Datadoodle

Home » data analysts

data analysts

Lending a hand to would-be storytellers

by

Advocating data storytelling is easy. But actually making a data story out of data is something else. As much as storytelling could help to deliver meaning, says one consultant who works up close to the action, many data analysts just don’t even know where to start.

they-want-stories

“If no one teaches you how to tell a story, how do you do it?”says DecisionViz president Lee Feinberg. How do you expect them to tell a story in words or visualizations? “Face it, most of them aren’t even good at writing or English.” What might be hard even for natural storytellers is making a set of reports into something meaningful.… Read the rest “Lending a hand to would-be storytellers”

Data analysts’ three misconceptions of storytelling

by

I asked Fern Halper, director at TDWI Research, what misconceptions data analysts have about data storytelling. She and I wrote a report last fall for TDWI Research on data storytelling, and she was the data analyst on that team.

1. That data storytelling is easier that it really is. That sounds right to me. After all, everyone knows how to tell a story, don’t they? Sure, just like everyone knows how to analyze data, at least if you have a tool that’s “easy to use.”

2. That people care about the details. That rings true, too. As we said in the report, some do and some don’t.… Read the rest “Data analysts’ three misconceptions of storytelling”

Quants vs “accidental analysts,” up close

by

In just two meetups of data analysts, Dave Wells has seen the quant-versus-accidental analyst rivalry surface.

He is the former TDWI education director and now a consultant and based in Seattle. He’s taken an interest in the last few years in data analysts.

The quants are by far the smaller group, but they’re loud. At the meetups of his group Business Analysts Collaborative, they amount to less than 10 percent of the 150 who’ve attended either event. These are the ones with training, the ones who squeeze all the meaning anyone could possibly find out of data. Their findings are solid.… Read the rest “Quants vs “accidental analysts,” up close”