Defining the problem

 

As we saw here, the first step in Data Analysis is Defining the problem. Doing data analysis without explicitly defining your problem or goal is like heading out on a road trip without having decided on a destination. 

If you are an analyst and need an hour long slide show to make your point, then often most likely you haven't focused enough on your problem and are throwing your client (boss) with a sea of information as a way of ducking your obligation to solve a problem and recommend a decision. 

Hence defining the problem is very critical knowing that your client might be

    well or badly informed about her data

    well or badly informed about her problems or goals

    well or badly informed about her business

The better you understand your client, the more likely your analysis will be able to help. Hence to define the problem properly, start with asking as many questions to your client which could help clarify. In our case, examples of such question could be:

    By how much do you want to increase sales?

    How do you think we’ll do it?

    How much of a sales increase do you think is feasible? Are the target sales figures reasonable?

    How are our competitors’ sales?

    What’s the ads and the social networking marketing budget?

Once you have some answers from your client, you may look into the next step which is "Disassemble". To be continued.