What AirBNB teaches us about traditional data governance
.@philsmion says that even the "best governed" organization today isn't safe from inquiring minds.
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Changing the paradigm for business forecasting (Part 2 of 12)
The Current Paradigm for Business Forecasting So what is the current paradigm that we, the community of business forecasting practitioners and researchers, are operating under? I’d argue that for at least the last 60 years, since 1956 when Robert G. Brown published his short monograph Exponential Smoothing for Predicting Demand,
Taking a “Moneyball” approach to child welfare workforce woes
Could you imagine running a business with a 35-90% annual turnover rate? What if the average time to fill a position was anywhere between 3-12 months? This alone would cripple most organizations, but is a common reality in state and local child welfare agencies. High turnover and vacancy rates are
Changing the paradigm for business forecasting (Part 1 of 12)
In a February 2015 post Offensive vs. Defensive Forecasting, I sought to distinguish two very different approaches to the business forecasting problem: Offensive: The "offensive" forecaster is focused on forecast accuracy -- on extracting every last fraction of a percent of accuracy we can hope to achieve. The approach is
Which drinks have the most, and least, caffeine?
A friend and I were recently debating how much caffeine is in various drinks. I felt like my hands were tied behind my back, since I had no graphs to show them. Of course, the first thing I did when I got to work was create some caffeine graphs! They turned out
The analytics of things ... and sports
Who cares about sports and data? Not just athletes, coaches and fans. It turns out that many companies outside of sporting organisations are also associated with the sports industry. For example, financial services organisations are actively involved in sports sponsorships. Retailers sell fan merchandise. Telcos build social engagement strategies around
9 skills to become a more modern marketer
Editor's Note: SAS' e-book, Your guide to becoming a modern marketer, provides additional guidance on the skills you need to become a modern marketer. This e-book provides a plan of action and documents lessons we've learned at SAS while modernizing our marketing organization. Today, the need to take an analytical approach to business challenges no
The Monty Hall Paradox - SAS vs. Python
Recently, one of sons came to me and asked about something called “The Monty Hall Paradox.” They had discussed it in school and he was having a hard time understanding it (as you often do with paradoxes). For those of you who may not be familiar with the Monty Hall
Operational data governance: Who owns data quality problems?
Data integration teams often find themselves in the middle of discussions where the quality of their data outputs are called into question. Without proper governance procedures in place, though, it's hard to address these accusations in a reasonable way. Here's why.
Plant Powered Protein
Whether you are a vegetarian, a vegan or are just trying to eat more meatless meals, consuming a diet without meat or fish can raise concerns about not getting enough protein. Have no fear, you can still meet your protein needs IF you structure your meals in the right way
The empty-space distance plot
How far away is the nearest hospital? How far is the nearest restaurant? The nearest gas station? These are commonly asked questions whose answers depend on the location of the person asking the question. Recently I showed an algorithm that enables you to find the distance between a set of
How GDPR will affect analytics and data management
GDPR, or the European General Data Protection Regulation, will be upon us in just 15 months’ time. Companies not just in Europe but around the world are preparing for it, because it affects any personal data held about any European customer, no matter where a company is based. But how
ESSA – accountability, indicators and analytics to drive informed decision making
Last December, The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law to ensure opportunity for all students in the United States. As part of this federal legislation, states now have the flexibility to design their own accountability systems following certain parameters outlined in ESSA. These accountability systems include academic and non-academic indicators. By
Managing Well-Intentioned Extra Attention
When someone is sick or in the hospital, it may not be long before the casserole patrol comes a knockin'. "Casserole patrol" is the term a witty colleague of mine used to describe the friends and neighbors who bring food when someone is sick. I've been there before, standing at a doorstep with a pot of chili
Advanced ODS Graphics: Title change macro
Have you ever wanted to modify a graph title that is produced by an analytical procedure? You can make a wide variety of changes by modifying the graph template. Modifying the graph template is straight forward. You specify ODS TRACE ON, run the procedure, find the template name, display the
Where did Hurricane Matthew drop the most water?
This past weekend, Hurricane Matthew came through the Carolinas. Some areas had record flooding, while other areas didn't. I was anxious to get back to work today, so I could use SAS software and create a custom map showing who got how much rain. But before we get to the official
How I (reluctantly) learned the value of data governance
Data governance must encompass management of the full life cycle of a data policy – its definition, approval, implementation and the means of ensuring its observance - David Loshin, Data Policies and Data Governance I was checking out my Google stats on Data Quality Pro recently and observed that "How
WHERE operators in SAS: Multiple comparisons and fuzzy matching
The WHERE clause in SAS is a powerful mechanism for selecting observations as you read or write a data set. The WHERE clause supports many operators, including the IN operator, which enables you to compactly specify multiple conditions for a categorical variable. A common use of the IN operator is
Building clinical data and insight visually
Have you ever been involved in executing an exploratory analysis based on an integrated clinical trial database? If so, you've probably experienced firsthand how elaborate the initial phase of data access and data processing can be. Market analysts estimate the ratio for preparing the data, compared to actually analyzing the information,
Digging deeper into weather data, with custom SAS Analytics!
When you were growing up, did you ever imagine that the most popular show on TV would be 24-hour coverage of a storm?!? Yes, for better or for worse, the weather has become our new reality TV. And as you watch the weather coverage, you probably see all the weather reporters showing the
How do you define data governance?
Data governance has been the topic of many of the recent posts here on the Data Roundtable. And rightfully so, since data governance plays such an integral role in the success of many enterprise information initiatives – such as data quality, master data management and analytics. These posts can help you prepare for discussing
Machine learning changes the way we forecast in retail and CPG
Machine learning is taking a significant role in many big data initiatives today. Large retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are using machine learning combined with predictive analytics to help them enhance consumer engagement and create more accurate demand forecasts as they expand into new sales channels like the
Achieving analytics ROI – the path to success
Are you happy with the ROI on your analytics investments? Recently we’ve seen an upswing in organisations investing in analytical platform capabilities. One can assume the goal of these investments is to turn transactional data into a strategic asset. However, analytics alone will not do it. Unless your organisation is
A playbook for analyzing real world intelligence in a health care setting
Real world data collected in a functioning health care setting instead of a controlled clinical environment can provide opportunities for new and deeper insights across life science and health care organizations. However, managing, analyzing and extracting actionable information from the varied available sources can present unique challenges. The sheer size of these
Auditing SAS server availability from 30,000 feet
One very useful type of auditing for a SAS administrator is to have summary data about the availability and performance of various resources (platforms, servers, services) from the 30,000-foot view. $1000 loan guaranteed. Using SAS Environment Manager, it's easy to go in and look at the availability of any one resource over
How analytics is enabling credit risk digitalization
Digitalization - the move towards a more digital world - is a well-established phenomenon. But the digitalization journey is not the same in every sector. Traditional practices, available skills and competitive forces are creating a new set of dynamics in the credit risk sector. Providers are coming under significant pressure
Big data customer analytics key to high-performing energy companies
Energy suppliers are fighting for prime position in the domestic energy supply market. Disillusioned customers, increased competition due to a flood of new entrants and tighter regulations are forcing suppliers to reassess their business models. According to UK regulator Ofgem, there were 3.8 million account switches in the first six
Mind, Body, Breath (Part 1) - Breast Cancer Awareness
It was like any other day in autumn. The brightly covered leaves that had once been attached to the cascading tree branches had finally let go. The summer heat had taken its toll and there they were lying on the ground fading into the Earth’s surface. I remember looking out
What's the difference between data governance and data management? (Part 1)
Lately, the definitions of data governance and data management look very much alike. In this two-part series, we'll define data governance and data management. And we'll see that there's a big difference in the two.
Visualize a weighted regression
What is weighted regression? How does it differ from ordinary (unweighted) regression? This article describes how to compute and score weighted regression models. Visualize a weighted regression Technically, an "unweighted" regression should be called an "equally weighted " regression since each ordinary least squares (OLS) regression weights each observation equally.