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6 Fixes for Great Analytics Results

2–3 minutes

Analysts are often asked to solve problems they don’t fully understand. Data is collected, reports are produced, and everyone hopes for the best. The results are often disappointing, wasting a valuable opportunity to put analytics to good use.

"If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing" W. Edwards Deming

Good Results Can’t Come from Poor Questions

A poorly framed question rarely leads to a useful answer. Analysts excel at analytics but not at inferring all the implicit details customers expect. Likewise, customers are experts in their field but struggle to articulate their needs clearly enough to get the most from analytics. The challenge is the communication gap between analysts and customers who think differently yet must collaborate to reach a solution.

Poor questions lead to poor results. Situation is sales are falling, results are poor, and a solution is needed. Approach is that the customer asks the analyst to find out what's wrong. The result is that no solution is found and analytics are considered a failure.

Transform a Question from Poor to Good

Let’s turn a vague analytics question into a clear, well-defined one. Customers should phrase questions as if analysts are lawyers, following every detail and resisting implied assumptions. Analysts should, of course, never be tasked with framing the question themselves. This ensures the question is robust, keeps both sides objective, and yields a useful answer.

Problem 1: Looking backward. Focusing on the past doesn't establish a clear path forward.
Problem 2: Asking only why. Asking "why" it will happen won't lead to actionable results.
Problem 3: Not being specific. Failing to request specific actions leads to vague answers.
Problem 4: Unbounded actions. Without defining acceptable options, undesirable actions may be suggested.
Problem 5: Inviting vagueness. Excluding a quantitative basis leads to ambiguity,
Problem 6: Lacking precision. Not seeking a precise, optimal answer introduces execution risk.

Now that the issues with the original question are fixed, it is precise and refined. The analyst understands what the customer needs and can begin developing a solution. This question format also aligns with Advanata’s business problem framework, enabling its technologies to accelerate accurate, efficient problem-solving.

Perfect question performs all six fixes and results in an ideal answer, Optimal actions required to maximize our goal given our limited resources which perfectly aligns with Advanata's business problem framework.

Good Results Come from Good Questions

If our analytics question avoids these six pitfalls, it’s well-formed and provides a strong foundation for finding a solution. From there, Advanata can take the question and easily generate an optimal, actionable answer.

Good questions lead to good results, A good (analytics) question looks forward, asks how, requires specifics, limits actions, achieves objectivity, and requests precision. Using Advanata to solve this question will lead to a great result.

It’s unfortunate how often analytics efforts are handicapped from the start by poorly framed questions. This usually happens not from ill intent or negligence but from the communication gap between parties. Advanata’s core technologies are designed to close this gap, align understanding, and create effective solutions that draw on the strengths of everyone involved.

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