The Success of Small Data in Business Intelligence Consulting.
In the rush to advanced data science, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, many companies have ignored “Small Data.”
This is a major shortcoming. The relative ease and power of Small Data projects have profound implications for all employees, managers and leaders at all levels in every organization.
Small data projects involve teams of 2 to 10 employees, solving first-person problems with small data sets: hundreds or thousands of records, not the millions or more used in big data projects.
They are highly focused and use basic analytical methods that are accessible to everyone through tools such as Power BI. Part-timers can complete them in a few months and generate financial benefits from $10 to 1,000 Million per year per project.
Enterprises are loaded with potential small data projects with high returns on investment and a high probability of success. Unlike Big Data projects, which often involve dozens of people with disparate agendas, politics, huge budgets and high failure rates.
Another big benefit is that they develop the organizational data muscle that helps the entire company learn what it takes to succeed with data, acquire the necessary skills, build trust, and generate the kind of culture that more ambitious projects demand.
In addition, they have high professional satisfaction for those involved. One front-line manager, elated at a meeting we attended, after leading her team through a series of small data quality projects, stated, “It was the best experience of my 20-year career. It was the only time I felt like I had control over where I was going.”
At CepoBIA, the company where I am a consultant, we have led dozens, maybe hundreds of small data projects around the world. People are delete in understanding the numbers, what they mean and those involved work to figure out what is really going on.
While the work to unlock the power of small data is not difficult, reorienting your thinking toward prioritizing these projects can be difficult. We recommend jumping right in and following the steps below.
- Involve everyone, including yourself.
- Personally lead at least one small data project with your direct reports each year. You will learn a lot, experience the power of small data firsthand, gain credibility, and set a good example by doing so.
- Encourage your people to join your data initiative and encourage them to put small data to work in their own unique ways.
- Once you know where to look, it won’t be difficult to find small data opportunities.
Author:
Esteban Londoño Padilla
Data Analytics Consultant
