Mr Vivian's Business Intelligence Assistant

An AI-powered chatbot I built to help business analysts create reports, understand metrics, and get business intelligence guidance - completely free using Ollama.

Why I Built This

As a business analyst, I was spending 4-6 hours on tasks that should take 30 minutes. I built this to solve my own daily problem - constantly switching between tools, Googling metric definitions, and figuring out report structures.

Before: 4-6 hours per report
After: 1.5-2 hours per report

It's now part of my daily workflow and saves me hours every week. No API keys needed - uses Ollama (free, local AI) so it works completely offline.

What It Does

• Generates report outlines in seconds
• Explains business metrics with formulas and examples
• Provides data analysis guidance
• Creates presentation structures
• Answers business intelligence questions in plain English

Screenshots

Main Interface

Example Usage - Asking a Question

Loading State

Example Response - Churn Rate Explanation

Quick Start

Step 1: Install Python

Make sure you have Python 3.8 or higher installed.

• Download from: https://www.python.org/downloads/
• During installation, check "Add Python to PATH"

Step 2: Install Ollama

Download and install Ollama (the free AI engine):

• Windows/Mac/Linux: https://ollama.ai
• Just download and install - no configuration needed!

Step 3: Download the Model

Open your terminal/command prompt and run:

ollama pull llama3

This downloads the AI model (takes 2-5 minutes, only needed once).

Step 4: Install Python Dependencies

1. Open terminal/command prompt
2. Navigate to the project folder:

   cd bi-assistant

3. Install required packages:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 5: Run the Application

python app_ollama.py

You should see:

Starting Flask application...
Open http://localhost:5000 in your browser

Step 6: Open in Browser

Open your web browser and go to:

http://localhost:5000

That's it! You should see the chat interface. Start asking questions!

How to Use

Basic Usage

1. Type your question in the input box at the bottom
2. Press Enter or click "Send"
3. Wait for response (usually 10-30 seconds)
4. Read the answer - it's formatted and ready to use!

Example Questions

Report Generation:

"Create a quarterly sales report outline"
"Help me create a presentation about Q4 performance"
"Generate a customer analysis report structure"

Metric Explanations:

"What is customer churn rate and how do I calculate it?"
"Explain revenue vs profit in simple terms"
"What does ROI mean in business?"

Analysis Guidance:

"I have sales data for 2024, what should I analyze?"
"What metrics should I track for customer retention?"
"Help me plan an analysis of our marketing campaigns"

Presentation Help:

"Help me create a presentation about our Q4 performance for the board meeting"
"I need to explain why sales increased 15%, create a presentation structure"

Accessing the Application

Once the application is running, access it at:

http://localhost:5000

What is localhost?

• localhost = your own computer
• 5000 = the port number where the app runs
• Just type this address in any web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.)

Important: The application must be running (Step 5) for the website to work!

Project Structure

bi-assistant/
├── app_ollama.py          # Main application
├── templates/
│   └── index.html         # Web interface
├── prompts/               # AI prompt templates
│   ├── report_generation.txt
│   ├── metric_explanation.txt
│   └── analysis_guidance.txt
├── static/
│   └── logo.png          # Your logo (optional)
├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
├── .env                   # Configuration (auto-created)
└── README.md             # This file

Troubleshooting

"python is not recognised"

• Python is not installed or not in PATH
• Reinstall Python and make sure to check "Add Python to PATH"
• Or try: python3 instead of python

"Cannot connect to Ollama"

1. Make sure Ollama is installed (Step 2)
2. Check if Ollama is running:

   ollama list

   If this works, Ollama is running.

"Model not found"

ollama pull llama3

Wait for it to download.

"Module not found" or "No module named 'flask'"

pip install -r requirements.txt

"Port 5000 already in use"

• Another application is using port 5000
• Close other applications
• Or restart your computer

Browser shows "This site can't be reached"

1. Make sure the application is running (check terminal window)
2. Check the URL: http://localhost:5000 (not https://)
3. Try: http://127.0.0.1:5000 instead
4. Make sure you didn't close the terminal window

Quick Reference

Starting the App:

cd bi-assistant
python app_ollama.py

Then open: http://localhost:5000

Common Questions:

• "Create a [type] report outline"
• "What is [metric] and how do I calculate it?"
• "I have [data], what should I analyze?"
• "Help me create a presentation about [topic]"

Stop the Application:

• Press Ctrl + C in the terminal window

Summary

To run the website:

1. Python installed
2. Ollama installed
3. Model downloaded (ollama pull llama3)
4. Dependencies installed (pip install -r requirements.txt)
5. Application running (python app_ollama.py)
6. Browser open at http://localhost:5000

That's it! You're ready to use the Business Intelligence Assistant!

License

This project is open source and available for portfolio use.

Author

Vivian Ferguson

I built this to solve a real problem I face as a business analyst. It's a portfolio project demonstrating my skills in AI integration, prompt engineering, and full-stack development with Flask.

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Ready to use? Follow the Quick Start guide above and start chatting!