What are the key skills for a Data Analyst?

If you are thinking of entering the field of business analytics the below link is a good resource on what skills are required.

Key Data Analyst skills

I really like the emphasis the author of the article has placed on interpretation and not simply reporting numbers. I believe the three key skills are:

- Interpretation of data into meaningful information
- Knowledge of statistics and research methodologies
- Creativity

Burn out

Everyone is so busy these days that we tend to ignore early signs of a dangerous illness that can rob us of promotions, success, and above all happiness.

I found Rational NZ's article on Burnout really insightful. I've always tended to see the symptoms of anxiety etc that Froggatt (1997) describes the third and last stage as the 'usual' symptoms of burnout. However, as Froggatt (1997) states these are the final symptoms, and there are earlier signs which should be picked up and remedied.

http://www.rational.org.nz/orgs/workstress.htm

I strongly encourage others to visit this site, and to keep watch on yourself and workmates. By becoming aware of burnout steps can be taken to reduce stress. For me, tramping is an excellent way to unwind and de-stress. What are yours?

Is Scope Creep Evil?

I have always been under the impression that scope creep is something to be avoided. Yet this research article by Gurlen (2003) challenges that view.

Gurlen (2003) argues that under certain conditions scope creep should be encouraged in order to assure that the client's specifications are correct. After all you do not want to deliver a product that does not meet specifications.

I like this article and the below YouTube video courtesy of EngPMgt as it shows the strengths and weaknesses of scope creep, and demonstrates why it needs to be managed so carefully.

What is Cloud Computing, and its security?

Cloud computing has become the recent hot topic set to revolutionize data management by replacing isolated servers with servers that can be shared by everybody on the internet. It’s like electricity you do not generate your own electricity rather you hook up to the national grid. This blog for example uses cloud technology via Google blogs.

But how secure are clouds given that anybody can hook up to this resource? Pennsylvania State University urges people to be sensible, only sharing information that you don’t mind if other people obtain, and not storing any private information within clouds. Yet some people consider cloud technology being more secure than traditional methods, e.g. email, courier. After all, can you be sure no one at the mail centre reads your private correspondence?

Is this security fear of cloud technology just fear of new technology??

VBA for Excel

To all those people out there who want to start learning VBA for Excel, I suggest you watch the video below.



Although the video demonstrated a simple macro I like the video as it shows just how much more Excel can do via VBA than basic macro recording. If anyone wants to know more you can go to

http://www.youtube.com/user/VBA4Excel

Teach yourself SQL

I have found the W3Schools online web tutorials to be very useful for self-learning SQL. I like it as it provides the basics, clear explanations, and provides an online editor so you can write and test your own code.

Learn SQL

How have others found this site?

Google Analytics

Has anyone used or currently uses Google Analytics as a web analytics tool?

If so, what are its pros and cons?

Chris Jordan - Shocking Stats

Communicating results

This is something University never teaches you - communication to a general audience. I remember being taught the simple do's and don'ts of reporting, don't use jargon, define concepts, etc. But no one ever taught me the difference in structuring reports for academia and employers.

Experience, mostly through trial-and-error has taught me the basic elements of effective communication. Probably the most important point I've learned is that decision-makers aren't interested in how you arrived at your conclusion, they are only interested in your conclusion and what it means to the bottom line.

I came across this web article by Meta S Brown, which I've found to be really insightful.

Meta Brown advises Analysts to:
- Get to your main point fast.
- Don't dive into detail.
- Provide supporting evidence, but only address alternative views if they are asked.
- Ensure Executives have the power, let them make the connections.

So what communication tips, gems, pearls of wisdom have you found alone the way?

http://smartdatacollective.com/metabrown/29984/talk-analytics-executives-4-things-you-must-understand

NOT sharing your goals will help you achieve it

Beauty of data visualisation

The Importance of Trial and Error

Above is a great video of Tim Harford speaking about the importance of using a Trial and Error approach to business solutions, and discouraging the use of 'Office Guru's' or as he calls it 'The God Complex' - People who's knowledge is beyond question.

Since 1998 the use of Evidence Based Decision making to improve business performance has really taken off. However, the majority of literature finds little support for the argument that EB decision making actually improves performance. It is argued that the main reason for this failure in EB is due to decision makers falling to this God Complex, rather than experimenting.

I however argue, is scientific experimentation the only method to validate knowledge in an organisational context, for a positivist approach is rarely applicable in the social world.

Extracting weekly figures automatically in MS Access

In the past whenever I've wanted to compute weekly figures from an MS Access database I have always had to specify the start and end dates of that week.  This became very time consuming, especially when I also had to compare daily and weekly totals. 

So I created this query to extract the day and week automatically.

1. Prompt the User to enter the date for the day of interest

2. Calculate the weekday number of the date entered, e.g. 26/6/11 is weekday 1, as it is a Sunday.

3. Calculate the Start Date of the week by taking the weekday number away from the date of interest, then add 1.

4. Calculate the End Date of the week by taking the weekday number away from the date of interest, then add 7.

5. Ensure that all date values are stored with Date formats.

I then used this query whenever I needed to extract a week's worth of information, by using the Start Date and End Date values in the formula  'Between[Start Date] And [End Date]'.  The bonus of this is that I can extract data for both the day and week with only having to enter a single date. I imagine something similar could be developed in SAS.

New Facebook Page!

Hi guys!

I've made a new facebook page for our group so if you're already on facebook, add me and I'll invite you to it :) It's looking a bit sad and lonely atm so more people the better! You can find me with my email madbunny14@gmail.com. If you don't already have a facebook account, get one! It doesn't take long :P

Enjoy the rest of your week!
Tina

Presentations from the SAS Global Forum in Las Vegas

http://my.brainshark.com/search.aspx?author=642723

As some of you might already know, there's going to be a SUNZ open meeting on 2nd June. They're going to review the key points and the presentations from the forum. Even though you're not interested in going to the open meeting, it might be worthwhile having a look at the presentations (in above link) - I found them very informative. I like the one that looks at DATASETS programming, it takes you through very basic steps - great for beginners like me :)

Excel Sparklines

This is a cool Data visualisation tool in Excel 2010 that Sabrina discovered.

In a nutshell, it graphically and numerically presents trend information side-by-side.

The question I have is how different is this to the standard line graph with tabular data attached to it?? Help, please..

What are Sparklines?

Sparklines for Excel

Purpose of analytics: to provide psychological comfort or strategic direction?

The perils of market research.

After reading the article by Michael Baker I wonder if there is solely a psychological aspect to the need of carrying out market research or analytical research in general? Does the act of carrying out business analysis increase confidence in decision making regardless of the quality of research taken (within reason)?

Should there be a universal certification for business analysts?

If you want a quality plumbing job done, you would get a registered and certified plumber.
If you want your car fixed, you see a registered and qualified mechanic.
But what exactly does a qualified business analyst look like?
How do employers know that they are getting a quality business or data analyst?

I believe this is an incredibly important to ask, as more businesses are using business analytics for maintaining their competitive edge. Regardless of the complexity and genius design of analytical software the old rule of 'garbage in - garbage out' remains true. The only safeguard businesses can use to ensure quality is to be sure that the Business Analyst is highly competent.

Failure to check the competency of Business Analysts could result not only in monetary loses, but also could negatively affect the business's view of business analytics as aiding business performance.

However, given the vast array of analytical software available and the large variation between businesses and their needs, I wonder what would certification look like?

SQL progamming for SAS

Hi BI Crowd (or whatever we're called)! Here goes my first post :) I have recently started to teach myself how to do basic programming on SAS (I'm just a SAS EG user at this stage) and came across these links that I found very helpful. 1. http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/sugi29/269-29.pdf This article explains the difference between DATA steps and SQL on SAS (although I'm still trying to figure out why there are two different types of programming.. all I know is I like SQL because I can grab the codes from SAS EG :P) 2. http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/sugi30/257-30.pdf I'm using this as my manual to get my basic sorted on SQL programming. I'm finding it real useful. Sabrina also has an awesome book called SAS Certification Prep Guide: Base Programming, which I also found very helpful. If anyone comes across any other useful links or books on programming, please let me know! Better get back to real work..

Luck or success?

If you change your business process and it seems to work - how do you know it was luck or success? Of course the only way to know this is to measure your success and to understand the system.

Sounds simple but how many people do you know that do it?

Here's an interesting article that sparked this line of thinking:

http://hbr.org/2011/04/why-leaders-dont-learn-from-success/ar/1

Data Visualisation - redefining BI or just another graph?

Businesses and organizations today more than ever seem to be starving for information.
The problem usually is not whether the information exists or not, but how useful is it? Can stakeholders understand it and apply it to their work?

This is where I think data visualization comes in.  Data visualization to my understanding is all about simplifying information and presenting it to an audience in a way that makes intuitive sense to them.

Hans Rosling: Data Visualization

The question I ask, is whether data visualization is a revolution in business intelligence, or is it simply just another graph??