5 Steps to Visualize Association Data

BI for AssociationsBig Data, business intelligence, analytics…..these terms have been buzz words headlining most association conferences this past year. When DSK presented at the ASAE Tech Conference last December, 80% of respondents to our straw poll noted their #1 question was “How do I get started with BI?” DSK has defined 5 Steps that form a framework for analytics and business intelligence initiatives for associations:

1. Scope your Project
Start small and define success with your stakeholders. Outline what you already know and document your business questions.

2. Collect your Data
Identify your data sources then describe your business rules in plain English. Inventory and integrate your data for future projects as well.

3. Clean your Data
Determine how clean is “clean” for your organization. Correct duplicate, missing, and inconsistent data and create standard processes to prevent future data issues.

4. Analyze your Data
This is the fun part! Create data visualizations and evaluate the results based on your business context. Did you answer your original questions or discover new questions that ‘you didn’t know you didn’t know?’ It’s an iterative process that will evolve based on feedback.

5. Communicate your Results
Describe the results with meaningful stories to start the conversation. Make sure the level of detail is appropriate for the audience and document new questions that surface for future analysis.

This brief video further illustrates how your association can harness the benefits of BI and demonstrates Tableau data visualization software.

Debbie King is the CEO and founder of DSK Solutions, Inc. Debbie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Decision Science and Management Information Systems and is a graduate of the Entrepreneurial Master’s Program at MIT. She is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) and Balanced Scorecard Professional (BSP). She holds six current Microsoft SQL certifications, including MCITP Business Intelligence Developer. Debbie will complete her Master's Degree in Leadership at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in March of 2014. She is frequent speaker on the subject of analytics and serves on the ASAE Technology Council. Debbie King is the CEO and founder of DSK Solutions, Inc.