Make Your Data Splash

Three Steps In Three Days: Day 1

Data is hot right now. These days, everywhere you look, there is another tool or another framework on how to leverage data for actionable insights. At Baufest, we are results oriented. We treat our customer’s data in the same way, not to simply build reports or visualizations but an invaluable resource to impact the bottom and top line.

Yes, in larger companies it is very hard for one single individual to make a difference on the overall top or bottom-line, but every piece of data should tie to some positive contribution and we all have our part to play. Therefore, in this time-strapped world, with finite resources, every report, metric, or visualization must speak for itself and say: “this piece of data drove this quantifiable business impact”. 

Over the next two days, I will be posting a validated key step to help you develop a game plan to ensure that your data is working for you and not the other way around.

The first step to introduce is: How to identify potential impact. Specifically, where do you start analysis and not waste time on likely unfruitful analysis. A bonus here is verification that you know your data is accurate.

STEP 1. One data-point is interesting, two or more are useful; patterns and relationships are impactful.

Just because you have data, does not mean it is all useful or important. There is a lot of information that is “interesting but useless”. For example: log files from a server explains usage of your e-commerce system by the second (or millisecond) – this data point iis not that useful unless it is tied to something else. For example, by linking usage in some meaningful way, say to server cost optimization, shopping cart value and quantity of items you can demonstrate effect decisions around costs (server provisioning) and revenue (peak hours of the day when online purchase occur).

Here is a Pro-tip for putting this into action: Start first by thinking about your company’s objectives, goals (measured and time-bound) or key results. Then align the data to these by building some baseline metrics, and measure against numbers you know are correct before going into any complex modeling exercise. Once you put a chart in a dashboard and share it, it is out there. So make sure you're starting from the right data set to begin with. 

Just as important though, you must know the data is reliable and understand how to model it in a way that it produces accurate conclusions. Here, you can test assumptions – if your peaks and valleys don’t align with your assumptions, test further. Also, speak with someone – take your data to a lead who can verify or disprove your information. I guarantee you’ll learn something new. I was coached early in my career: when you don’t personally possess authority granted by tile or experience, arriving armed with great data leveled the playing field.

Tomorrow I will elaborate on developing a series of hypothesis about your business to help you identify where to find your data insights.

Interested in how your data visualization can get fine-tuned? Contact Baufest today at [email protected] to see how we can help super charge your business intelligence development. We have hundreds of years of combined experience building data visualization that drives business change and can help you craft a more meaningful data story.