Analytics in Context: From Data to Insight to Action

Back in April 2019, I posted an article titled Empowering Every Business Person with Actionable Insights: The Rebirth of Role-Based Analytic Applications.  My premise then—and especially now – was that everybody wants to be “insight-driven”. But what do we need to make it a reality? There were three things that I believe make a real difference.  Business people need:

1. Data that’s in proper context for their roles and responsibilities
2. Information delivered where it will have optimal impact, sometimes within other applications
3. Key performance indicators (KPIs) that not only identify where they’ve been, but also serve as early warning indicators of where they’re headed so that they can take corrective action, if necessary, to achieve their desired outcomes

As I talk with customers, partners, and industry analysts, I realize there are two more things that must be part of the plan—the first is to organize the right (and best) data regardless of where it comes from, and the last is to take action on insights, closing the decision-making loop.  

It All Starts with the Data

Data comes from many places, in many different forms.  There’s a high likelihood it comes from different systems, often from different vendors.   That data needs to be refined to make it usable by business analysts and managers who don’t understand or care how or where the data is physically captured—only that they can get at it in a logical and relevant way.   

Increasingly, business and IT together look for a “solution” that delivers a data pipeline—a defined supply chain of data -- not just a bag of tools to build their own stuff.  That data pipeline must be flexible enough to allow for extensions and customizations without disrupting the integrity of the core pipeline itself. Nothing worse than a delivered solution that can’t be upgraded if you make any adjustments to the process.

It Ends with the Action, then Renews Itself….

Insights are great, but without action, they’re just facts and figures.  While some managers and executives pride themselves on their business instinct and acumen—that intangible “gut feel” – they search for insights that support their point of view. To be truly data-driven, you take action based on the data and what it tells you, not what you want it to tell you. W. Edwards Deming, the quality guru of the 20th Century, said it best --  “In God we trust, all others must bring data.” 

Today, action-taking is a heavy human-based activity. Regardless who (or what) takes the action, data gets enriched, more context appears, and the cycle begins again. This Data->Insight->Action cycle is continuous. It’s not a “one-and-done” activity. 

From the First Bit to the Last Action, Augmented Throughout

As more data is augmented with AI and machine learning, as more processes are automated, we’ll see an ever-growing shift to autonomous business actions based on data, algorithms and context. While that will take time, proof, and trust, in the end, it all starts with data, and ends with action, with augmented analytics and autonomous processes leading the way.