How do you compare data metrics across platforms?

1 Define your goals and questions

Before you start comparing data metrics across platforms, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and what you want to know. What are your data management goals and objectives? What are the key questions you want to answer with your data? How do you measure your success and progress? These questions will help you define your scope, criteria, and indicators for comparing data metrics across platforms. You should also consider the context, purpose, and audience of your comparison, as they may affect how you present and interpret your results.

2 Choose your platforms and metrics

Next, you need to select the platforms and metrics that are relevant and appropriate for your goals and questions. Platforms are the sources or systems where you collect, store, or access your data, such as databases, applications, websites, or social media. Metrics are the specific measures that you use to evaluate your data, such as volume, quality, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or usability. You should choose platforms and metrics that are comparable, consistent, and reliable, and that can provide meaningful and actionable information for your data management needs.

3 Align and standardize your data

Once you have chosen your platforms and metrics, you need to align and standardize your data to ensure that you are comparing apples to apples. This means that you need to make sure that your data is in the same format, scale, unit, time frame, and level of aggregation across platforms. For example, if you want to compare the number of visitors to your website and your social media pages, you need to use the same definition of a visitor, the same time period, and the same unit of measurement. You may need to use data transformation, conversion, or normalization techniques to align and standardize your data.

4 Analyze and visualize your data

After you have aligned and standardized your data, you can analyze and visualize your data to compare data metrics across platforms. You can use various methods and tools to perform data analysis and visualization, such as descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, trend analysis, or clustering analysis. You can also use different types of charts, graphs, tables, or dashboards to display your data and highlight the similarities, differences, patterns, or outliers among your platforms and metrics. You should choose the methods and tools that best suit your goals and questions, and that can help you communicate your findings effectively.

5 Interpret and report your results

The final step is to interpret and report your results from comparing data metrics across platforms. You should use your data analysis and visualization to answer your key questions and evaluate your data management goals and objectives. You should also explain the meaning, significance, and implications of your results, and provide recommendations or suggestions for improving your data management practices. You should present your results in a clear, concise, and accurate manner, and use appropriate language, tone, and style for your context, purpose, and audience.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?