Getting It Right
What is the hardest part of using data? Many could say it’s using the wrong visualization, others could say that it’s the model you choose, others could say how you define or name a measure. Although these are all issues AND they can lead to incorrect decisions or misinformation, the hardest part of using data is getting the data right in the first place.
What do I mean by “getting the data right”? Well, let me follow it up with more questions:
Have you built a great visualization but then realized it had incorrect or missing data?
Have you built a model and realized that the underlying data didn’t make sense? Maybe there were new values in the features that didn’t align.
Have you looked for data to answer a question but realized that what you are looking for isn’t captured?
Well, I have! The hardest part in data is not whether you have the right visualization or whether you are leveraging your data to the best potential. The hardest part of data is: are you even collecting the data that means something to you. Are you collecting the data that answers your questions?
Getting it right
How do we get it right? If data is supposed to answer our questions, we get it right by starting with our questions.
Priority
What is the most important piece of information that you need in your business? What do you need to know about your customer? Don’t say well I just need to know how many customers I have because once you already know that number you’ll have more questions. You’ll ask who are these customers, what do they buy, when do they buy it, how often are they buying.
Details
Get into the details. The 10,000 foot view doesn’t drive your business. That view is great for seeing the direction you are going. How do you ensure that your business is moving, get into the details. Figure out what level of detail you need and have that surfaced to your teams. That data will enable them to make the decisions to move your business.
Impact
What information do you need to make an impact in your organization? Do you know? Getting it right with data is ensuring that the data you have is making an impact or will make an impact. Don’t just collect data because you think or hope one day you will need it. If the data that you are collecting doesn’t have worth, if it doesn't mean something for your business, then don't collect it. Don’t just say “storage is cheap” as an excuse. Storage may be cheap, but having data just sit there without purpose or need will quickly lose whatever value you thought it had.
Be intentional with your data. “Get it right” by collecting the data that is important, impactful, that has the details that have meaning to your business.