Data-Driven Decision Making: Problem Statement

Source: Introduction to Data Literacy on DataCamp

In a bid to get the most out of data, Data-Driven Driven Decision Making was inspired.

Data-Driven Decision Making is the process of using data to make an informed decision about a problem and taking action

This can be used to do the following:

1. Optimise perfomance
2. Decide the best course of action
3. Gaining understanding
4. Protect against risk

Misconception about Data-Driven Decision Making

1. It is not only for large organisations
2. It is not only the responsibility of the Data Teams: Matter of Fact, when we add people from varying background into the process — it enriches the data-drive Decision making process
3. It should not be the only way of tackling a problem. We have to remember this is just a strategy and it has advantages and disadvantages

There is a formula to Data Driven Decision-Making Process. No matter what problem you are solving, it must follow this step by step approach

1. Define the Problem statement
2. Collect the necessary Data
3. Perform Data Analysis
4. Communicate the results of Data Analysis
5. Take action based of insight & then reflect back on the process.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Everything starts here — Effective Data Driven Decision Making is rooted in a Well-Crafted Problem Statement.

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This is so critical as you cannot overcome a poor problem statement, it shapes everything.

It guides the data you are going to collect, the data analysis you are going to able to the data and even sometimes how you communicate the analysis and the actions you take off it.

The problem statement answers the question:

What is the problem you want to sovle.

They are 3 guiding questions to defining your problem statement

1. What is the current situation?
2. What do we need to know?
3. Where do we want to be?

A good problem statement must have the following characteristics:

1. Clearly Defined: They must be well-defined
2. Actionable: Specific Actions should be taken once we get the answers to our problem statement
3. Realistic: Posisble to solve with available resources

Sometimes, it helps to start form a question that needs to be answered