Hey there everyone,

 

Today I want to share an insight that really helped me excel in my career. Learn how to combine data with operations. Let me explain, in some of my past positions at companies I was less of a data analyst and more of a business operator, but with my passion for data I was able to use databases and data hand-offs to best improve an operation. For example, while working in Agriculture, one role I took on was to improve the operation between nursery systems and distribution of plants. So by understanding the actual operations behind the business (shipment of plants, storage in warehouses, how plants were allocated to growers, etc) I was able to create my own system of data transfer. I thought of ways to centralize our data from each aspect and improve the communication between each system. Not only did I face issues of differing granularity (individual plant counts versus boxes) but I also faced different ID values and differing naming conventions. So by making small tweaks in the way the business entered data or simply creating mapping tables, I was able to streamline the data from origin to destination and give us constant, automated reporting for this operation. Data analytics is so much more than just fancy reports, it is improving the speed of reliable business communication. Think of ways that YOU can bridge the gap between business and IT.

 

Happy analyzing,

Christopher Doidge