Data Curious

Preface

For as long as education has existed, there has been a focus on verbal and written communication. One aspect of communication in the 21st century has, sadly, not been taught properly: data management. Many people feel naive when it comes to working with data, due to this lack of education. No one likes feeling that they are asking potentially stupid questions, especially when people are looking to them for reasoned answers.

The rise of digital technology has created a huge amount of often-untapped data sources. These data sources should be utilized to help inform the decisions that are being made in organizations across the world every day. Sadly, due to a lack of education, the resource that could assist in making the right decision the first time is being disregarded in favor of that tried-and-trusted resource, experience.

We are not saying there is no place for experience in decision-making in organizations. You might notice we don’t use the term data-driven decision-making, as that alludes to how data can be understood to be the sole driving force in making the right decisions. Rather, the best decisions will be made when experience, expertise, and data are combined to create the most holistic view of a situation possible.

We have set this book out in sections that will facilitate your learning about the key aspects of data, and the types of projects developed to implement its use in organizations, so that you can create a culture of data-informed decision-making. ...