Focus on outcomes

One of the most common mistakes we come across is the use of data just for the sake of it.

For example, because you have been told to “go do a data visualisation project” or because you think the technology is shiny and interesting. Without a focus on business outcomes, and what success looks like for your stakeholders, you are highly likely to end up poorer and older.

The question is, “how do you stay focussed on outcomes that are valuable to your organisation?”. Starting by understanding what is important to your organisation, by looking at your business strategy, is a good first step.

Let’s use the workbooks to bring this alive.

Workbook – Strategy Alignment Canvas (Click to expand)

Using the Strategy Alignment Canvas in your workbook:

1. Write down the key objectives of your business strategy in the top box. If you are struggling with this, have a look at the example below.
2. Then taking each of the business objectives, list how the better use of data could have supported, strengthened or accelerated achieving these objectives?
3. Also consider who your main stakeholder will be, and specifically, what you would like them to say when you deliver them a solution ie what does success look like for them?

Example:

Strategy Alignment Canvas workbook example (Click to expand)

Hopefully this is helping you to articulate how data can be used to drive value, and most importantly, how to express that value in terms that your stakeholders will understand. Stakeholders will very quickly go cold on you if you are constantly bamboozling them with data terminology that means nothing to them.

Defining what success looks like, by aligning with your business ambitions, helps to frame your initial investment and increase your chance of success.

There are no right or wrong ideas at this stage – we will revisit these ideas as part of later exercises.