evolve. Leadership asks a new question.
The ongoing engagement defines which existing connections and reporting assets are maintained, how exceptions are handled, and how changes are prioritized. New sources, major source changes, additional business logic, or new reporting products may require a separate written scope.
The output: an explicit maintenance relationship. Your contribution: visibility into source and business changes, plus a reporting owner who can make priority decisions.
Agree on the responsibilities
| Responsibility | What the engagement establishes |
|---|---|
| Source access and administration | The accounts, permissions, and source owners involved |
| Data foundation | Ownership, hosting, models, infrastructure costs, and operating responsibility |
| Reporting definitions | Who approves business meaning and how changes are recorded |
| Refresh and exceptions | Expected cadence, publication behavior, monitoring, and issue handling |
| Ongoing scope | Maintenance, support, new work, and how changes are priced |
| Handoff and exit | Documentation, access, exports, and the agreed portability path |
Set a timeline from the actual dependencies
The schedule depends on source readiness, historical coverage, definition decisions, access coordination, and the reporting scope. We establish it after discovery rather than promise a universal number of days.
Bring the reports and questions you already have. The first useful step is deciding what a coherent, verifiable initial scope should contain.