1. Understanding the business question
Hi and welcome. One of the biggest challenges in delivering impactful analytics solutions is to clearly understand the business problem. In this video, we will discover some techniques to help with this challenge.
2. Discover what really matters
A clearly defined problem will have clarity first on:
What the business wants to know, or otherwise, what really matters to the business. This is fundamentally the business question. Very often, the initial request might contain a misleading or unclear description of the business problem.
Second, we want to know what decisions need to be made, or otherwise, how the results will be used. This helps determine what the analytics solution should look like. This will also help understand how this request is aligned with the strategic goals of the business.
Third, who will use the results? This helps to ensure that the analytical solution will be presented in a way that is understandable and relevant to the intended audience.
And lastly, any other information that is important to know. For example, anything else that should be considered for the analysis or any desired deadlines for the delivery of the analytical solution.
3. Communication practices
But how does the analytics team makes sure that these points are clarified? Communication is the key in this case. The analytics team should engage in discussion with the business team. During this discussion, there are several practices that the analytics team can use in order to achieve clarity.
Encourage input using open-ended questions,
confirm understanding by paraphrasing,
and lastly, summarize the discoveries learned from the conversation.
Let's look at each of these practices in depth and then explore an example.
4. Encourage input using open-ended questions
Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". For example, “Tell me more about..” or “What led you to this..”. These questions require the respondent to provide more detailed or descriptive answers.
This can result in uncovering new perspectives and gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the problem.
5. Confirm understanding by paraphrasing
Confirm understanding by paraphrasing. This means during the conversation, the analytics team restates the problem in their own words. By confirming through paraphrasing, the analytics team can ensure that they have accurately interpreted the problem and that everyone is on the same page. This also assists in building trust and rapport with the stakeholders.
6. Summarize the discoveries learned
Summarize the discoveries learned from the conversation. This is the final signal which indicates that everyone is on the right track. This helps the team to stay focused on the critical elements of the problem and to move forward in the right direction.
7. Use of open-ended questions
Now, let’s see an example from our online marketplace for short-term rentals “CozySpace.com”. Please take a look at the following conversation. The marketing team is asking to measure the effectiveness of their recent campaign. However, the initial statement does not provide enough information. Using open-ended questions such as “Can you tell us more about” allows the analytics team to learn more about the problem and understand the business question. From the marketing team’s response, we know how the campaign was executed and the success metric we should analyze: the number of customer bookings.
8. Confirm understanding by paraphrasing
As the conversation progresses in our example, the analytics team confirms their understanding by paraphrasing. Repeating the business question and the relevant details such as “the customer group of frequent travelers in the US”. This helps to confirm understanding and prevent misinterpretation.
9. Summarize the discoveries
At the end of the conversation, the analytics team summarizes the four steps: What the business wants to know, how the results will be used, who will use the results and the deadline for the delivery of results. This allows the marketing team to confirm one more time the request and ensure everyone has the same understanding.
10. Let's practice!
Now that you know these simple but powerful communication techniques to understand the business question, let's practice!