Jain and Sharma's BADIR™ Framework

© GettyImages
mitrs3

Turn your data into neat packages of information for better problem solving.

Do you have a nagging feeling that you should be using data analytics more, but you don't know where to start? Maybe you're suffering from a case of analysis paralysis, and you're bewildered by the challenge of making data work for you.

These days, it seems like data is everywhere. There's the Internet of Things, email, photo keywords, Google search, Fitbit, self-driving cars, smartphones, news feeds, social media channels, digitized company records of every conceivable kind… The list goes on. And on. Data is now more plentiful and pervasive than ever before, giving rise to the term "Big Data."

The challenge is knowing how to use such superabundant digital information, and that's where this article comes in.

Why Look to Data for Answers?

More and more of what we do leaves a digital trace (or data) and, essentially, Big Data is a method of harvesting that information on a scale that traditional approaches to data processing cannot even attempt. You can use this data to improve future experiences, spot trends, and enhance your business operations.

The way that Big Data works is usually explained using three Vs:

• A very high Volume of data…
• With lots of Variety…
• Flowing at a high Velocity.

But size isn't everything in the world of data. Whether you're dealing with Big Data or just a small amount, the key to unlocking its potential is to capture and manage the information that's going to be most useful to you, rather than just gathering together a vast jumble of facts and figures.

Obtaining and managing the information is one thing, but picking the most relevant needles from the haystack – and using them correctly – is quite another.

If you get it right, data's potential is enormous. Airlines are using it to improve flight ETAs. Retailers are tapping into customers' buying histories to create personalized offers. Smaller companies and decision makers at all levels are using it to make smarter business decisions. Data is helping to enhance product quality, to fine-tune marketing operations, and to boost performance in countless other ways.

The BADIR™ Framework's Five Steps to Data Success

BADIR is a data analysis framework developed by the authors of the 2014 book, "Behind Every Good Decision,"   Piyanka Jain and Puneet Sharma. It allows you to convert raw data into decisions and insights by analyzing it in a structured manner, and it has five sequential steps:

1. Business question.
2. Analysis plan.
3. Data collection.
4. Insights.
5. Recommendations.

Terms reproduced by kind permission of Piyanka Jain of aryng.com. Further information and an online quiz about this framework can be accessed here.

BADIR combines technical skills with soft skills   , and is applicable to any type of business. And the best news is that you don't need to be a data analyst to use it. Whether you're a CFO or an office junior, if you can use an Excel spreadsheet then you can work with BADIR.

Let's take a more detailed look at the framework's five steps:

...