18.8 Go Beyond the Dashboard

There are many, many businesses promising quick and easy analytics solutions with just a few clicks, or by referring to a dashboard.  They offer attractive sales pitches, with claims of helping you “Get insights into what your customers want”, and to “detect the latest trends.” Since these third party vendors often offer the raw data as a .csv file for customers to download, we urge you to always review and dissect the figures in this background file, even if you plan to present the dashboard “as is.”  

Within the actual data is where the good stuff lies, and where you can flex your analytics muscles.   Doing your own independent analysis means that you can objectively assess the vendor’s solution, and substantively answer any questions about the major takeaways.  

Always exercise discretion when you come across ‘blackbox’ metrics created by third party vendors. We do not recommend using these figures in your analysis unless you can explain them.  As an analytics professional, nothing will reduce your credibility faster than relying on “the model says” or “the software says” without really understanding why the output looks the way it does.  When you present findings, whether your audience is an external client, or a decision maker within your organization, it is essential that you take ownership of what you are delivering – after all, if all you could do was to parrot some commercial software solution, why would your organization need you?