WEEK 02

Discovering data skill sets

Key data analyst skills

Earlier, I told you that you already have analytical skills. You just might not know it yet.
When learning new things, sometimes people overlook their own skills, but it's important
you take the time to acknowledge them, especially since these skills are going to help
you as a data analyst. In fact, you're probably more prepared than you think. Don't
believe me? Well, let me prove it. Let's start by defining what I'm talking about here.

Analytical skills are qualities and characteristics associated with solving problems using
facts.
There are a lot of aspects to analytical skills, but, we'll focus on five essential points.
They are curiosity, understanding context, having technical mindset, data design, and
data strategy.
Now, you may be thinking, "I don't have these kinds of skills," or "I only have a couple of
them." But stay with me, and I bet you'll change your mind.
1. Let's start with curiosity. Curiosity is all about wanting to learn something.
Curious people usually seek out new challenges and experiences. This leads to
knowledge. The very fact that you're here with me right now demonstrates that
you have curiosity. That was an easy one.
2. Now think about understanding context. Context is the condition in which
something exists or happens. This can be a structure or an environment. A
simple way of understanding context is by counting to 5. One, two, three, four,
five. All of those numbers exist in the context of one through five. But what if a
friend of yours said to you, one, two, four, five, three? Well, the three will be out
of context. Simple, right? But it can be a little tricky. There's a good chance that
you might not even notice the three being out of context if you aren't paying close
attention. That's why listening and trying to understand the full picture is critical.
In your own life, you put things into context all the time. For example, let's think
about your grocery list. If you group together items like flour, sugar, and yeast,
that's you adding context to your groceries. This saves you time when you're at
the baking aisle at the grocery store. Let's look at another example. Have you
ever shuffled a deck of cards and noticed the joker? If you're playing a game that
doesn't include jokers, identifying that card means you understand it's out of
context. Remove it, and you're much more likely to play a successful game. Now
we know you have both curiosity and the ability to understand context. Let's
move on to the third skill, a technical mindset.
3. A technical mindset involves the ability to break things down into smaller steps or
pieces and work with them in an orderly and logical way. For instance, when
 paying your bills, you probably already break down the process into smaller
steps. Maybe you start by sorting them by the date they're due. Next, you might
add them up and compare that amount to the balance in your bank account. This
would help you see if you can pay your bills now, or if you should wait until the
next paycheck. Finally, you'd pay them. When you take something that seems
like a single task, like paying your bills, and break it into smaller steps with an
orderly process, that's using a technical mindset. Now let's explore the fourth part
of an analytical skill set, data design.
4. Data design is how you organize information. As a data analyst, design typically
has to do with an actual database. But, again, the same skills can easily be
applied to everyday life. For example, think about the way you organize the
contacts in your phone. That's actually a type of data design. Maybe you list them
by first name instead of last, or maybe you use email addresses instead of their
names. What you're really doing is designing a clear, logical list that lets you call
or text a contact in a quick and simple way. The last, but definitely not least, the
fifth and final element of analytical skills is data strategy.
5. Data strategy is the management of the people, processes, and tools used in
data analysis. Let's break that down. You manage people by making sure they
know how to use the right data to find solutions to the problem you're working on.
For processes, it's about making sure the path to that solution is clear and
accessible. For tools, you make sure the right technology is being used for the
job. Now, you may be doubting my ability to give you an example from real life
that demonstrates data strategy. But check this out. Imagine mowing a lawn.
Step 1 would be reading the owner's manual for the mower. That's making sure
the people involved, or you, in this example, know how to use the data available.
The manual would instruct you to put on protective eyewear and closed-toe
shoes. Then, it's on to step 2: making the process, the path, clear and
accessible. This will involve you walking around the lawn, picking up large sticks
or rocks that might get in your way. Finally, for step 3, you check the lawn
mower, your tool, to make sure it has enough gas and oil, and is in working
condition, so the lawn can be mowed safely.

There you have it. Now you know the five essential skills of a data analyst. Curiosity,
understanding context, having a technical mindset, data design, and data strategy. I told
you that you are already an analytical thinker. Now, you can start actively practicing
these skills as you move through the rest of this course. Curious about what's next?
Move on to the next video.

All about thinking analytically

Now that you know the five essential skills of a data analyst, you're ready to learn more
about what it means to think analytically.
People don't often think about thinking. Thinking is second nature to us. It just happens
automatically, but there are actually many different ways to think. Some people think
creatively, some think critically, and some people think in abstract ways.

Let's talk about analytical thinking.

Analytical thinking involves identifying and defining a problem and then solving it by
using data in an organized, step-by-step manner.
As data analysts, how do we think analytically?
Well, to answer that question, we will now talk about a second set of five. The five key
aspects to analytical thinking.
They are visualization, strategy, problem-orientation, correlation, and finally, big-picture
and detail-oriented thinking.
1. Let's start with visualization. In data analytics, visualization is the graphical
representation of information. Some examples include graphs, maps, or other
design elements. Visualization is important because visuals can help data
analysts understand and explain information more effectively. Think about it like
this. If you are trying to explain the Grand Canyon to someone, using words
would be much more challenging than showing them a picture. A visualization of
the Grand Canyon would help you make your point much quicker.
2. Now let's talk about the second part of analytical thinking, being strategic. With
so much data available, having a strategic mindset is key to staying focused and
on track. Strategizing helps data analysts see what they want to achieve with the
data and how they can get there. Strategy also helps improve the quality and
usefulness of the data we collect. By strategizing, we know all our data is
valuable and can help us accomplish our goals.
3. Next step on the analytical thinking checklist: being problem-oriented. Data
analysts use a problem- oriented approach in order to identify, describe, and
solve problems. It's all about keeping the problem top of mind throughout the
entire project. For example, say a data analyst is told about the problem of a
warehouse constantly running out of supplies. They would move forward with
different strategies and processes. But the number one goal would always be
solving the problem of keeping inventory on the shelves.
4. Data analysts also ask a lot of questions. This helps improve communication and
saves time while working on a solution. An example of that would be surveying
customers about their experiences using a product and building insights from
those questions to improve their product. This leads us to the fourth quality of
analytical thinking: being able to identify a correlation between two or more
pieces of data. A correlation is like a relationship. You can find all kinds of
correlations in data. Maybe it's the relationship between the length of your hair
and the amount of shampoo you need. Or maybe you notice a correlation
between a rainier season leading to a high number of umbrellas being sold. But
 as you start identifying correlations in data, there's one thing you always want to
keep in mind: Correlation does not equal causation. In other words, just because
two pieces of data are both trending in the same direction, that doesn't
necessarily mean they are all related. We'll learn more about that later.
5. Now the final piece of the analytical thinking puzzle: big-picture thinking. This
means being able to see the big picture as well as the details. A jigsaw puzzle is
a great way to think about this. Big-picture thinking is like looking at a complete
puzzle. You can enjoy the whole picture without getting stuck on every tiny piece
that went into making it. If you only focus on individual pieces, you wouldn't be
able to see past that, which is why big-picture thinking is so important. It helps
you zoom out and see possibilities and opportunities. This leads to exciting new
ideas or innovations. On the flip side, detail-oriented thinking is all about figuring
out all of the aspects that will help you execute a plan. In other words, the pieces
that make up your puzzle. There are all kinds of problems in the business world
that can benefit from employees who have both a big-picture and a detail-
oriented way of thinking. Most of us are naturally better at one or the other. But
you can always develop the skills to fit both pieces together.

Now that you know the five aspects of analytical thinking, visualization, strategy,
problem-orientation, correlation, and big-picture and detail-oriented thinking, you can
put them to work for you when you're working with data. As you continue through this
course, you'll learn how.

Exploring core analytical skills

Let's recap what we've learned about analytical thinking so far. The 5 key aspects are
visualization, strategy, problem-orientation, correlation, and using big-picture and detail-
oriented thinking. We've seen how you already use them in your everyday life.

We also talked about how different people naturally use certain types of thinking, but
that you can absolutely grow and develop the skills that might not come as easily to
you. This means you can become a versatile thinker, which is a very important part of
data analysis. You might naturally be an analytical thinker, but you can learn to think
creatively and critically, and be great at all three. The more ways you can think, the
easier it is to think outside the box and come up with fresh ideas.

But why is it important to think in different ways? Well because in data analysis,
solutions are almost never right in front of you. You need to think critically to find out the
right questions to ask. But you also need to think creatively to get new and unexpected
answers.
Let's talk about some of the questions data analysts ask when they're on the hunt for a
solution.
Here's one that will come up a lot: What is the root cause of a problem? A root cause is
the reason why a problem occurs. If we can identify and get rid of a root cause, we can
prevent that problem from happening again. A simple way to wrap your head around
root causes is with the process called the Five Whys. In the Five Whys you ask "why"
five times to reveal the root cause. The fifth and final answer should give you some
useful and sometimes surprising insights.
Here's an example of the Five Whys in action. Let's say you wanted to make a
blueberry pie but couldn't find any blueberries. You've been trying to solve a problem by
asking, why can't I make a blueberry pie? The answer will be, there are no blueberries
at the store. There's Why Number 1. You then ask, why were there no blueberries at the
store? Then you discover that the blueberry bushes don't have enough fruit this season.
That's Why Number 2. Next, you'd ask, why was there not enough fruit? This would lead
to the fact that birds were eating all the berries. Why Number 3, asked and answered.
Now we get to Why Number 4. Ask why a fourth time and the answer would be that,
although the birds normally prefer mulberries and don't eat blueberries, the mulberry
bush didn't produce fruit this season, so the birds are eating blueberries instead. Finally,
we get to Why Number 5, which should reveal the root cause. A late frost damaged the
mulberry bushes, so it didn't produce any fruit. You can't make a blueberry pie because
of the late frost months ago. See how the Five Whys can reveal some very surprising
root causes. This is a great trick to know, and it can be a very helpful process in data
analysis.

Another question commonly asked by data analysts is, where are the gaps in our
process? For this, many people will use something called gap analysis. Gap analysis
lets you examine and evaluate how a process works currently in order to get where you
want to be in the future. Businesses conduct gap analysis to do all kinds of things, such
as improve a product or become more efficient. The general approach to gap analysis is
understanding where you are now compared to where you want to be. Then you can
identify the gaps that exist between the current and future state and determine how to
bridge them.

A third question that data analysts ask a lot is, what did we not consider before? This is
a great way to think about what information or procedure might be missing from a
process, so you can identify ways to make better decisions and strategies moving
forward.

These are just a few examples of the kinds of questions data analysts use at their jobs
every day. As you begin your career, I'm sure you'll think of a whole lot more. The way
data analysts think and ask questions plays a big part in how businesses make
decisions. That's why analytical thinking and understanding how to ask the right
questions can have such a huge impact on the overall success of a business. Later,
we'll talk more about how data-driven decisions can lead to successful outcomes.

Using data to drive successful outcomes

In an earlier video, you learned about five essential analytical skills. As a reminder,
they're curiosity, understanding context, having a technical mindset, data design, and
data strategy.
In the next couple of videos, we'll explore how these abilities all become part of data-
driven decision-making.
But first, let's look at the concept of data-driven decision-making and why it's more likely
to lead to successful outcomes. You might remember that data-driven decision-making
involved using facts to guide business strategy.

Data analysts can tap into the power of data to do all kinds of amazing things. With
data, they can gain valuable insights, verify their theories or assumptions, better
understand opportunities and challenges, support an objective, help make a plan, and
much more.

In business, data-driven decision-making can improve the results in a lot of different

ways.
● For example, say a dairy farmer wants to start making and selling ice cream.
They could guess what flavors customers would like, but there's a better way to
get the information. The farmer could survey people and ask them what flavors
they prefer. This gives the farmer the data they need to pick ice cream flavors
people will enjoy.
● Here's another example. Let's say the president of an organization is curious
about what perks employees value most. She asked the human resources
director who says people value casual dress code. It's a gut feeling, but the HR
director backs it up with the fact that he sees a lot of people wearing jeans and t-
shirts. But what if this company were to use a more structured employee
feedback process, such as a survey? It might reveal that employees actually
enjoy free public transportation cards the most. The human resources director
just didn't realize that because he drives to work.
These are just some of the benefits of data-driven decision-making.
● It gives you greater confidence about your choice and your abilities to address
business challenges.
● It helps you become more proactive when an opportunity presents itself,
● and it saves you time and effort when working towards a goal.
Now let's learn more about how these five skills help you tap into all the potential of
data-driven decision-making.
● First, think about curiosity and context. The more you learn about the power of
data, the more curious you're likely to become. You'll start to see patterns and
relationships in everyday life, whether you're reading the news, watching a
movie, or going to an appointment across town. The analysts take their thinking a
step further by using context to make predictions, research answers, and
eventually draw conclusions about what they've discovered. This natural process
is a great first step in becoming more data-driven.
● Having a technical mindset comes next. Everyone has instincts, or as in the case
of our human resources director example, gut feelings. Data analysts are no
different. They have gut feelings too. But they've trained themselves to build on
those feelings and use a more technical approach to explore them. They do this
by always seeking out the facts, putting them to work through analysis, and using
the insights they gain to make informed decisions.
● Next, we come to data design, which has a strong connection to data-driven
decision-making. To put it simply, designing your data so that it is organized in a
logical way makes it easy for data analysts to access, understand, and make the
most of available information. And it's important to keep in mind that data design
doesn't just apply to databases. This kind of thinking can work with all sorts of
real-life situations too. The basic idea is this. If you make decisions that are
informed by data, you are more likely to make more informed and effective
decisions.
● The final ability is data strategy, which incorporates the people, processes, and
tools used to solve a problem. This is a big one to remember because data
strategy gives you a high-level view of the path you need to take to achieve your
goals. Also, data-driven decision-making isn't a one-person job. It's much more
likely to be successful if everyone is on board and on the same page, so it's
important to make sure specific procedures are in place and that your technology
being used is aligned with your data-driven strategy.

Now you know how these five essential analytical skills work towards making better,
data-driven decisions. So far, many of the examples you've heard are hypothetical. That
means they could be true in theory, but aren't specific real-world cases. Next, we'll look
at some real examples. I can't wait to share how data analysts put data to work for
amazing results.

Real-world data magic

In this video, I'm going to share some case studies that highlight the incredible work
data analysts do. Each of these scenarios shows off the power of data-driven decision-
making in unexpected ways.
The first story is about Google. As I mentioned a little while back, here at Google, our
mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and
useful.
All of our products, from idea to development to launch, are built on data and data-
driven decision-making. There are tons of examples here at Google of people using
facts to create business strategy. But one of the most famous ones has to do with
Google's human resources. Here's how it went.
The HR department wanted to know if there was value in having managers. Were their
contributions worthwhile? Or should everyone just be an individual contributor? To
answer that question, Google's people analytics team looked at past performance
reviews and employee surveys. The data they found was plotted on a graph because as
you've learned, visuals are extremely helpful when trying to understand a problem or
concept.
The graph revealed that Googlers had positive feelings about their managers, but the
data was pretty general and the team wanted to learn more. So they dug deeper and
split the data into quartiles. A quartile divides data points into four equal parts or
quarters. Here's where the really cool stuff started happening. The data analysts
discovered that there was a big difference between the very top and the very bottom
quartiles. As it turned out, the teams with the best managers were significantly happier,
more productive, and more likely to want to keep working at Google. This confirmed that
managers were valued and make a big difference. Therefore, the idea of having only
individual contributors was not implemented.
But there was still more work to do. Just knowing that great managers create great
results doesn't lead to actionable insights. You have to identify what exactly makes a
great manager, so the team took two additional steps to collect more data.
● First, they launched an awards program where employees could nominate their
favorite managers. For every submission you had to provide examples or data
about what makes that manager great.
● The second step involved interviewing managers who were graphed on the top
and bottom quartiles. This helped the analytics team see the differences between
successful and less successful management behaviors. The best behaviors were
identified as were the most common reasons for a manager needing
improvement.
● The final step was sharing these insights and putting a procedure in place for
evaluating managers with these qualities in mind. This data-driven decision
continues to create an exceptional company culture for my colleagues and me.
Thanks, data.

Another interesting example comes from the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits are
organizations dedicated to advancing a social cause or advocating for a particular effort,
such as food security, education or the arts. In this case, data analysts researched how
journalists can make a more meaningful impact for the nonprofits they would write
about.
Because journalists write for newspapers, magazines, and other news outlets, they can
help nonprofits reach readers like you and me, who then take action to help nonprofits
reach their goals. For instance, say you read about the problem of climate change in an
online magazine. If the article is effective, you'll learn more about the cause and might
even be compelled to make greener choices in your day-to-day life, volunteer for a
nonprofit, or make a donation. That's an example of the journalist's work bringing about
awareness, understanding, and engagement.
So, back to the story. The data analysts used a tracker to monitor story topics, clicks,
web traffic, comments, shares and more. Then they evaluated the information to make
recommendations for how the journalists could do their jobs even better.
In the end, they came up with some great ideas for how nonprofits and journalists can
motivate people everywhere to work together and make the world a better place.

There's really no end to what you can do as a data analyst.

As you progress through this program, you'll discover even more possibilities.
Great job following along with the topics of these past few videos. You learned all about
analytical skills and the five key characteristics of data analysts. You probably even
learned that you are a pro at most of these already.
Next, you discovered what it means to think analytically and the specific skills data
analysts develop to help them do it. You explored tools and processes that enable data
analysts to pinpoint a problem and ask the right questions in order to solve them.
Finally, some real-world stories helped illustrate why data-driven decision-making is
usually more successful than other methods. You're building a wonderful foundation for
your career as a data analyst.
With every video, your skills will continue to expand, and your understanding of key data
analytics concepts will only get stronger. Soon, you'll have a chance to test out
everything you've learned. This is a really useful opportunity to check your
understanding of all the concepts we've discussed, and if you're ever unsure about a
question, you can review the videos and readings to find the answer. This is another
awesome way to practice collecting data. Keep up the great work.