Information Week has released what might as well be a companion piece to our recent blog post “How to Make Smart, Data-Driven Decisions,” titled “12 Ways to Connect Data Analytics to Business Outcomes.” You can read the full article on the Information Week website, but the main points are:
- Start with a business problem
- Unify data strategy and business strategy
- Decide where the data team should reside
- Break down organizational barriers
- Embrace change
- Manage change effectively
- Think critically
- Recognize details matter
- Start small and grow
- Divide labor
- Accept failure
- Stop torturing data
What from the above points should strike the reader? None of them directly relate to the underlying information management technology. Today, the availability of technology is rarely the impediment to using data to improve programs or achieve your mission. The secret in nonprofits to “connecting data analytics to business outcomes” is in the way the organization builds its capacity to leverage data analytics effectively. This is why information strategy begins with leadership and governance, and why at Build Consulting “capacity is our mission.”
