We use these terms all the time, often interchangeably. As more organisations work to harness the power and potential of their data the more these words enter the vocabulary of every day life.
Working to gather requirements for data, reporting, analysis and insight, and to deliver them as outputs to my clients, it has really helped to agree what the words mean so that we all speak the same language. As a result, when we talk about each output we can ask and brief for the more important questions:
what’s it for?
who’s it for?
what will it help you to achieve?
Understanding the different outputs
- Data
Raw Information
Example: The contents of your spreadsheet or the output of a database query
- Reporting
Data collected together and delivered regularly
Example 1: What’s new? New sign ups this week
Example 2: How are we doing? Income month to date - Analysis
Summarised and visualised data
Example: What has happened?
Graph comparing income from campaigns over time - Insight
Interpretation of analysis
Example: Why did it happen and what should happen next?
This campaign did better than others because…
so next campaign we should use… or test…
Rachel Loves Data 