Carl Allchin: Sarah Nooravi - Data Curious Applying Agile Analytics for Better Business Decisions (2nd Early Release)

• 2022-11-18: First Release
• 2022-04-13: First Release

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This will be the 1st chapter of the final book.

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In 2006 Clive Humby declared Data is the new oil The traditional retailer flourished due to the use of data analytics through customers receiving personalised coupons to spend in store. dunnhumby had shown the power of data so when Humby spoke those immortal words, youd have been wise to listen and the same is still true today.

The pressure for you to make value from your data didnt just come from Humby. Conference talks, business publication covers, or management literature may have brought other trends to your attention. Big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are all terms that might keep you up at night. The development of terminology about data solutions seems to be increasing at a pace that is only matched by the speed of technological development powering it.

If you have reached for this book because you feel behind the curve, you match the majority of stakeholders I talk to every day. Everyone seems to fear that their competitors are ahead of them in terms of collecting and utilising their data. If you are already utilising data, you may fear your competitors are using data in a more advanced way that could lure your data gurus away. After all, every tech geek wants to work on the latest challenges using the most advanced technology.

There are many valid reasons why you are feeling the pressure to up your organisations data capabilities but I will let you into a secret dont believe everything you hear. Not every competitor has gained full control of their data and empowered each individual in their organisation to use this capability. Some might be further ahead in their journey with refining their data resource but their journey will likely be far from complete.

A study by Accenture showed how far organisations have to go in their journey to making the most of their data. This is not likely to be the same picture you had in your head when reaching for this book as you are seeing data being increasingly used but that doesnt mean there isnt further opportunity to harness data. This book will show why data is an asset that you can use to support each decision in your organisation and how validating your decisions with data will prevent choosing direction based on incorrect assumptions. The value of being right more of the time is enormous.

This book will introduce you to the key terminology, concepts, and challenges you will encounter when developing a data culture in your organisation. To lead the variety of changes required, you need to be able to ask the right questions of many individuals. This chapter will introduce you to the challenges of working with data, why those challenges exist and how to navigate data projects successfully.