Data Analysis Foundation for Business Transformation Changes

Data Analysis and Data Lifecycle concept skills are required for decision support, managing by the numbers, and Business Transformation Change Management. Many roles including executives, senior management, analysts, subject matter experts, managers, operations, and senior staff, who need to know the fundamentals of Business Data Analysis benefit from this collaborative learning. Learners come away with a tailored plan to implement Data Analysis Best Practices in their organization.

Organizations need to make business decisions more quickly and accurately than ever before. These decisions should be based on data and best practice analysis techniques and less on gut feel and “the way we’ve always done it.” Whether you seek to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage or simply better steward your resources to serve others, a solid foundation of data analysis for business decision making is a critical skill to have. Learn to make sense of data analytics and derive actionable recommendations, including planning for productive use of Data Analysis in your organization. Learn the basics to identify and manage opportunities for Change using data analysis for data based decision making, including Business Transformation.

You do not need heavy Excel, data analysis, data science, or analytics experience. This is a survey and concept course: a springboard to learn about various types of data analysis tools, not a highly technical course, and you will not need to use Excel or other tools. It introduces you to many useful data analysis concepts and tools: Excel add-ins, standard deviation, Random Sampling, and Pivot Tables and Charts. Learning concepts of Excel, data presentation methods, and more will help you effectively learn about basic data analysis methods. You will learn concepts on how to think about gathering, analyzing, and adapting your data to feed your organization decision making.

We leave out or simplify math jargon and complex symbols and equations to concentrate on what your data should tell your organization. You will learn how to persuasively present to executives, managers, and subject matter experts who need to quickly make decisions that drive your organization forward – without overselling the certainty of your recommendations. We will discuss how firms, nonprofits, and government agencies get value from the Data Life Cycle and Analysis and decision tool they use to gather data and present recommendations. These tools include Data Visualization, Project Management, Risk Management, Document Management, Business Analysis, Data Modeling, Data Reporting, and more. We take time for each learner to address their data analysis questions and challenges.

This very popular course addresses the data analysis competencies and skills essential to government, non-profit, and commercial data analysis to drive decisions. Lectures and interactive discussions are complemented by carefully chosen videos, examination of industry materials, proven best practices, and exercises in which the learners will gain insight into the practical application of the material. You will discuss and analyze some of “data culture” and data maturity aspects of your organization. You will learn how to identify and quantify the risks associated with decision making and forecasting future results. The course and instructor interaction provide insight into the future of analytics and the changing roles of those performing roles such as business analyst, operations analyst, project manager, department or division manager, and IT functions. You will understand steps needed to implement a data analysis plan for your organization and begin your plan during class.

Course content coverage varies based on Learner background, requests, dialog, level of experience, and interactive professional discussion within the class, and any additional time constraints outlined by the customer or circumstances.

This training course is important for anyone who needs or is considering increasing their use of Data for decision support and business transformation for operations, project management, business analysis, process improvement, business transformation, or management, who need an introduction to Data Analysis and Data Analytics. All organizations can benefit from running their operations and projects more ‘by the numbers.’ Some of the many industries benefiting include: Retail, Financial Services, Government Agencies, Nonprofits, Energy, Utilities, Consulting, Marketing, Healthcare, Technology, Logistics, Service, and more.

• Deputy Commissioners, Executive & Senior Directors, all levels of Leaders
• Operations Managers, Line Managers, Operations Staff
• Process Improvement, Compliance, Audit, other Governance Staff
• Thought Leaders, Transformation & Change Champions, Change Manager
• IT & Operations Executives, VPs, Directors, other senior staff tasked with cost reduction and process improvement
• Business Analyst, Business Systems Analyst, Staff Analyst
• Systems, Operations Research, Marketing, other Analysts
• Project Managers, Team Leads, Project Leads, Project Assistants, Project Coordinators
• Those interested in PMP®, CAPM®, or enhancing their  project management skills
• Program Managers, Portfolio Managers, Project Management Office (PMO) staff
• Data Modelers & Administrators, DBAs
• Technical & other Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
• Finance Staff, Manager, Director
• Operations Analyst, Supervisor
• Those interested in CBAP®, CCBA®, or enhancing their business analysis skills
• External & Internal Consultants
• Risk Managers, Operations Risk Professionals
• Executive & Administrative Assistants, Coordinators
• Individuals who want to increase their worth in data analysis and process improvement efforts
• Leaders at all levels who wish to increase their Data Analysis and Business Transformation capabilities

College degree and minimum 2 years of professional experience or 5 years of professional experience in commercial, government, or nonprofit organizations.

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to

• Analyze Problems down to Root Causes
• Provide learners the opportunity to absorb and apply the needed concepts
• Apply your acquired knowledge and skills in your real scenarios as you plan to improve processes and use of Data Analysis
• The measure of performance for this program consists of the following elements:
  • Learn the essential techniques and methodologies used to gather and assess data
  • Learn how to identify your real problems based on established qualitative and quantitative models
  • Present Root Causes of performance deviations and your recommendations
  • Identify, quantify, and reduce uncertainty or Risk in making decisions and forecasting future events
  • Learn to use data to control business processes
  • Support key management decisions by identifying significant trends and correlation between business results and correlating variables
  • Know how to present your recommendation and communicate the level of certainty and limits of using data to drive decisions
  • Be better prepared to communicate reasons to use data analysis techniques, with strengths and weaknesses
  • Gain the knowledge and skills to establish business process metrics and use them to track and report performance
  • Present your draft plan for adoption of Data Analysis processes and techniques

This course is worth 14 Professional Development Units (PDUs) from the Project Management Institute (PMI®) for most of their certifications such at the PMP®, PMI-ACP®, and others. It is also worth 14 CDUs for IIBA® CBAP/CCBA® certifications.

• Comprehensive courseware to serve as a reference as you plan, implement, and improve your organization’s Data Analysis, Data Analytics, and Data Governance
• Going beyond Excel: learn to leverage tools such as Google Public Data Explorer, Data.World, and Tableau
• Learn to interpret and craft your raw data into a compelling set of recommendations
• Learn about Dashboards and other Data Reporting methods
• Gain knowledge to accurately report your results and draw sound and relevant conclusions
• Learn the terms, jargon, and impact of business intelligence, data analysis, and data analytics
• Gain knowledge of the scope and application of data analysis and decision support
• Understand the impact of analytics on justifying decisions, gaining process improvements, and other actions
• Explore ways to measure performance (KPIs) and improvement opportunities for business processes
• Review the basic principles, properties, and application of Probability Theory
• Appendix references for data distribution including Central Tendency, Variance, Normal Distribution, and non-normal distributions
• Learn about Statistical Inference, Correlation, the limitations of Sample Sizes and Confidence Intervals
• Learn about Forecasting, including introduction to simple Linear Regression analysis
• Explore different methods to analyze and reduce risk with easy algorithms for forecasting future results
• Be awarded PMI® PDU®s, IIBA® CDU®s, or other continuing education credits
• Refresh your Process Improvement and analysis skills
• Exercises, external reference links, and condensed notes

THE COURSE

• Logistics, Materials, & Course Expectations
• Agile & Integrated™ (A&I™) set of Tools and Best Practices from Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
• References & Resources

INTRODUCTION TO DATA AND ANALYTICS

• Definition and History
• Current technology, the growing availability of data, and increasing challenges
• Applications for gaining competitive advantages
• Starting your Data Analysis Improvement Plan

RETHINKING THE VALUE AND USAGE OF DATA

• The Impact of Vast Volumes of Available Data especially for decision making
• Data Difficulties and Limitations: ROI vs. Effort/Expense, Incomplete & Inconclusive Data
• Getting Real Value out of your Data
• Effective and responsible Data Ownership
• Advantages and disadvantages of Qualitative and Quantitative Data Types
• Solutions and Best Practices to transform and organize the way your Organization Accesses and Uses Data

INTRODUCTION TO DATA MINING AND DATA WAREHOUSING

• Data Mining
• Data Warehousing

DATA DISTRIBUTION AND VARIANCE

• Decision Making Under Uncertainty
• Probability and Standard Deviation Overview
• Data Distribution: Normal and Other Distribution Types
• Variance: Confidence Intervals and Confidence Limits

DESCRIBING INFORMATION NEEDS

• Executive Information Needs
• Balanced Scorecard and other types of Dashboards
• Role of the Business Analyst and Data Analyst
• How to use simple Pivot Tables in Excel or Google Sheets to Analyze and Present your Data
• Tracking and Managing Business Process Performance
• Selecting Measures and Targets, Finding Performance Gaps
• Learning From Data: Experience Provides The Best Data
• Historical Data
• Root Cause Analysis

DATA EXPLORATION CONCEPTS AND METHODS

• Sampling Error and Biases
• Sample vs. Population
• Statistical Hypothesis and Inference
• Dependence and Correlation vs. Causality
• Moving Beyond Data and Decision Uncertainty
• Managing Qualitative vs. Quantitative Risk
• Risk Awareness & Tolerance

FORECASTING

• Simple and Proven Forecasting Methods and Models
• Long and Short Term Forecasts and Heuristics
• Introduction to Linear Regression
• Establishing Trends and Business Cycles (i.e. seasonality)
• Selecting Independent Variables for Predictive Models including Regression Techniques

REVIEW, BEST PRACTICES, AND NEXT STEPS

• Data Analysis and Transformation
• Business Transformation and Change Management
• Best Practices Revisited
• Next Steps Options: Short-Term vs. Long-View Strategic Changes. Low Hanging Fruit and High ROI Options

COURSE CLOSE – FINAL QUESTIONS