What is the importance of data analysis?

Overview

To make sense of all the data available to them, business leaders work alongside data scientists who generate data visualizations to understand business questions via analytics. This process gives companies insight on what is working and what is not: for example, whether the products or services offered are meeting expectations, or if a shift in strategy is necessary.

Prompt

For this assignment, you will take on the role of a business leader who wishes to analyze if a new product their company has introduced is meeting the expectations. Imagine that you would like to create a post in the company intranet that summarizes your findings in an easy-to-read format for your team. Pay special attention to creating meaningful data visualizations. You should use techniques that make content easy to follow but that also display charts accurately without distorting or skewing data. Your company’s profit goal is 25% of the cost of goods sold (COGS). Remember, COGS is the cost of manufacturing the product, including labor, materials, and overhead. You will need to build trust and an open channel of communication with other leaders on your team. Pay close attention to the story that data visualizations tell you and others reviewing your post.

The purpose of this analysis is to better understand the cost, revenue, and profit associated with the new product launch. Review the Cost, Revenue, and Profit Spreadsheet retrieved from the company’s data center and consider the following while developing your ideas in this assignment.

• What is the importance of data analysis?
• What are the results of your analysis?
• Think about your analysis and its findings, including visuals. Use visuals and text to re-state the purpose of your analysis and summarize your most important findings.
  • What are you trying to represent with this data?
  • What kind of graphic have you selected and why?
• How did adding visual representations of the data change your analysis?
  • Does the target audience influence the way you display information?

Guidelines for Submission

Complete the Making Data Driven Decisions worksheet in your Soomo webtext, download your completed work, and submit it in Brightspace for instructor feedback. You should write using a professional voice, and any sources should be cited according to APA style. Your assignment must be between 400 and 800 words in length.