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How Impressive Presentations Hide Shaky Analytics

2 minutes

Analytics presentations often look more impressive than the analysis behind them. Weak results are compensated with polished visuals and abundant outputs. The results may look thorough yet leave the decision owner no closer to a clear decision.

The Analytics Playbook

At the end of every analytics project comes the presentation to the decision owner. The results will not always be quantitative wins and that is to be expected. The bigger problem is that findings, good or bad, are often presented using the same template, masking their true quality.

A project is over and it's time to present the results. Regardless of the quality of results the presentations emphasize quantity and storytelling over rigor and actionability.

Diversions That Hide Poor Results

Imprecise problems cannot produce precise results. Excessive effort spent making results look impressive should raise concern. One way to expose this is to ask for borderline cases that demonstrate thorough testing.

f no conclusive results were found, then quantitative rigor is replaced with visual window dressing as a diversion tactic. Dazzling heat maps, 3D charts, and infographics replace key constraints, tradeoff, and assumptions. Ask for borderline results to challenge this tactic. If they do not exist, then the problem wasn't properly defined and the results weren't properly tested.

When a presenter is promoting an agenda, the results can seem almost too good to be true, with every finding neatly supporting the storyline. This is common in feasibility studies and investment pitches. Without hypothesis testing, it is storytelling, not evidence.

Pushing an agenda is a diversion tactic where the story is developed and the supporting analysis is added later. Selective data is used to present the results and only supporting insights are highlighted. Challenge this by asking for the hypothesis testing methodology. If non-existant then this is a story.

A content-heavy presentation can mask the fact that no conclusive decisions were reached. The reasons may vary, but the output remains incomplete. If it cannot identify precise actions, it is mostly interesting data rather than a useful result.

Not having any real decisions is another diversion tactic where the focus is placed on metrics and historical outputs. Insights aren't linked to decisions, and the presented outputs are the end-product. This can be challenged by simply asking for the precise actions to be taken. If non-existant then this is just filler material.

Prevent Deception from the Start

Advanata’s three core technologies counter these tactics by enforcing a solution framework that prevents weak results from passing as solutions and ensures every output is as precise and optimal as possible at that point in time. This is demonstrated through practical applications across a range of business decision problems.

Business problem framework defines precise business problems thus there are no issues due to problem clarity. The inductive approach ensures that the solution process is driven by the decision owner so that no agendas or noise arise. Data effectiveness methodology ensures that only optimal actions are output with no filler or useless output.

Back to the Point of Analytics

High-level observations about underlying data are not analytics. They are a preliminary step in the solution process, not a final deliverable. Advanata ensures the process is complete, delivering the decision owner a useful, precise, and optimal solution.

Instead of presenting what the data says (storytelling), use Advanata to ensure that precise actions are presented instead (decisions).

Substance Over Show

Good analytics results shouldn’t require presentation tricks to demonstrate their value. The solution process should produce a clear, defensible, and actionable result, not simply an impressive collection of findings. Advanata is designed around this principle, ensuring that the analysis is completed until it produces precise and optimal actions that directly serve the decision owner.

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