How To Make Your Relationship With Data Stand The Distance.
We have all been there, feeling down in the dumps, helpless, fed up, like there’s nothing out there to help you to see the light, and then when you least expect it, a bolt of lightning strikes, you hear the birds, smell the flowers, and everything in the world makes sense again….Is it really possible to achieve that head over heels, feeling of enlightenment with a data project, or is it just impressive diagrams, endless consulting hours, hot air and aiming for the impossible?
I truly believe that understanding your data is the foundation for any business, however, like any relationship, you have to survive the various stages:
The Romance Stage
Planning a data project can be the most exhilarating time, like starting any new relationship. Endless possibilities, dreaming of what could be — automation, tracking, ‘insightful dashboards’. It’s exciting, almost addictive — in a world where data is capable of meeting our needs, or, making our worst nightmares come true. You need to capture requirements, truly understand the business — wart’s and all. Then start building. You want to know everything, capture everything, line up a long list of data sources and measures, and show off your shiny new tools to everyone.
The Power Struggle Stage
Then the hard work starts — Projects rarely get out of this stage. Communication is key! The endless possibilities discussed in the previous phase, soon become an issue of abundance. Your end users are swimming in a sea of metrics, unsure of what any of it means, let alone how to action anything meaningful. The flaws that you thought were endearing now become the bane of your life — let’s not even get started on data quality…
The Stability Stage — well done, you are one of the very few to have made it. Your KPIs are linked to your company objectives, users are engaged, but not blindly lead by the data — Business decisions are made using a combination of experience, intuition and data. You have the luxury to try new things, you know your data so well, you can easily identify if there’s something up.
The Bliss Phase (aka the Unicorn)
Alerts, AI and Machine Learning — you’re so comfortable with the foundations that you’re ready to be lead into new realms. You have invested in this now — is your current solution fit for purpose? Perhaps you are ready to move on to something shining and new… Cue Romance.
Top tips to survival:
Remember why you fell in love in the first place, why did you start the project, what are you hoping to achieve, and most importantly, continuously communicate to all your stakeholders. @tajawal, we are currently winning the power struggle. Build a strong team and don’t give up!
Louise
