Tag Archives: analytics

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Use Big Data to Create Value for Customers, Not Just Target Them

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Excellent Read & Call to Action on need to manage to short term marketing project priorities yet to also ensure that the marketing portfolio includes experiments to ensure longer term competitive advantage. This article states “To build lasting advantage, marketing programs that leverage big data need to turn to more strategic questions about longer term customer stickiness, loyalty, and relationships.”

Sourced through Scoop.it from: hbr.org

Excellent Read & Call to Action on need to manage to short term marketing project priorities yet to also ensure that the marketing portfolio includes experiments to ensure longer term competitive advantage. This article states “To build lasting advantage, marketing programs that leverage big data need to turn to more strategic questions about longer term customer stickiness, loyalty, and relationships.”

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Visualizations That Really Work

HBR Articles by Scott Berinato on Data Visualizations Best Practices for Presentations

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Know what message you’re trying to communicate before you get down in the weeds.

Original Source: Data Visualizations   and  hbr.org and an updated Effective Visualizations. 

As a project manager, have you ever stared at your screen and asked yourself “how do I present this data?”  Yeah – we have all been there.

Focusing on data presentation is the wrong way to talk to yourself or your team. The important data visualization mindset is not about data wrangling, graphics or powerpoint, it is about the business message you want to share and what is the impact.

This article has great insight on 4 types of messages, and suggests which visualization tools or models work best. Great insight when you need to either motivate team members or defend choices for presentations!

 

How to present data

Best Practices for Data Visualizations

Idea Illustration. We might call this quadrant the “consultants’ corner.” and these “illustrations clarify complex ideas by drawing on our ability to understand metaphors (trees, bridges) and simple design conventions (circles, hierarchies). Org charts and decision trees are classic examples of idea illustration.”

 

Idea Generation. “Managers may not think of visualization as a tool to support idea generation, but they use it to brainstorm all the time—on whiteboards, on butcher paper, or, classically, on the back of a napkin. Like idea illustration, idea generation relies on conceptual metaphors, but it takes place in more-informal settings, such as off-sites, strategy sessions, and early-phase innovation projects.”

 

Visual Discovery.  “This is the most complicated quadrant, because in truth it holds two categories…..This article divides exploratory purposes into two kinds: testing a hypothesis and mining for patterns, trends, and anomalies. The former is focused, whereas the latter is more flexible. The bigger and more complex the data, and the less you know going in, the more open-ended the work.”

 

Everyday Dataviz.  “Whereas data scientists do most of the work on visual exploration, managers do most of the work on everyday visualizations. This quadrant comprises the basic charts and graphs you normally paste from a spreadsheet into a presentation. They are usually simple—line charts, bar charts, pies, and scatter plots.”

 

Very good food for thought as you are leading project teams in communicating with your stakeholders and leadership.

HBR article is written by Scott Berinato is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review and the author of Good Charts: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter, More Persuasive Data Visualizations, forthcoming from Harvard Business Review Press and available for pre-order.

Again check out his article on effective visualizations. 

Note:  I live in California and get no affiliate money for book recommendations. If I post, it means that I like the book.  You can use the code BUSINESS20 to get 20% off any plan at https://venngage.com/blog/data-visualization/

 

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Data Generation Gap: Younger IT Workers Believe The Hype – InformationWeek

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There’s a growing generation gap when it comes the promise of revenues from data-driven projects. Where younger workers see the future, older workers may only see another cycle of tech hype.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.informationweek.com

Project Managers can help bridge the communication gap when new Big Data and Analytics initiatives are launched.  According to an IDG Enterprise  study younger staff generally believe the transformational project benefits while seasoned employees have been through many hype cycles & may have more questions about project value.

 

Why is this discussion important?   There are a lot of data-driven transformation projects in the works! IDG Enterprise states that 53% of companies surveyed are currently implementing, or planning to implement, data-driven projects within the next 12 months. Data-driven projects as those launched with the goal of generating greater value from existing data.

 

My thoughts are that Project Managers can work with key Team Members to ensure that projects are:

  • linked to strategic objectives

  • the value chain of activities or the customer touch points are identified

  • understanding of how project features will help these challenges are clearly identified in the roadmap

  • user education and socialization of the technologies used is part of the project plan

 

All these actions drive understanding of the project value & transparency of benefits. This ensures non-hype communication to all stakeholders, regardless of age, geography, and role.

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4 intelligent elements of successful digital transformation

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Don’t flirt with digital – give it the respect it deserves. Those who don’t act will fall behind quickly

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.information-age.com

Digital transformation is a whole-scale change to the foundational aspects of a business – from the business operating models to infrastructure – through the application of digital technology.

In Sopra Steria’s recent survey of 120 FTSE 500 companies, the majority (64%) said they implemented digital projects to update their existing legacy infrastructure, streamline processes and reduce costs.

However, many (60%) also said they are seeking to increase customer engagement by improving the experience they offer their customers.

But according to research by Sopra Steria, it is not necessarily a determinant of success – 84% of organisations confess they could be better exploiting digital.
There are four intelligent elements that form the basis of a rewarding relationship with digital.

  1. ‘Deep thinking’ about the business context
    Always make sure you have a clear understanding of the business goals you are pursuing.

  2. Commitment to ‘sustained value’
    Deliver results – however minimally viable – early and keep focusing on building outcomes forever. There is no steady state.

  3. Rely on ‘networked knowledge’
    Build a platform of partners that will enable you to get the best help when you need it.

  4. See your relationship with digital in terms of building a ‘fluid enterprise’
    A successful digital venture is agile, lean and able to adapt to the future demands of business change.