These key performance indicators (KPIs) allow us to evaluate and compare performance metrics over time as well as spatially. The point of reference is a specific indicator such as sales per square foot. In a business context, we also use benchmarks. Without benchmarks, the exact location can’t be measured and understood. A benchmark ensures that surveyors can return to the same point in the future and have consistency in their measurements. A term borrowed from surveyors, a benchmark is a point of known location and elevation. But what specific techniques should you use?īenchmarking techniques are a great place to start. The best way to become a better analyst is to use a systematic, sequential, and iterative thinking process. To overcome this “curse of knowledge,” we have to train our brains how to analyze data and interpret what we see. The problem is that our brains seem to be hardwired to bring our attention to the expected patterns rather than the unexpected. If we observe precisely, we can compose the proper context for our observations.

They might use all their senses to collect information: sight, sound, smell, touch, and-in rare cases-even taste. Think about how crime scene investigators (CSIs) approach a crime scene.

To a certain extent, we are born with our intellectual capabilities, but most of what an analyst does can be learned through techniques and methodologies.įirst, we have to improve our observation skills. It may seem like analysis is something magical and hidden that happens in some people’s brains naturally. Did you ever wonder how expert analysts learned to analyze? How do chess grandmasters learn to think and plan their next move? They use a process.

Specific tools for data analysis