Data fluency

Data FluencyBUILDING EFFECTIVE DATA COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN YOUR UNIVERSITY

MARTHA HORLER

Who I am Martha Horler – Senior Data Management Officer (Manchester Metropolitan University)

13 years' experience in higher education

Student focused roles, followed by data management roles

Experience in course administration, student engagement, quality processes, project management, data management, systems development

[email protected]

@thedatagoddess

What we will cover•Data literacy vs data fluency

•Data fluency framework

•Data governance tools

•Resources

Common organisational data problems

People unwilling to engage◦ “I don’t do data”

Disparate data sources – hard to bring together and manage them◦ “I don’t have access to all the data”

Data not being captured◦ “We don’t have that data”

How many of these do you recognise?

Data Literacy vs. Data Fluency Data Literacy The ability to read data products

Understanding of data formats

Able to understand a table or chart

Able to pick out key points from data

Data Fluency The ability to read and write data products

Ability to change data between formats

Able to create tables or charts

Able to manipulate data to find answers

Data Fluency Framework

Data Consumer Understanding the jargon of data:

◦ Correlation vs. causation, statistical significance, regression to the mean, confounding factors

Atomic data vs. summarised data

Key questions to ask of any data product:◦ Where does the data come from?◦ Is the information trustworthy?◦ Is it a sample or does it include everyone? – How were they chosen?◦ What can you learn from it?◦ What can you do with it?

In a world of information overload, we need to make sure we are focusing on the bits that prompt us to take action, not the ‘nice to know’ bits

Quiz! Taken from “Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication”

Has it highlighted any areas you want to develop?

Data Author Learning a range of tools, from beginner to more advanced:

◦ Presentation tools: PowerPoint, Prezi, Keynote◦ Spreadsheet tools: Excel, Google Spreadsheets◦ Statistical analysis packages: R, SAS, SPSS◦ Visual analysis tools: Tableau, QlikView◦ General data management skills: data transformation, data formats, data quality tools

Bridging the gap between your data and your intended audience◦ What will motivate an audience to action?◦ Knowing what to leave out, even if it might be of interest◦ Creating a logical structure and narrative flow to your data product

Pay attention to good design principles (see Stephen Few’s book)

Student Enquiry System – a Case Study

MMU has had an enquiries logging system since 2013, used for tracking basic queries at the hubs, and more complicated referrals on enrolment or document submission

Until early 2016, the data was not being used to its potential

After completing an online course on Excel, I used it’s PowerPivot tool to create a simple dashboard that is now used regularly to make staffing level decisions on the front line hubs.

Created over an afternoon, it became a useful tool for exploring the data

This will likely be the prototype for a more advanced reporting tool when the enquiries system is replaced

Data Fluent Culture Leading by example – set and communicate expectations

Determine organisation terminology and definitions – a common vocabulary

Celebrate effective data use and products

Use data to inform decisions and actions

Support training for staff

Establish the key metrics for the organisation

Be transparent about how data is sourced and manipulated

Data Product Ecosystem Train data authors on the design skills for communicating data

Invest in suite of tools for authors to use – consistency where possible

Set standards of visualisation design principles

Inventory your data products – then make centrally available in a catalogue

Build in feedback mechanisms so that data products can improve over time

Encourage discussion of the products – are decisions being made as a result of them

Take inspiration from Apple Store

Data Governance Tools Business Glossary

Metadata Management

Data Profiling

Data Quality Management

Master Data Management

Reference Data Management

Information Policy Management

Big Data Tools – Hadoop/NoSQL

General Data Protection Regulation

Adopted April 2016, and will enter into application 25 May 2018 after a two-year transition period

Key changes:◦ Appointment of a Data Protection Officer◦ Right to erasure of personal data◦ Increased sanctions for data breaches◦ Explicit consent required◦ Data portability

Check the Information Commissioner’s Office website for more details: ico.org.uk

Resources Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication - 978-1118851012

DAMA Guide to Data Management - 978-1935504023

Data Governance Tools - 978-1583478448

http://www.juiceanalytics.com/

Microsoft Virtual Academy

Coursera / Edx

www.thedatagoddess.com

Thank You! [email protected]

@thedatagoddess

Any questions?