1. How to make data actionable for business?
Speaker: Ravi Padaki
Workshop Sponsored by

2. How to make data actionable for business?
Torture the numbers until they confess!

3. Agenda
• Who is this for?
• What is this about and not about?
• Planning for Data
• Actionable Data for Business Framework
• Hands-on examples
• Key Takeaways

4. What do I mean by Data?
Data {noun}: reporting and analytical products, services
or solutions

5. Who is this for?
Creators of Data
products/services
Consumers of Data
products/services
Data {noun}: reporting and analytical products, services or solutions

6. Creators
• Skilled in providing
better insights
• Skilled in designing
data that is contextual
to the user
Consumers
• Skilled in articulating
needs for analytics
• Skilled in sponsoring
analytical capabilities
in your organization
What you will get out of this?

7. Structure to develop
• Data Strategy
• Alignment
• Differentiation
• ROI
• Data Planning
• Data Design
Structure to consume
data
• For faster decision
making
What is this about?

8. What is this not about?
• Data Mining and Warehousing Technology
• Evaluation of Statistical and analytical models
• Exploratory data analysis

9. When do you start planning for data?
Proactive
Reactive
Product
Strategy
Product
Roadmap
Launch Support
Start early!

10. Why is this topic important?
Value for Business?
Storage &
Compute
People
Analytics
Research
What
percentage of
revenue is
driven from
data and
analytics?
What
percentage of
revenue is
driven from
data and
analytics?

11. The Data Pyramid
Analytics
(Intelligence)
Reporting
(Information)
Raw Data
Value

12. • Give me all the
metrics you have
(because I don’t know
what I am looking
for!)
• So much data and yet
no insights!
• Great Insight, so
what?
General Observations
Raw Data
Reports
Analytics

13. Path to Data Driven Business Decisions
How quickly can you collapse the path to decision?
DECISION DECISION

15. The Actionable Data for Business Framework
Business GoalBusiness Goal
Task 1Task 1
Task 2Task 2
Task 3Task 3
Task 4Task 4
Data Set 1Data Set 1
Data Set 2Data Set 2
Data Set 3Data Set 3
Data Set 4Data Set 4
Decisions
What if we ask the Question:
What data do you need…?
… to complete your business task?
… to achieve your business goal?

16. Map Data to Business Decisions
What data do you
need…?
… to complete your
business task?
… to achieve your
business goal?
Data
Business
Task
Business
Goal

17. Example – Imagine you’re a BMW car dealer
Increase salesIncrease sales
Manage PricingManage Pricing
Target buyerTarget buyer
Analyze demand by
inventory
Analyze demand by
inventory
Manage inventoryManage inventory
Data Set 1Data Set 1
Data Set 2Data Set 2
Data Set 3Data Set 3
Data Set 4Data Set 4
Decisions

18. Example – Imagine you’re a BMW car dealer
Increase sales
Manage pricing
How are my
current offers
doing?
How much
discounts will
spur sales?
Target buyer
Who has been
buying from me
so far?
How is BMW
faring in my
demog?
Who are my
most valued
personas?
Analyze
demand by
inventory
What have
customers been
buying?
Which series is
poised to sell
fast?
Manage
Inventory
How much is
remaining/sold?
How much do I
need?

19. Creators of Data
Increase salesIncrease sales
Manage PricingManage Pricing
Target buyerTarget buyer
Analyze demand by
inventory
Analyze demand by
inventory
Manage inventoryManage inventory
Data Set 1Data Set 1
Data Set 2Data Set 2
Data Set 3Data Set 3
Data Set 4Data Set 4
Decisions
•Design data for quick
insights
•Provide right data to the
right user at the right time
•Study gaps in analytical
capabilities to deliver
superior insights

20. Consumers of Data
Increase salesIncrease sales
Manage PricingManage Pricing
Target buyerTarget buyer
Analyze demand by
inventory
Analyze demand by
inventory
Manage inventoryManage inventory
Data Set 1Data Set 1
Data Set 2Data Set 2
Data Set 3Data Set 3
Data Set 4Data Set 4
Decisions
• Get to decisions faster
• Articulate questions to
empower decision making
• Sponsor/champion for
closing gaps in analytical
capabilities

21. Business Goals – Tasks
Goal 1
Task 1
Task 2
Goal 2
Task 3
Task 4
Goal 3
Task 5
Task 6

22. Business Goals can have Overlapping Tasks
Goal 1
Task 1
Task 2
Goal 2
Task 1
Task 3
Goal 3
Task 2
Task 4

23. Benefits of this framework
• Data is Meaningful and Actionable
• Data is Relevant and Contextual
• Decision Making is Easier and Faster

24. Analytical Capabilities
Past Present Future
Information What happened? What is
happening?
What is going to
happen?
Analytics Features Reports Alerts Forecasts
Insight How and why did
it happen?
Why is it
happening?
What might
happen?
Analytics Features Modeling Recommendations Prediction and
Optimization
Source: Thomas Davenport, Jeanne Harris, Robert Morison from the book Analytics at Work

25. Analytical Capabilities
Raw data
Performance
Reports
Forecasts
Recommendations
Predictions

26. Hands on assignment

27. Your Key Takeaways!
• Plan Data Early
• Make data work for you!
• Map data needs to business tasks and goals

28. Thank you!