Get to know our process: Assess
This is the second part of a 3-part series. Check out the previous post, on Gather, the first step of our process.
After the “Gather” phase, comes what we call the “Assess” phase. As you can imagine, you’ve got to take stock of what you’ve gathered, and our approach puts the rigor of method around the activity.
How we “Assess”
The set of questions we use to evaluate a gathered data source group is:
- Which sources are used the most?* Who owns them?
- Which sources are used the least?* Who owns them?
- What storage costs are associated with each source?
- How complete is each source?
- How searchable is each source?
- How secure is each source?
*When it comes to “used the most” and “used the least” we mean by the team that has hired us — so you would ask yourself and your team which sources you use the most or least.
(Optionally, we can kick it up a notch and so can you: how much more valuable would a given data source be if used in conjunction with another data source?
I.e. we have seen a marketing team combine market segment data with existing customer behavior data from the data science team to create probability tables to back up various messaging campaign ideas — next level A/B testing!)
The list looks short and simple, but the questions typically involve a lot of investigating, verifying, thread tugging, and follow up.
For example, as we mention on our site, after we uncovered for our client that a majority of client data records were incomplete, the follow up questions had to be, “Who will complete these records, and how? By when?” Or, “Who will delete these records? Using which process and conditions?”
…And then the deeper work begins
The assessment can uncover quite a bit of rich insight and clues for next steps. You could stop there.
But if you want to deepen the impact and ROI for your time, meet the logic model.
The logic model is a template we borrow from program evaluation. We adapted it to lay out visually each data source you and your team are using, and exactly how it connects to your outputs and outcomes.
This takes the assessing further, to not only say “these are the sources we use the most” but “here is exactly how using those sources helps us achieve our goals and add value to the wider business.”
You can do this yourself if you want to. Search “logic model,” and pick your favorite from the image results. The value-add here is more about the conversations you and your team will have and the insights you’ll uncover as you fill in the template.
As a note, in program evaluation typically logic modeling is done with an evaluator in a consultant capacity specifically to maintain the neutral facilitator role. You may find you’d like that neutral facilitator to also give you the outsider fresh perspective, especially when you’re trying to uncover assumptions.
