Full Title: Understanding Business Needs - Staying Relevant as a Data Team
Highlights
Sometimes, it’s the businesses themselves that distract us and use the terms they’ve heard or read about and demand that we deliver possible solutions that aren’t needed or that the business is not ready for.
I do believe part of the data team’s role is to help consult in these situations. Don’t just be a task taker, be a strategic player. If you want to be part of a strategy, you have to act on it. (View Highlight)
Sometimes we get so excited when the business tells us they need a real-time dashboard or AI or something that sounds really challenging technically.
So we skip past asking why we are even being asked to build said project.
Then a few weeks or months later when we deployed the solution we were asked to build, guess what–it never actually met the business requirements because no one ever really knew what they were. (View Highlight)
So although me saying “ask why” might come across as repetitive in my writings, it is the key to taking a project to the next level. (View Highlight)
It’s also crucial from the stance of ownership. If data people don’t want to be treated like a cost center or simply as a task completer, they have to take control and ownership of the work they do. (View Highlight)
• If you’re being asked to do something that you believe is a bad idea, question it and be able to defend why you think you shouldn’t do it.
• If you see an area to improve the company and you haven’t been asked to do it, take ownership of it. (View Highlight)
In the end, part of owning a process or workflow is understanding it both technically as well as from a business perspective. (View Highlight)
We as data people must have a good enough grasp of what the business is trying to do so we can actually create impactful end results, whether that is metrics or a data product that people will use. (View Highlight)
If we just build based on what we are told to do, we limit ourselves to only the businesses perspective of the problem. That’s why it’s important that we also understand what is going on in the company. (View Highlight)
In order for the data and business teams to be aligned, they need to talk to each other.
Frequently. (View Highlight)
Set-up Initial Interviews with Key Stakeholders - At the start of any project or when you start a new role, schedule one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders to understand their specific pain points, goals, and expectations. I recall a finance director who was hired to turn around an organization I worked for early on spent their first few weeks interviewing almost everyone(including me and I was a junior). They really made sure everyone felt heard and understood. (View Highlight)
Be Transparent With Reporting Out Challenges And Successes - All projects will face challenges or obstacles. Be open and transparent with what your team is facing. It can be tempting to minimize project delays and technical issues. But that doesn’t help the project get unblocked. (View Highlight)
Set-up Weekly or Bi-Weekly Meetings with Key Stakeholders - Schedule consistent meetings with stakeholders to ensure ongoing alignment and communication. These meetings can be used to discuss project updates, address any issues, and gather feedback. Which should stated in the agenda. I also really liked how Jordan Cutler added that you need to “ensure people know why they’re invited” to meetings. Don’t just hold meetings, own them. (View Highlight)
Post Regular Updates on Project Progress - This was something I started doing at Facebook in particular as it helped my stakeholders keep connected with the project. I’d send out weekly or bi-weekly progress reports outlining what has been accomplished, what is in progress, and what the next steps are. Also when you can include visual aids such as charts, graphs, and dashboards to provide a quick overview of progress. (View Highlight)
It can be tempting when you first start leading a data team or data project to look into what technology or techniques you should use. But these are just tools that can help reduce technical friction(as Abhi Sivasailam put on our panel last week). They don’t solve the actual problems unless applied correctly. (View Highlight)
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