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Develop a through understanding of your data followed by analyzing data, defining its purpose, crafting a vision, storytelling with data, effective communication, and identifying the consumers of data.
Understanding the intricacies and nuances of the data at hand forms the bedrock of effective decision-making and product development. This initial step is foundational and requires an in-depth comprehension of various aspects related to the data landscape.
Gaining a comprehensive understanding of your data landscape sets the stage for subsequent stages in the process of bringing product thinking to data. It not only facilitates informed decision-making but also lays the groundwork for defining the purpose and strategic utilization of the data within your product ecosystem.
Defining the purpose of your data is pivotal for aligning its usage with the overarching goals of your product and organization. This step involves clarifying the specific objectives and intentions behind leveraging the available data resources:
“It starts with giving yourself some space for contemplation and writing them down.”
By clearly defining the purpose of your data, you set a definitive direction for its application within your product ecosystem. This clarity not only streamlines decision-making but also ensures that data utilization remains aligned with the overarching strategic objectives, driving value creation and innovation.
An essentialist has a clear vision for the direction of the product. This product vision describes the overarching long-term mission of your product. Vision statements are aspirational and communicate concisely where the product hopes to go and what it hopes to achieve in the long term. This vision guides you and reminds your stakeholders about the shared objective they’re trying to achieve with this product. Your vision statement should also answer your product’s 'WHY'.
Making the product vision the guiding compass for an essentialist product manager signifies a clear, long-term direction integral to the product's mission. This visionary statement goes beyond a mere description, encompassing aspirational elements that succinctly communicate the desired destination and the ultimate goals to be achieved over the long haul. It serves as a beacon that not only navigates the product's trajectory but also instills a sense of purpose and direction among stakeholders. The vision statement acts as a unifying force, answering the pivotal "why" behind the product's existence.
“Why are you creating this product in the first place, & what do you hope to accomplish? It’s your compass for where you’re going.”
The image portrayed by the vision statement extends beyond a mere goal-setting tool. It becomes the anchor point around which decisions revolve, offering a top-down perspective for the product manager and the team. This clarity aids in navigating through conflicting priorities, facilitating streamlined decision-making processes, and determining the rightful place of various initiatives on the product roadmap. From this overarching vision, goals and objectives naturally stem, providing a clear and logical progression of milestones towards fulfilling the product's mission.
“What major decisions have you made, either professionally or personally, where you started with the end in mind? It’s a powerful tactic.”
Reflecting on major decisions, whether in professional or personal realms, underscores the power of starting with the end in mind—the core essence of the product's vision. This strategic approach not only shapes the trajectory of these decisions but also embodies a potent tactic in aligning efforts towards a desired outcome. Embracing the product vision as the compass not only empowers efficient decision-making but also galvanizes teams towards a unified goal, fostering a collective dedication to realizing the overarching purpose.
We often document, edit, write and summarize various aspects or features related to a product. Writing reports, case studies, and user personas involves great skill. We need to set the right narrative and make the reader focus on the content we want them to focus upon. Finding great detail in a piece of writing is as difficult as inculcating the detail while writing a piece of information.
Crafting a compelling narrative with data involves a multifaceted process that transcends mere presentation of facts. It revolves around enabling, constructing, and delivering a story that breathes life into raw data, transforming it into actionable insights and meaningful narratives:
The solution to this is to develop fabulous storytelling yourself. The more detail we get into, the more we make our users indulge in our writing. Making it simpler to imagine and understand the writing is the end goal of storytelling so that people from the desired persona can clearly paint the picture we want them to see. This video imparts precise and concise aspects of writing a story.
The initial step involves enabling accessibility to data sources across the organization. This encompasses establishing robust data infrastructure, implementing efficient data collection methods, and ensuring seamless access for relevant stakeholders. Accessibility serves as the foundation for data-driven storytelling, ensuring the availability of accurate and comprehensive data sets.
To construct a coherent narrative, it's crucial to build contextual understanding around the data. This involves dissecting and interpreting the data in its context, identifying patterns, trends, and correlations. It also requires collaboration between domain experts, data scientists, and analysts to extract insights and contextualize them within the broader organizational framework.
The culmination of this process involves delivering actionable insights derived from the data story. These insights should not only inform but also drive action within the organization. They should be communicated effectively to key decision-makers, facilitating strategic initiatives, process improvements, or innovative solutions based on the data-backed recommendations.
Enabling, building, and delivering a story with data involves a seamless integration of technical expertise, contextual understanding, storytelling finesse, and actionable insights. This process bridges the gap between raw data and impactful decision-making, empowering organizations to harness the full potential of their data assets.
Insights from psychological studies emphasize that our early experiences profoundly shape our thoughts and behaviors, imprinting subconscious data that significantly influences our actions, despite most of this life data remaining unremembered.
We choose to dress how we want, make choices every second while speaking nothing, and react to the activities around us non-verbally. We practice non-verbal communication to be empathetic and make people feel comfortable around us. And as Joe Navarro beautifully mentioned: “We are a sum total of our influence on others.”
Practicing this in different surroundings and using physical characteristics, we can define the outcome of any conversation or even a simple interaction. In a similar manner we can deliver data in a way to communicate the stats in the most valuable and consumable manner.
The vast realm of non-verbal communication encompasses everything unspoken. Consider the perspective of an FBI agent with over 13,000 interrogation cases, attuned not only to how individuals appear but also skilled in deciphering unspoken cues from both objects and people. This video serves as a testament to the power of non-verbal data perception in decoding information beyond spoken words.
To dive deeply, here’s a sophisticated take on non-verbal communication by Help Guide. We can understand how our body talks even without saying anything. Our mind talks to our body subconsciously, but what about us talking to our minds?
Effectively communicating with data involves more than just presenting information—it's about conveying a narrative that resonates, informs, and empowers stakeholders to make informed decisions. This multifaceted process encompasses various elements:
Clarity and simplicity serve as the cornerstone of data communication. Streamlining complex data into clear visuals and concise summaries aids in easy comprehension across various audience segments. This simplicity ensures that the message is accessible, fostering better understanding and interpretation.
An audience-centric approach tailors data communication to suit the specific needs and expertise of the intended audience. By understanding their background and familiarity with data, communication can be customized to resonate more effectively, making it relevant and meaningful.
Transforming raw data into a compelling narrative amplifies its communicative power. Incorporating storytelling techniques—like anecdotes and engaging visuals—contextualizes data, making it relatable and memorable for the audience. This storytelling approach adds depth and resonance, facilitating a deeper understanding and connection with the information presented.
At the end of the day, Data is to be consumed by a Human. In whatever manner it may be, the data can be delivered in a manner to communicate the correct and true information.
In the realm of data utilization, recognizing and catering to the specific needs of different consumer groups is crucial for effective data-driven decision-making. Understanding the diverse stakeholders who consume and leverage data across business and technical domains is imperative:
Identifying these distinct consumer groups of data enables tailoring data presentations, reports, and insights to meet their specific needs. Addressing the unique requirements of business and technical stakeholders ensures that data is communicated effectively, providing actionable insights that resonate with each group's objectives and responsibilities within the organization.
