SENSIBLE ANALYTICS - CORE BELIEFS

Every size of business can benefit from data analytics

Analysing data can help every business make better decisions.

I founded Sensible Analytics because I strongly believe that data analytics doesn't have to be highly complicated and expensive. Rather than implement pricey and incomprehensible "black box" technological solutions, I believe that a commercially minded analyst working with the managers of a business are best placed to use data to drive evidence-based decision making.

Making sense of data is more important than collecting it

Everyone's heard the hype about Big Data.

Many businesses fear being left behind by the data revolution unless they invest large amounts of money in new technology to collect and analyse ever increasing amounts of data. But simply collecting more and more data doesn't necessarily mean that all of it is useful. Even data that is potentially useful needs an analyst to make sense of it and turn it into insights which can practically help your business to succeed.

Analytics needs the involvement of business owners and managers

Sensible Analytics recognises that that YOU are a subject-matter expert in your own business and that acquiring huge amounts of data and writing more and more lines of code to process it, cannot replace that expertise.

Data can throw up all sorts of correlations between different variables. What seem like plausible relationships between data series can sometimes emerge entirely by chance, and it takes an analyst with good critical thinking skills together the knowledge and expertise of subject matter experts, to distinguish whether these observations are useful or important.

My mission is to use my analytical skills and knowledge to work with managers to make evidence-based decisions, not to replace the human decision making process with algorithms.

Strong communication skills are essential

Managers and business owners should be able to understand the principles behind a piece of analysis - it is very difficult to believe in results unless you understand how they were obtained. And if insights aren't effectively communicated to an audience then they're unlikely to be acted on.

What sets Sensible Analytics apart is my passion for communicating data and insights, whether by taking the time to explain my analysis to non-technical audiences or through creating beautifully-designed ways of presenting insights so that the messages and actions are clear. Being an effective communicator is absolutely key to evidence-based decision making.

Be Honest

Everyone knows the saying "There are lies, damned lies and statistics". It can be very easy to manipulate stats to produce the answer you want, or the answer you expect to see. Sometimes analysts don't want to admit that there are no interesting insights in the data. This obviously does not help businesses make the right decisions.

My only motivation is to help your business succeed using data and you can expect honesty from me at all times.