Post by Ginny Andrews on Jul 20, 2021 20:41:20 GMT
What are two thoughts that stood out for you in each of the readings?
How Your Organization Can Embrace Data
• One of the first things that really hit me in this article was the opening statement: “when your pants feel tight and you get on a scale and decide to go on a diet, you are making a data informed decision”. I could completely relate to this! The words data and metrics sometimes scare me-but we make these data informed decisions in our everyday lives--from looking at how much money we receive in our paychecks and how much you can spend that week to how much vacation time we have accrued and can use in the future. It is important to not feel overwhelmed or scared by the terms data and metrics.
• I was also struck by the reminder that we should not try to do too much. Sometimes tracking a few key metrics consistently is better than being so overwhelmed with information that you do not know what to do with it all and eventually give up.
Analytics 3.0” by Thomas Davenport
• Making sure we ask the right questions seems to be a common theme for me to focus on. This article mentioned making sure we figure out the right questions to focus on. In the past-we have looked at data to determine our successes or failures. Analytics 3.0 is how we are now focusing on using data to change our future processes and make improvements—not just quantifying successes and failures.
• Terms like data warehouses, Hadoop 2.0, IT architects, analytical infrastructure, and data scientists—were terms that are not a part of my daily vernacular! This is certainly an area that I have a lot to learn.
How might you apply these learnings to your everyday work? Please give a specific example.
As my team is growing, I will make sure I focus on asking the right questions. I anticipate that I will be looking at what are the problems or issues that we are experiencing in my specific office. What do our participant feedback surveys show and how can we meet some of these needs? I will also be looking at numbers of participants seen, appointments scheduled and noted for each participant we meet with. This will help in planning a course of action for improved client services and making sure that staff are keeping up with workflow.
When have metrics mattered in your professional experience?
In past positions, I certainly used metrics in program planning. Our contract was paid by using a funding formula that included numbers of participants served and by meeting certain metrics. It was important to be able to verify that participants kept their appointments and that they were served within a certain timeframe. I also developed participant feedback surveys that provided another set of data on satisfaction level and what additional services our participants needed. This information was used in developing future programs and services as well as verifying successes and failures of the goals outlined in our contract.
How do you use data in your current role—would you describe your team as data driven?
I would say that we are a data driven team statewide here at Breaking the Cycle. We review our “work participation rate”, look at numbers of jobs gained, education attainment – among other metrics. It is critical for us to be able to provide data that supports and highlights all the great things that we are doing to help people improve their economic wellbeing and support our children and families in Maine.
How Your Organization Can Embrace Data
• One of the first things that really hit me in this article was the opening statement: “when your pants feel tight and you get on a scale and decide to go on a diet, you are making a data informed decision”. I could completely relate to this! The words data and metrics sometimes scare me-but we make these data informed decisions in our everyday lives--from looking at how much money we receive in our paychecks and how much you can spend that week to how much vacation time we have accrued and can use in the future. It is important to not feel overwhelmed or scared by the terms data and metrics.
• I was also struck by the reminder that we should not try to do too much. Sometimes tracking a few key metrics consistently is better than being so overwhelmed with information that you do not know what to do with it all and eventually give up.
Analytics 3.0” by Thomas Davenport
• Making sure we ask the right questions seems to be a common theme for me to focus on. This article mentioned making sure we figure out the right questions to focus on. In the past-we have looked at data to determine our successes or failures. Analytics 3.0 is how we are now focusing on using data to change our future processes and make improvements—not just quantifying successes and failures.
• Terms like data warehouses, Hadoop 2.0, IT architects, analytical infrastructure, and data scientists—were terms that are not a part of my daily vernacular! This is certainly an area that I have a lot to learn.
How might you apply these learnings to your everyday work? Please give a specific example.
As my team is growing, I will make sure I focus on asking the right questions. I anticipate that I will be looking at what are the problems or issues that we are experiencing in my specific office. What do our participant feedback surveys show and how can we meet some of these needs? I will also be looking at numbers of participants seen, appointments scheduled and noted for each participant we meet with. This will help in planning a course of action for improved client services and making sure that staff are keeping up with workflow.
When have metrics mattered in your professional experience?
In past positions, I certainly used metrics in program planning. Our contract was paid by using a funding formula that included numbers of participants served and by meeting certain metrics. It was important to be able to verify that participants kept their appointments and that they were served within a certain timeframe. I also developed participant feedback surveys that provided another set of data on satisfaction level and what additional services our participants needed. This information was used in developing future programs and services as well as verifying successes and failures of the goals outlined in our contract.
How do you use data in your current role—would you describe your team as data driven?
I would say that we are a data driven team statewide here at Breaking the Cycle. We review our “work participation rate”, look at numbers of jobs gained, education attainment – among other metrics. It is critical for us to be able to provide data that supports and highlights all the great things that we are doing to help people improve their economic wellbeing and support our children and families in Maine.