Critical Questions Before Your Next Analytics Project

ttvFor anyone who has considered starting a new project or has been tasked with a new project, it is important to gain a better understanding of the purpose of the project. "Do this thing" or "go solve that problem" is a good starting place for a project, but it isn't enough to complete the project. More information is needed to assess what will be needed to successfully complete the project.

As I go through these questions and scenarios, I will be compiling a larger list of questions for you to use (or add to!) when you are starting your next project.

Why are we doing this?

A simple question of "why are we doing this?" or even "why does anyone care about this project?" is simple but important before beginning a project. From experience working with clients who are interested in a digital transformation or finding a better understanding of their data, the initial problem is often "I want to analyze my email data". This gives a limited scope, but diving deeper by responding with "why do you want to analyze your email data?" will help you gain a better understanding of the purpose of the project. The ultimate goal of these initial probing questions is to further refine the project and end up with a positive outcome.

Who cares about this project?

Put simply, who is asking about this project. Understanding the role of the person who will be receiving the output will help you better refine what is a successful project. "The business needs to understand our sales data" is vague and if you don't know who the intended recipient of your project, you could end up providing the wrong solution. Product, sales, and the executive leadership may all be looking for different pieces of the same larger data set. Understanding the recipient of the project will help refine the final outcome.

What information do we need?

What is needed is a much different question than what information do we have. All too often I have heard the phrase "oh, I didn't know we even had that!". Starting with "what do we need" will help us understand the actual problem that needs to be solved, and it will also begin to show warning signs if it can't be solved. Don't get stuck in the trap of not knowing something was possible because it wasn't available to you at the current time.

When is this needed?

As we project and begin to understand the specifics of our project, it is imperative to set expectations early. For example, you most likely aren't going to be able to provide a good analysis of thousands of records pertaining to customer questions or help desk requests within the next 2 days, (if you can, please tell me your secrets!). Setting timelines can lead to difficult conversations because people tend to disagree on how long the project should take to complete. By asking probing questions, we will be able to get a better understanding of what is needed to complete the project therefore providing a better timeline.

Where is this going to take place?

I believe the last question for any project should be "where". By this, I mean the tool (or process) that will be used to solve the problem is typically one of the least important pieces. On multiple occasions, a client has shown interest in tools such as Snowflake or 'the cloud'. New tools come out all the time, but remember the tool should fit your problem not the other way around. Choosing the tool first can be a dangerous trap because the tool chosen may not allow us to complete our project, resulting in unforeseen delays.

Conclusion

Make sure to subscribe as I will dive deep into each one of these questions to begin helping those involved in a project or refining the project more. If you think of more questions that should be included, please do not hesitate to reach out via e-mail or leave a comment!