Episode Summary

In Episode 4, we tackle the classic “self-service BI gone wrong” scenario. Christian Klug and host Lior Barak encounter a creative studio’s nightmare for the first time during recording: 300+ dashboards created in just 6 months, nobody knows which numbers to trust, and teams are paralyzed by choice. What started as democratizing data became a path back to Excel spreadsheets.

Problem Category: Business Intelligence & DashboardingRuntime: 38 minutes

The Problem

Submitted by: Christian (creative/gaming studio)Industry Context: 75-person creative studio, rapid growth phase

Problem Framework

* Issue: The self-service BI tool has over 300 dashboards and reports. Nobody can tell which ones are official, current, or trustworthy. Teams are paralyzed by choice, wasting hours hunting for reliable information - sometimes ending by creating another dashboard.

* Trigger: Last week, preparing for a board meeting, Christian needed the standard monthly sales performance report. He found 37 different dashboards with similar names created by different people over the past six months. After spending three hours trying to figure out which was correct, a colleague questioned the chosen numbers because they were using a “different version.”

* Tension:

* The team is afraid to use any dashboard because they might be wrong

* Creating new dashboards just adds to the chaos

* Spending more time debating which report to trust than actually analyzing data

* Decision-making has slowed to a crawl

* Team is losing confidence in the entire BI investment

* Reverting to manual spreadsheets (the thing they tried to escape!)

* Situation: Two years ago, they had a controlled BI environment with ~15 dashboards that the data team created and managed. Everyone knew which reports to use for different decisions. Then the company grew, needs changed, and they rolled out self-service capabilities - empowering anyone to create and publish their own dashboards and analysis.

* Boundaries: No explicit boundaries mentioned (part of the problem!)

* Tech Stack: Tableau with self-service publishing enabled, PostgreSQL, Excel

* Clarity Statement: “Create a governance process to decide which dashboards should be official, focusing on core ‘Boss KPIs’ that everyone can trust.”

Our Guest

Christian KlugDirector Data Analytics | BestSecret Group

Christian is a data leader with over 7 years of experience empowering people and organizations through continuous learning and data-driven decision-making. He started as a data analyst and evolved into leadership roles, always focusing on uncovering insights by analyzing data and challenging assumptions. His philosophy: consistency is the cornerstone of excellence.

Background:

* Current: Director of Data Analytics at BestSecret Group (Dec 2022 - Present)

* Leads a 7-person Data Analysts team

* Owns BI platform (Looker)

* Developed the company’s Data Strategy

* Implemented Team Topologies principles for organizational restructuring

* Established SLAs that significantly enhanced decision-making speed

* Former: Team Lead, Inventory Intelligence at idealo internet GmbH (5+ years)

* Led cross-functional data team (Analysts + Engineers)

* Transformed from an analytical team to a data product creator

* Member of B2B Senior Leadership Team

* Educator: Dozent at SRH Berlin School of Design and Communication

* Teaches Business Intelligence and Data Science courses

* Integrates theory with hands-on exercises

* Education: MSc Physics from Freie Universität Berlin (Grade: 1.5)

* Based in: Berlin, Germany

* Fun fact: Drummer in Berlin punk band Cruor Hilla (new album dropping fall 2025!)

Philosophy: “As a data leader, I thrive on empowering people through a culture of continuous learning. I achieve success by focusing holistically on systems, embracing full ownership, and leveraging incremental yet impactful adjustments.”

Connect with Christian:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-klug-83529a103/

* Band Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruorhilla/

* Spotify (Band):

The Solution

The Three-Layer Data Architecture

Layer 1: Raw Data Layer (Restricted Access)

* Only data engineers have access

* All source data “as is”

* Technical processing only

* No direct business user access to prevent misinterpretation

Layer 2: Staging Layer (Restricted Access)

* Data engineers and select data analysts only

* Pre-processing and transformations

* Data quality checks

* Not for general consumption

Layer 3: Analytics Layer (Controlled Access)

* Data analysts and data stewards

* Business-ready datasets

* Proper context and documentation

* Foundation for official dashboards

Layer 4: “Boss KPI” Layer (Read Access for All, Write Restricted)

* Decision-maker facing layer

* Only approved, signed-off metrics

* The deployment process required for changes

* Slower to change, but protected and trustworthy

* “Cool name for gaming studio” - makes it clear this is serious business

The Cultural Reset Process

* Listen First, Challenge Later: Identify with stakeholders what data they actually need for daily decisions. Accept their KPIs as-is initially to rebuild trust. You can refine later.

* Define True Sources: Establish the single source of truth for each KPI. No more debate about which conversion formula is “correct.”

* Identify Data Owners: Make people accountable for data that affects board-level KPIs. Create awareness that changes have high stakes.

* Create Official Folder Structure:

* Dedicated “Official” folder in Tableau (read-only for most)

* Team-level folders for exploration

* Move existing dashboards into team folders

* Sandbox/testing area for changes before production

* Establish Deployment Process: Changes to official dashboards require discussion, agreement, and sign-off. Protect the Boss KPI layer from surprises.

* Enforce the Narrative: Use official dashboards in every team meeting, studio meeting, and all-hands. Make the numbers omnipresent and undeniable.

Visual Diagram

Key Takeaways

3 Critical Insights

* Trust is Everything: Without trust in data, your entire BI investment delivers zero value. People revert to Excel, waste hours debating numbers, and decision-making grinds to a halt. Rebuilding trust isn’t just technical - it’s about relationships with stakeholders, consistent processes, and making people feel protected by governance, not restricted.

* Freedom Without Boundaries = Chaos: Self-service BI sounds empowering, but without structure, it creates paralysis. When everyone can create everything, nobody knows what to trust. The promise of “democratizing data” becomes the reality of “data anarchy.” Boundaries aren’t limitations - they’re the framework that makes freedom productive.

* Avoid Clutter at All Costs: More isn’t better. More dashboards = more confusion = more questions = less action. This applies to visualizations too - the more you show, the further you get from the decision. Curate ruthlessly. Protect your users from noise.

4 Action Items

For the creative studio (and others facing BI chaos):

* Week 1: Define Core “Boss KPIs” - Run a workshop with key stakeholders. Listen to what data they actually need for daily decisions. Accept their definitions initially (you can refine later). Get everyone in the room talking. Document the true sources for each KPI. This is non-negotiable - you can’t win without this step.

* Week 1-2: Pick Dashboards You Trust, Mark as Official - Quick win alert! Out of the 300 dashboards, identify the 15-20 that are actually correct and useful. Move them to an “Official” folder with restricted write access. Make it visually clear that these are different. Move all other dashboards into team-specific folders. Don’t delete anything yet - just organize.

* Week 2-4: Use Official Dashboards Religiously - Enforce the narrative. Use ONLY official dashboards in every management meeting, team sync, all-hands presentation. When someone brings different numbers, point them to the official source. Make the official dashboards so omnipresent that using anything else feels wrong.

* Month 2-3: Govern Access and Deployment - Implement the layered architecture. Restrict who can access raw data. Create a deployment process for changes to official dashboards (discussion → agreement → sign-off). Establish dashboard lifecycle management (how do we add/change/remove?). Build this into culture, not just process docs.

Episode Highlights

* 02:06 - “Super burnt meat” - Christian’s perfect metaphor for bad data

* 06:11 - The sad truth: It worked when it was curated and governed

* 09:35 - “Data is the new oil” promise vs. reality

* 16:37 - The “Boss KPI” layer concept emerges

* 22:15 - Phoenix Project reference: Handwritten deployment notes that fixed everything

* 23:03 - The notebook punishment story: Making people calculate KPIs by hand

* 29:44 - When people lose access to data, Excel returns

* 34:25 - “Nobody likes internal politics, but it’s there” - The emotion and data connection

What I Learned from Christian

As the host, here are three powerful insights from working with Christian on this problem:

1. The “Listen First, Challenge Later” WisdomChristian’s approach to rebuilding trust was brilliant: accept stakeholders’ KPIs as-is initially, even if you know they could be improved. Why? Because challenging from the start makes people defensive and stalls momentum. Get the quick win first (trusted dashboards), then use that trust capital to refine definitions later. It’s product management 101 applied to data governance.

2. Gaming Theory Meets Data StrategyI loved Christian’s Age of Empires reference: “First, you need to go through the dark age. That’s just part of it.” You can’t fix everything at once. There’s an early game (stop the bleeding with official dashboards) and a late game (proper governance architecture). Many data leaders fail because they try to implement the late-game solution during the crisis. Christian gets the phasing right.

3. Emotions Are DataThis might be the most profound point of the episode: “Emotions are not just emotions, they’re information. Information is essentially data.” When someone is emotionally attached to their dashboard, that’s not irrational; it’s a signal. They’ve invested time, built something useful (to them), and now feel threatened. Ignoring this “data” guarantees your governance initiative fails. Christian’s awareness of the human side of data work is what separates good technical leaders from great data leaders.

Bonus Observation: Christian’s background in physics shows in how he thinks about systems. He doesn’t just solve the immediate problem (which dashboards to trust?), he designs the system that prevents the problem from recurring (layered architecture with controlled access). That’s rare thinking in data leadership.

Resources Mentioned

* Rick Rubin - The Creative Act: A book Christian recommends for creative professionals and data leaders alike. 100 short chapters that make you think differently about clarity and craft.

* Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic - Storytelling with Data: Christian’s top recommendation for anyone communicating with data. Teaches how to hit the spot and build meaningful relationships through data storytelling.

* The Phoenix Project: Reference to the scene where handwritten deployment notes slow down chaos and force intentionality - directly applicable to dashboard governance.

* Figma: Collaborative whiteboarding tool used during the brainstorming session

* Age of Empires: Not a data tool, but a surprisingly good metaphor for phased strategy implementation!

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What Would YOU Do?

We’d love to hear from listeners who have:

* Tamed self-service BI chaos

* Implemented successful dashboard governance

* Rebuilt trust in data after a crisis

* Created effective “official” KPI frameworks

How did you handle the emotional side when restricting access? Share your experiences!

About Data Breakthroughs

Data Breakthroughs brings together data practitioners to solve real operational challenges through collaborative problem-solving. Each episode features authentic, unscripted brainstorming sessions where the host and guest encounter problems for the first time during recording, creating practical, implementable solutions.

Host: Lior Barak

Credits

Host & Producer: Lior BarakGuest: Christian KlugMusic: “Calisson” courtesy of RiversideVisual Content: Figma collaboration board

Next Episode Preview

Episode 5 coming soon! We’re looking for challenges in Data Quality & Governance and Organizational Data Strategy. Submit your problem or nominate yourself as a guest.

Accessibility

Episode Transcript: Full transcript available aboveVisual Diagrams: Figma board link provided; all visual content described verbally during episode

Disclaimer

This podcast is for inspiration and educational purposes. The solutions and approaches discussed are general frameworks meant to spark ideas and collaboration. Always adapt recommendations to your specific organizational context, constraints, and requirements. The goal is to have fun while exploring data challenges together!

Connect with Christian Klug:

* 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-klug-83529a103/

* 🎸 Band Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruorhilla/

* 🎵 Spotify:

* 📍 Based in Berlin, Germany

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