9 Lessons on Data Products
“Why don’t my customers use their reporting dashboard?” This question is so common it is a cliche.
Frequently the answer is that the customer-facing dashboard was not treated like a product. Basic questions were missed in the rush to make the data available: What are my users pain points? How do we make their life better?
The essential elements to a good data product aren’t a huge mystery. But they do take an empathetic, customer-focused perspective that is often lacking. I’ve been involved with designing and launching dozens of data products. Here are some of my key lessons:
The Right Mentality
Lesson 1: Apps, not Dashboards. Multiple, small, focused data products are better than one comprehensive solution that tries to do too much. Many companies launch an “analytics dashboard” or “self-service portal” that is design to answer any and all questions. Of course it doesn’t, and is more confusing than useful. Attempting to serve everyone serves no one.
Lesson 2: Form Follows Function: A data product should be delivered and experienced by different audiences in different ways. For example, an executive audience is more interested in summarized insights delivered in static formats (PDF, PPT). Whereas analytical audiences may want an interactive, exploratory solution. And don’t forget the front-line decision makers who may need contextually-relevant, real-time data on their phone.
Lesson 3: The Goal is Insights. To paraphrase James Carville, “It’s the Insights, Stupid!” The data, visualizations, dashboard…these are all vehicles to find and deliver useful insights. How are you guiding people to find insights, then share and act on those insights?
User Experience
Lesson 4: Lead with Actions. For many years, we designed analytical solutions that assumed users will drill into the data to find the information that was most relevant to them in the moment. It isn’t always the right starting point. If possible, lead with the To Dos or Actions. Avoid making your users to any extra work.
Lesson 5: The Right Starting Points. Initial settings and personalization are powerful tools in your design toolbox. A remarkable number of data product users (we’ve watched a lot videos of user behavior) will not click on anything to customize the views of the data. Give them the default selections that deliver the most relevant information.
Lesson 6: Data Wrapped in Context. A data product needs to do much more than present data. It needs to explain the scope and purpose of the solution, guide the users through the experience, and provide help. More than most, our solutions use images and text to put the data in context. Your users won’t appreciate the value in the data if they are drowning in the deep end.
Lesson 7: Consider Secondary Audiences. Data product serve more than the direct users. The information in your product needs to travel to secondary audiences who may impact decisions. How can you ensure insights can get shared more broadly, making your users into heroes in their organization?
Product Launch
Lesson 8: Selling is Priority #1. This is uncomfortable territory for many data people. However, as creators of data products, we need to think about how to support the sales team, clarify the value points for customers, and deliver a premium, differentiated product. None of your hard work or data insights matter if customers don’t choose to buy it.
Lesson 9: Iterate on Feedback. A data product should be its least-good version on initial release. As you start to get (paying) customer feedback, you’ll learn more about what customers really want. You want to be positioned to quickly iterate and improve your product when this valuable input comes in.