Your watch knows more than you think
Your fitness watch counts your steps. Your bank app shows your spending. Your music app guesses the next song you will like.
Every one of these uses data about you. Organisations do the same on a bigger scale. This lesson looks at both.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Customer centricity | Putting the customer first in every choice. | Fixing the thing customers complain about most |
| Business intelligence | Using data to understand a business and make better choices. | A sales dashboard |
| Forecasting | Using past data to predict what comes next. | How many buns to bake next week |
| KPI | A key performance indicator: a number that shows how well something is going. | Calls answered each day |
| Cashflow | Money coming in and going out over time. | Rent paid before sales arrive |
| Product line | A group of related things a firm sells. | All the sandwiches |
| Census | A count of everyone in a country, done at set times. | A population count |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can give examples of how organisations and individuals use data, and name the purpose in each.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
How organisations use data
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Customer centricity | Service and satisfaction scores |
| Business intelligence and forecasting | Predict risks and chances, choose with facts |
| Product design | Research, new, changed or ended product lines |
| Financial | Cashflow, funding, what each department adds |
| Staff management | KPIs, staff profiles, skills gaps |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Sector uses and personal uses
| Group | Example |
|---|---|
| Healthcare | Stock levels, birth and death rates |
| Education | Staying on a course, results, attendance |
| Government | Tax, jobs figures, the census |
| Person: money | Bank balance, tax, income, budget |
| Person: shopping | Regular buying, loyalty points |
| Person: fitness | Weight, calories, heart rate |
| Person: fun | Suggested films and songs |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Try it: who met their target?
select name, calls_taken, target,
calls_taken - target as difference
from staff_kpi
order by difference desc;
-- Try it: add where role = 'helper' before order by.A common mistake
Warning
Many people think a KPI tells the whole story. It tells one thing. A helper who took 42 calls may have rushed them. Use a KPI with other facts, and ask what it leaves out.