Im sat here writing a blog post about why data warehouses die, and I was about to write about that person called  “the business”.

How many times have you worked on a a project where team members talk about “the business”?

Its not a person, its not a organisational group, its a name we use to say its somebody else’s problem (“the business” needs to define their requirements in more detail, “the business” needs to decide their DR service level), but we don’t actually know who.

On your next project why don’t you do one thing differently.  Identify who your key project stakeholders are and make them a badge called “the business”.

Or alternatively use a persons or organisational groups name instead.  (In fact go the whole hog and just use a persons name, “Finance” need to define their DR service levels isn’t much better is it?)