Is your idea of a data-driven organisation ready for roll-out? If this is the case, it is time for a quick start: a three-week implementation and rapid payback can be achieved by dividing the solution into smaller parts that are easy to understand and measure. I will tell you how.
In the previous articles in this series, we prioritised the opportunities to create a data-driven organisation (phase 3) and put together a team of top-tier experts (phase 4). Now is the time to join forces with your team and find the answers to the questions below. It is time to draw up a promise of how and why you will do the things you are planning to do. When you are able to justify and promise a rapid payback, you will find yourself immersed in the action sooner than you thought!
Start today
The various phases of effectively rolling out a data-driven organisation are listed below.
Week 0: Identify the development need to make use of analytics
- Divide your idea into a project that can be implemented in a week and a half.
- Determine the indicators of success, predict the benefits and visualise them. Ask a designer for help!
- Discuss your idea with colleagues, partners and end users. Is your story evoking positive feelings? Do people understand its operational logic? Do they think that your plan will work in practice?
- Ask a sales professional for help and charm the person in charge of the money!
Weeks 1–3: Implementation phase – time to deliver on your promises!
- Implement
- Test with end users
- Fine-tune!
- Release
Weeks 4-5: Harvesting and effects analysis
- Measure the benefits you have gained
- Collect feedback from end users
Week N: Let the benefits flow in
- While waiting for the benefits to be realised, you can proceed to the next phase of building a data-driven culture: sharing the results and starting again!
By systematically completing a small part of a big idea, you will be able to rapidly study its real effects on the end users of the service. In the worst case, you will lose your three-week input. In the best case, your project will pay itself back quickly. After analysing the measured effects and learning from them, you are ready for the next phase: sharing the results.
In the final article in this series, I will discuss how the end results and benefits gained can be shared within the organisation and why it is important to start the process again once the results are in.
Olli Lindroos works for Solita’s Agile Data team. He is a passionate student and proponent of data-driven culture, with an interest in technology in all of its forms, whether it’s about the user experience, technical implementation or business strategy opportunities. Olli describes himself as a dad and a nerd, as well as a food and drink aficionado. In his free time, Olli likes to try out all the newest trends as a consumer and building the IoT equipment he needs by himself.