“Can you take a look at my UI and provide feedback?” It’s a common question I get. How do we judge a UI/UX design of an SAAS analytics tool? By understanding what the customer is trying to do and what a meaningful outcome looks like. What are the signs we’re on track? Learn more in this story from my time advising MIT Sandbox Venture Fund founders.
Most definitions of data product focus on trying to firmly define the boundaries of the technology output. My definition focuses on the benefits to the user and the innate requirement of value to be present.
If you’re running an internal enterprise data science or analytics team, and you can’t get the time of your stakeholders and business partners “to help you help them,” there’s probably a reason – or two – or three. These are some of the cold hard facts that maybe they won’t tell you–but maybe they are … Read more
The work of enterprise data science and analytics teams is often experienced in software-whether it be via custom apps, dashboards, or BI tools. As such, data teams are software teams-but many of them do not build solutions the way the best software product teams do. What can data leaders learn-and steal-from software teams who put … Read more
If there’s one thing I see a lot of in my work, it’s dashboards. I don’t talk about dashboards a ton because a dashboard alone is neither a data product nor an experience. It is an output and artifact that is part of a user or stakeholder’s overall experience, typically in our case, in some decision making context. … Read more
Below are ten 2022 predictions for data product leaders and organizations trying to leverage ML and analytics in their software, tools, apps, and services. From the lens of a consulting product designer. Yea, you head that one right. If that PhD in physics, statistics, math or engineering in you is already making you cringe, you may depart this … Read more
Everybody loves a Top 10 list at the end of the year! How about one with pretty lousy data to back it up? 😉 Analytics on analytics here ladies and gentlemen! Since I know this audience will probably be asking what the data is behind the ranking, it’s pretty simple: it’s the number of downloads … Read more
A link list of articles and resources on building data products, and particularly the mind shift involved in approaching data products as just that: products, not projects. Is something missing here? Shoot me an email and let me know. From Data to Product (Newsletter, Eric Weber) Run Your Data Team as a Product Team (YouTube) feat. … Read more
Is there a faster way than MVPs to create data products that actually get used, are simple, and are trustworthy?
Satisfying internal vs. external customers is not the same. What do data science, analytics, and engineering leaders need to know about the messy world of birthing a new commercial data-driven product?
As a designer, I used to say “user-centered”-a lot. It’s terminology we now hear from non-designers now, people like many of you. That’s a good thing. But, I want you and your teams to think bigger. For me, that “user-centered” descriptor is missing something about design, and particularly so if you are working on ML/AI systems. … Read more
If you’re struggling to solve human problems with data, the mindset of your analytics org may be the problem.
Ok, let’s dive into another reader question. This time from Loris via LinkedIn originally: Cheers, Loris My take? Just buy Snowflake – it will fix everything. Just kidding. Actually, one thing I think I’m hearing more from leaders (which is GREAT) is that it’s not the technology that’s the problem. “The technology part is easy.” … Read more
Is it time to stop using dashboards in analytics solutions and data product design?
Are you a leader in charge of creating innovative ML and analytics solutions within a very large enterprise organization? Getting the “makers” of the solutions talking to real end-users can be extremely difficult. Here’s how to navigate the gatekeepers and bureaucracy so that the data products you spend so much time and money building actually are useful, usable, and valuable.
I’m not putting out a long list of 2021 predictions, but I have a couple that I will mention to you that are on my radar. First, AI/Data Product Management Seems to be Picking Up There seem to be more jobs appearing in product management in the AI/ML space, in particular. I am not sure why we don’t … Read more
Data science, analytics, and engineering are in-demand skills, however, when building customer-facing applications and data-driven products, organizations rely on innovation to unlock the power of this data. How can analytical minds practice creativity that leads to innovative solutions?
Today, I’m sharing my impressions of one of Spotify’s analytics touchpoints—a monthly email I receive with a boatload of design choices I mostly hope you will not copy, especially if you’re working in an enterprise capacity. Most of you by now probably know I have another career as a professional musician, and that includes having three recordings I … Read more
Presenting data and evidence isn’t the same thing as providing indispensable decision support, especially when your insights are experienced in a software application with no Powerpoint deck, narrator, or intimate storytelling.