Data Driven Decision Making.... Walking the Walk Chuck Havlicek ACEware Systems, Inc.

Let’s Bust the Myths….

It’s just Plain Hard Work Let’s Bust the Myths…. It’s not Complicated….. …. Or Requires a genius It’s just Plain Hard Work

DDD for Dummies 1-2-3 1) Identify the Data to capture 2) A System in place to hold the data 3) Tools to extract information… from the data

Data drives decisions.. Your MISSION drives your Data

Target Acquisition The target you choose. . . Will depend on your mission..

What is more important? Focusing on hitting the Bullseye? V.S. Focusing on right target?

Getting the right answer. . but to the wrong Question

Data Driven Decision Making Who are your Stakeholders? Internally? -- Supervisor -- Administration Externally? -- Funding Agencies Community? -- The people you serve

Data Driven Decision Making What do my Stakeholders measure ME on?

Taking your measure Finance: Show me the $$ (Jerry McGuire..) Student Participation (Noses, Body Count, Hours/Credits) Student Profiles (Reaching Specific “Target Groups”) Qualitative Results (what’s the quality of your product) Quantitative Results (What has changed as a result)

Data Driven Decision Making Data “Eaters” Whose “mouths” do you have to feed?? Administration Day to Day Operations Program Development Marketing State/Statutory Reporting

What you need depends on.... Your environment and your situation. Professional Education Workforce Training Community Education Executive Education Technical and Career Training

Some Consistent Data Themes People Programs People in Programs

Some Consistent Data Themes People (Customers) Programs ( Products ) People in Programs (Sales/Registrations)

People: Know thy Customer To see John Jones and what John Jones Buys… You must see John Jones through John Jone’s Eyes.

People: Know thy Customer Participant Demographics ...Who was that.....

Know thy Customer Contact Info Demographics Interests History Comments Dates Amounts

How Much DATA do you need? V.S.

Stuff that matters… Who – The Enrollee/Customer/Prospect Job Title What do you Need to track? Job Title Company Info Firm Size? Industry Type? Age? Gender? Years of Experience? The “Dance” Balancing Data you’d LIKE to Get v.s. Being overly intrusive

Know What's “on the Shelf” When Subject Area Finances Enrollment Location Dates

Know about the “Transaction” ( the Registration ) Tracking Code – Where did it come from? Fee Level When did it arrive?

What is our “Prime Directive” Ask what you need…. And Use what you ask !!!!

Where/How do you store it? What would Hawkeye Do? Machine Gun Incubator

Measure, Analyze and Evaluate

Analyzing....Enrollments Tracking Reg/Inquiry Sources (How'd they get here..) What did they sign up for? Where did they come from? How much did they spend? Did they ever come back?

Report Areas....Program Evaluation Student Feedback (Qualitative) Profitability (ROI) Staff Comments (place to track.. Lessons Learned)

Report Areas.... Program Development Questions for CE Programs Who are our best students Which are our best courses What are the best times to hold classes

Report Areas.... Program Development What can the data tell you? The Dog Whisperer..... Everyone needs a Data Whisperer!!

Predicting what might interest students Analyze Interest Profiles of your Database

Report Areas.... Chuck's Favorites Statistics: Tracking Code Reports Statistics: Demographic Profiles Statistics: Top Courses Statistics: Month x Month life cycle

Prescription for Good Reports Good Data The Tools/Structure to Report it The Will to Getterdone

Data Mining… Explore your data Channel your Indiana Jones!

Too Much Data, Too Many Choices

Target-Rich Environment Pick One Area - Who are the people that care? What do they care about Where would I go to get the data Is it already there? Do I need a Capture Point? (Where would that be?) What #’s (Data) do they need to see …to be convinced How do I transform Data.. Into Actionable Information

Navigating “The Walk” Some Pitfalls to avoid

Navigating “The Walk” Be Prepared to work hard (DDD is neither “Easy” or does it save time) Guard against your biases (Ignore your “Gut”, forget Experience, Read the Data!) Focus FIRST on the Question (Particularly things you DON’T have the answer for) In Data: Cleanliness is next to Godliness (Data Quality if Everything) Analyze and Understand: THIS is the HARD part! (and it does cost… money and resources)

Chuck's Take-a-ways 1-Know your Mission: 2-Let your coding follow your mission 3-Be willing to eat the elephant.. One bite(byte?) as a time 4-Capture your data using the best tools at your disposal 5-Be willing to invest in the process 6-Find your “Data Whisperer” Graduate Students? Class Projects?

Use it or Lose it! Your Data

The ACEware/ProTrain Connection…. Automatically import ProTrain Enrollments into Your Student Manager Database..

The ACEware/ProTrain Connection…. We have a Webinar on that:

Questions? ACEware Systems, Inc. ProTrain, LLC 785-537-2937 chuck@aceware.com www.aceware.com ProTrain, LLC 800-371-2963 skart@protrainedu.org www.protrainedu.org