Impact of business intelligence tools on decision-making

Abstract

There has been an unparalleled surge in data availability, significantly impacting the functioning of a company and its decision-making process. For companies to be able to adapt, they need to go beyond traditional methods. Thus, Business Intelligence and its role are progressively gaining more significance. This dissertation focuses on the pivotal role of a BI tool, particularly a Microsoft Power BI dashboard, in the decision-making process, while also providing evidence of its practical implementation on a real case. To achieve these objectives, certain methodologies were employed such as case study, action research, and questionnaire. The existing literature thrives with references to BI, Microsoft Power BI, and their respective relevance. Nonetheless, studies are scarce, and a lack of consensus regarding the dashboard construction procedure. Hence, this master thesis tends to diminish the gap existing in the literature, aiming to demonstrate a step-by-step process of dashboard construction. Consequently, it also elucidates the characteristics that must be satisfied, emphasizes precautions to be taken, and outlines its contributions and impacts on the decision-making process. Concluding, it is underlined the main conclusion of this work, namely how a dashboard is a time-saver and a highly valuable tool for a company. Its efficiency in providing the right information at the right time enables the decision-maker to base their decision on accurate and precise data, enhancing the overall decision-making process.

Date of Award	12 Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria Alice Moreira Trindade (Supervisor)