For many years I've talked about the benefits of integrated and automated systems — ones that free a business up to focus on actual data analysis and insight, rather than the logistics of reporting.
Investigating the available data, making changes based on the resulting insight, and then measuring the impact: crazy, I know! For many organisations this is an ideal — a Nirvana, if you will — rather than a practical reality. They know they should be doing this exciting, valuable work, but too many obstacles stand in the way: not enough resource, no senior buy-in, not enough budget.
What can start off as a conversation about funky stuff like predictive or econometric modelling quickly turns into a more operational, logistical discussion. I must confess I find this frustrating, because using data effectively will actually save time and money in the longer run. The issues are usually the same: current resource is overwhelmed by incoming requests, and so the team simply cannot do any more. This is often reflected in low morale within the analytics or insight team, and frustration across the wider business.
A measurement framework helps to operationalise the use of data within an organisation by defining 'what', 'why', and 'how' to measure across its people, process, and technology.
The good news — there is an answerA real-world example
Just before my departure from Seren, I had reached the end of an 18-month engagement with a major UK telco. We'd been brought in to implement a measurement framework centred on customer experience, and when we started, we found the web analyst was struggling under the sheer volume of incoming requests.
We established a map of all required metrics, detailing the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and additional contextual measures, along with information on how to measure them and what action should follow. We also set up an insight support process, allowing a more structured response to incoming queries — which had the added benefit of letting us spot patterns and respond accordingly.
For example, we soon found that business owners in the marketing teams needed certain data at certain times. By giving them an automated Excel dashboard and training on the web analytics platform, we quickly reduced some of the more common queries. That, in turn, gave the analytics team more time to focus on strategic, longer-term projects.
Not a checklist — a process
So, a measurement framework isn't simply a list of things you should measure. It's an end-to-end process that helps establish what you need to measure, and then how you actually go about achieving that in practice.
People
Who owns measurement, who consumes it, and what skills they need.
Process
How requests are triaged, how insight is delivered, and how action is tracked.
Technology
The tools and platforms that make consistent measurement possible at scale.
The journey to data nirvana
Data Nirvana isn't a destination you arrive at and stay — it's an ongoing journey. The cycle is simple to state and genuinely difficult to sustain: understand, measure, act, repeat.
The Data Nirvana cycle
As a starter for ten, we typically begin clients off with a basic spreadsheet example of a Measurement Framework — simple enough to populate quickly, but structured enough to force the right conversations about what genuinely matters to the business.
Download our basic template to get you started: Measurement Framework Template
So — do you want to head to Nirvana? If so, give me a shout.