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What’s your analytical framework?

23 Jul

There is no lack of talking about analytical framework. Each of them has its pros and cons. The one we created is called “A.M.M.O”. Let me explain this to you and see if you like it or not.

First, let me explain what the acronym really means:

“A” stands for “Analyze”; First “M”, stands for “Monetize”; Second “M”, stands for “Mobilize”; “O”, stands for “Optimize” .

See, I managed to find four words all end with “ze”.

“Analyze” is straight forward. That’s what we, as web analysts do every day, so no need to explain, right?

One thing I want to caution is though, we need make sure that the data we are looking at is correct. If the raw data is not even correct, then that’s “garbage in, garbage out”, regardless how sound your analytical framework is. The analysis results might be misleading and hurting the business, rather than helping the business.

In the web analytics world, we usually are dealing with two sets of data. The first set of data is either the overall metrics at the site level or the most granular data at page level. For this type of data, it will be hard to make mistake. And if you ever made a mistake, even your HIPPO will quickly point it out for you!

The second set of data is at “segment” level. At this point, all web analysts should know that “segmentation” is at the core of any web analytics project. If you don’t know how to segment your visitors or traffic and analyze visitor behavior accordingly, then you should really go back to the training camp.

But the risk is also with “segmentation”. Anybody has experience with Omniture Discover on Demand or Omniture Insights (previously Discover on Premise and prior to that Visual Sciences) or similar tools, probably understand what I mean. There are two major factors could screw the data. First, the exact way to build the segments: in Discover or Insights, you have many different ways to build a segment and not all of them give you the same data. Second, the sampling issue: due to huge amount of data, a lot of web analytics applications can only give you a sample rather than the complete data set, depends on how much data you are asking for.

With this understanding in mind, it is imperative for any web analyst to have a healthy amount of suspicion of the data accuracy. Not only the data pulled by somebody else, but also the data we pull. Yes, we make mistakes too!

There are ways to mitigate the issue of course. (we have hope-it’s not the end of world!). What I usually do is to make sure that I can get the data from two different data sources and compare them side by side. If you are using Omniture, you should always try to compare the data you get from Discover vs. the data from SiteCatalyst. For example, if you are building a segment for a group of pages, you should at least compare the total visits for that group of pages from Discover with the sum of all visits of those pages. These two numbers will never match but they shouldn’t be way off. If I see a huge difference between them, that’s a red flag to me. [Bonus tip: if I have to bet $10 on either one, I will definitely bet on SiteCatalyst and go back to review the data I got from Discover]

Ok, that’s all I want to say about “Analyze”, assuming you’ve got the rest. In my next few posts, I’ll touch upon the other letters one by one and round up with a final summary. Stay tuned!

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Posted in Post in English, Web Analytics in Action, web analyst career

Got the million dollar slide?

22 Jul

Daniel Waisberg asked an interesting question in the web analytics yahoo group recently, “just got curious: when you send a Web Analytics doc, do you add a cover page? Suddenly it looks to me like a barrier to conversion (i.e. reading)…”

I replied back, “We don’t do cover page internally. Cover page is only for consultants. ”

This got me think more about the so-called “million dollar slide” . The idea is for whatever project / presentation, you need have one page of executive summary which basically tells the audience, especially executives what are the key takeaways.

The format I usually follow is like this and we call this “answer first” internally at Dell.

Situation: what’s the context for this project?
Challenge: what challenges/difficulties the business is running into?
Solution / recommendation: what specific solution / recommendation for the business, both in short term / long term?
Monetization: what’s the estimated annualized revenue / margin upside the business can expect from these recommendations? If the executives see millions $ upside, they will surely approve to move forward with the recommendations!

I think this is probably a very good format that we should do more as the web analyst community. As analyst, we love data, charts and tables but sometimes we forget our audience. What do they want to learn? How we can make it easier for them to understand what we want them to do? I don’t think we are doing that enough and we should certainly make this as part of the gene of web analytics.

Got your million dollars slide? What is the specific format you typical use for the executive summary?

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Two Random Job Postings

09 Jun

My wife forwarded me these two jobs. They are not jobs for web analyts, but in the current economy, more job listing probably doesn’t hurt. So I am happy to post here. Please contact the respective companies directly as I have no relationship with either of them. Nor will I ask you to give me 10% of your salary if you get the job.

Marketing & Membership Manager, Wi-Fi Alliance

http://www.wi-fi.org/careers.php

Hi All – I hope this note finds you well. I’m forwarding a posting in case you know of someone who might be a great fit. I’ve been working at the Wi-Fi Alliance full-time since last Fall and recommend it as small, interesting, fast-paced with a great group of people. Interested candidates can forward resumes to jobs@wi-fi.org. I’m also happy to talk to anyone who’s interested in some additional background.

Financial Risk Mgt – PI, Mgr/Sr Mgr- HK
Location: US-TX-Austin
Job Category: Accounting / Finance / Management
Reference Code: ADVISORY-CK-ZJ-115051
Job Description
—————
PricewaterhouseCoopers is the world”s largest professional services organization with over 150,000 people in more than 150 countries. We are committed to attracting and retaining the very best human resource assets possible – one of our “six forces” shaping the future of business.

Travel Required:

PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 155,000 people in 153 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. ‘PricewaterhouseCoopers’ refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.

PricewaterhouseCoopers China, Hong Kong and Singapore operate on a combined basis, subject to local applicable laws. Taken together, we have more than 460 partners and a strength of 12,000 people.

The firm provides a wide range of services to help organizations solve business issues and identify and maximize opportunities. Our industry specialization enables us to identify trends and customize solutions for the clients’ sector of interest. Each line of service is staffed with highly qualified, experienced professionals and leaders in our profession. These resources, combined with our global network, allow us to provide the support our clients’ need wherever they may be located.

PricewaterhouseCoopers China, Hong Kong and Singapore currently has 14 offices in the following cities: Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Macau, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin and Xi’an.

PricewaterhouseCoopers China is proud to be named as the Accounting Services Supplier to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Additional information about PricewaterhouseCoopers China, Hong Kong and Singapore offices can be accessed through the following websites:

China: www.pwccn.com
Hong Kong: www.pwchk.com
Singapore: www.pwc.com/sg

PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services helps clients manage their most important business issues, from M&A due diligence and integration, to ongoing operational improvements and compliance, to crisis management and business separation. A team of more than 600 advisors across China and Hong Kong share their thinking, experience and solutions on a daily basis to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice for our clients. Our professionals combine rich industry expertise with sound knowledge of the local business environment, resulting in outstanding analysis, advice, and implementation support. PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory includes five main practices: Transaction Services, Performance Improvement, Valuations, Crisis Management Services, and Corporate Finance.

We see a significant opportunity to grow PwC’s Risk Advisory practice in the Financial Services sector to capitalise on growing market demand resulting from both ongoing pressure and scrutiny from regulators and other stakeholders and financial services organisations taking a broader, more holistic view of risk and how it should be managed.

Our team offers independent financial product pricing services and market risk advisory services for financial institutions.

Financial product pricing / valuation / modelling
The team’s expertise includes the pricing / valuation / modelling of a wide variety of mortgage backed security, asset backed security, credit derivatives, interest rate derivatives, complex structured derivatives, exotic options and structured products.

Market risk advisory:

The team provides market risk advisory services based on regulatory requirements and good industry practices for treasury departments, middle office, risk management departments, and finance departments for financial institutions.

Job Requirements
—————————-
Education Requirement: Degree holder in finance, financial engineering or actuarial background is preferable.

In additions, candidates should illustrate the following personal attributes: Demonstrates courage, ethics and integrity Acquires and applies commercial and technical expertise by staying up to date on industry and market trends Manages projects and economics efficiently; planning and performing work in accordance with client requirements and professional/regulatory standards Open minded, agile with change and practical Committed to self develop and coaching of others for growth Communicates with impact and empathy Actively shares ideas and knowledge and is innovative Lead and contribute to team success Is passionate about client services Works hard to build and sustain relationships

The ideal candidates will have some of the following capabilities or interests: – At least five years plus relevant experience in investment, asset management, banking, or professional firm or equivalence

Hands on middle office market risk experience
Experience in risk measurement methodologies and related analytical tools (pricing model, correlations calculation and simulation techniques) for senior associate and manager levels is a plus;
Solid analytical and quantitative skills, and strong knowledge of pricing / mathematical models for financial products is an advantage; Familiar with IAS 39, Bloomberg and various commercially available derivative pricing software is preferable;
Good knowledge of MS applications, VBA knowledge is a plus;
Strong communication and writing skills;
Team player who has leadership potential;
Willingness to travel for short to medium durations within the Greater China region;
Proficiency in Mandarin is highly regarded.

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What’s your title?

28 May

The web analytics Yahoo group is having some funs these days. If you are not in the group, here is the replay for you:

It all started with a simple question:

I am looking for what you folks call your analytics folks. I am the Digital
Audience Analyst for a media company. I use cutting edge Web Analytics software
and stay current in industry research. I am not sure what folks call the
Analysts who perform their web analytics and administer the codes and analysis.
Please respond and let me know.

The replies are just pouring in:

"I work for a very well known UK Premier League Soccer Club.

They refer to me as their 'Website Analyst' - although my remit seems to reach
far wider than the 2 websites (one content, and one e-Commerce) that we
maintain.

In the last few weeks I have worn more hats than a habberdasher. SEO, PPC
Marketing, Web Analysis, useability testing, management reporting, yadda,
yadda..."

"My current title is "Web Metrics Analyst", at an ad agency."

"Web Analytics Specialist"

"I work for a creative agency and my title is Web Analytics Specialist. I too
wear many hats (some of which are not even related to WA). Hope this helps!"

"While so many other appropriate names were put forth...I'm compelled by this
query to respond with:

'There are those who call me.....Tim!?'"

:Web Analytics Analyst (in the Department of Redundancy Department I think)

By far my favorite title!!?:)"

Jim Sterne, threw in the most authoritative and complete answer:

Among the more interesting titles of people who came to the eMetrics Marketing
Optimization Summit in San Jose:

Advertiser Analytics Engineer
Advisory Solutions Architect
Assistant Director, Business, Management, Legal & IT Programs
Chief Analytics & Optimization Officer
Chief Analytics Officer
Chief Search Officer
Chief Strategy Officer
Chief Visionary Officer
Client Engagement Manager
Content-Management Expert
Corporate Marketing Brand Manager
Creative & Optimization Manager
Customer Experience Consultant
Customer Intelligence
Digital Marketing Analyst
Director of Analytical Consulting
Director of Analytics
Director of Business Analytics
Director of Consumer Marketing
Director of Data Insights
Director of Data Strategy
Director of Decision Support
Director of Digital Research
Director of eBusiness
Director of Insights and Optimization
Director of Online Operations
Director of Optimization Services
Director of Research, Entertainment & Games
Director of Retention
Director of Search & Analytics
Director of Strategic Business Analytics
Director of Solution Engineering
Director of User Experience Optimization
Director of Web Business Strategy
Director of Web Strategy
EBusiness Analytics Manager
EBusiness Metrics & Analytics Manager
Emarketing Analyst
Executive Director of Business and Marketing Analysis
Financial Analyst
Founder, Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer
Interactive Marketing Analyst
Media Analytics Manager
Merchandising Manage
Online Engagement Strategist
Real Time Analytics Architect
Search Marketing Specialist
Senior Analytics Manager
Senior Director UX + Analytics
Senior Director, Global Site Analytics
Senior Web Analytics Researcher
SEO Analyst
Site Optimization Manager
Social Media Marketing Manager
Sr. Customer Experience Manager
Sr. Director, Database Marketing
Sr. eCommerce Analyst
Sr. Manager Marketing Analytics
Sr. Manager, Experience Design
Sr. Manager, Global eCommerce
Sr. Marketing Operations Analyst
Sr. Marketing Strategist
User Research and Analytics
Vice President, Global Analytics and Optimization
VP Analytics
VP Internet Business and Technology
VP Marketing & Analytics
VP of Blogging Evangelism
Web Analytics Analyst (in the Department of Redundancy Department I think)
Web Analytics, Corporate Marketing
Website Optimizer
Worldwide Marketing Operations

As for myself, my formal job title at Dell is Senior E-business Consultant which I don’t like. I actually changed that to Senior Analyst, Web Analytics and Optimization on my business card, as I feel this reflects my real role and responsibility much better. The dream job title I want, is what Avinash Kaushik has, “Analytics Evangelist”. The truth is though, it probably doesn’t matter what your job title is. What really matters is who you are and what you do.

But it is complete ok to have fun. So what’s your dream job title?

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Posted in Post in English, This Week in Web Analytics, web analyst career

Web Analytics 101 & Career Advice by Alex

27 May

Alex Cohen did a wonderful job in this presentation to give his advices on how to start a web analytics career. Thought this is a good one to share with visitors to my blog.

Although his presentation is geared more toward beginners, yet the same principle are applicable for those who want to take their web analytics understanding and practice to the next level: learning (books, blogs, eMetrics Summit etc.), sharing (blogging, speaking etc.), networking (web analytics wedesday, eMetrics Summit etc.) and participating (WAA committees, WAA yahoo forum etc.)

I can’t think of any other way to improve myself and this is an ever evolving, life time process too. The moment you start to think that you know everything, that’s when you probably need find another job.

Now let’s enjoy what Alex brought to us:

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Posted in Post in English, Web Analytics in Action, web analyst career

Seth Godin Saying “No”

26 May

I’m sure this is purely coincident. Yesterday I blogged about the first tip I shared with my fellow web analysts, titled “Tell me why you need this data before I give it to you!” Today I read a brief post by Seth Godin, “Saying no”.

Essentially we are talking about the same thing. Maybe I am not as bold as Seth but a little more polite by asking “why” question than straightly saying “no”. The end goal is the same: by asking “why” question or saying “no”, we allow ourselves focus on critical few things, rather than millions of ad hoc requests.

That’s the choice we all have to make. Like Seth put it so simply, “you can dissipate your gift by making the people with the loudest requests temporarily happy, or you can change the world by saying ‘no’ often. ”

I´m change-challenged

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Posted in Post in English, Quote of the Day, Web Analytics in Action

Super Web Analyst Tip 1: Tell me why you need this data before I give it to you!

25 May

I plan to share some tips I have learned at work in a series of blog posts and here is the first one.

One common problem we, as web analysts are facing, is people tend to think that we are reporting or data people. And as a result of that, they often come to us and ask for all kinds of data without even telling us why they need it and how they plan to use it. Like it or not, that’s a reality we all have to deal with but that’s not saying that we don’t have any choice.

Actually two choices at least:

Choice number one, give them anything they are looking for, as long as you have it. Result of this? One, you will become a favorite person in the department and people will actually complement on your work and attitude etc. Sometimes if you are lucky, you might also get a team award or something like that. Two, you will be downgraded from a “super web analyst” to a “reporting squirrel”.

Hello World...

Yes, you hear me right. You will be downgraded. Your value will be diminished. You will not be considered as a “thought leader”. At the end of year, when you are doing performance review with your manager, he is going to ask you, “what significant changes you have made to the business?” and your answer, is sadly “no, nothing”.

You can’t make significant contribution to the business by simply providing data or even nice looking reports to people. You have to go beyond that.

So here is the choice number two. Ask smart questions before you give them the data.

Questions

Here is a typically scenario: let’s just say that John is doing some projects and heard from Mary that Ed might have some customer information he is looking for. So he sent me an email like this:

“Ed, can you send me whatever information you have about customers’ feedback on our site performance? Thanks very much, John.”

If you didn’t read this blog, you might just spend hours trying to find out the customers’ feedback and send to John. You might end up working late, missing dinner with your family, and hating the company you are working for.

But I don’t like that.

So I sent an email back, trying to be nice, “Hey John, can you give me more context about what exactly you are looking for?”

[more than 50% of time, people will just forget what they were asking for and don't bother to respond again. But John is persistent.]

About a week later, John sent me another email “well, I was just trying to understand what customers’ pain points are…”

[that's interesting. It didn't help me understand all I need know but a step toward right direction]

So I wrote back again, “John, can you give me some examples regarding what customers’ pain points you are looking for and how you want to use this information?”

[more than 90% of time, people will stop asking for data when I ask twice for clarification. But...John is persisitent]

So he sent me an email again “For example, if customers tell us that they can’t make purchase online because some site errors, then my team might be able to solve the issues with our BPI (business process improvement, similiar to 6 sigma) methodology.”

[that's becoming more interesting. He was actually talking about some potential actions there!]

For the third time, (sorry to be pain on the butt), I sent him another email “John, l’d like to meet with you to discuss this. I want to understand more about your methodology / process and make sure I give you right information and data to help you with your project.”

If John is serious enough, we will meet, discuss and formulate a plan. And I’ll find out right information / data and do the analysis for him so that he can really solve customer issues. But if he is not serious enough or has other priorities, we will never meet and he will never ask for the information / data again.

At that time, I am pretty excited and willing to give him help whatever I can. The sad thing is, 95% of time, John never comes back to me again. But that’s ok. The remaining 5% of people still survived are the ones you should really care.

Ok, so this is my “super web analyst” tip one. Is this helpful? How do you deal with similar situation? Kindly share your thoughts here.

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Posted in Post in English, Web Analytics in Action

Speak at WAW Austin

13 May

Thanks for Jennifer White‘s invitation, I got a chance to speak at Web Analytics Wednesday Austin . There are about twenty or so smart folks in Buca di Beppo and we had a great time together.

In my presentation, I shared my journey to the Board of Director of Web Analytics Association, what WAA is all about, why all web analysts should join WAA membership, as well as my learnings from the eMetrics Summit 2009 in San Jose. I ended up my speech with five tips and they are:

5. Join WAA, grow the community and grow yourself
4. Attend eMetrics Summit if you can; if not, take advantage of any events like WAW, Webinars etc.
3. Don’t become reporting squirrel; connecting dots and driving actionable insights
2. Focus on three things: revenue, cost or customer experience
1. Think big but start small: little changes can have large impact

The full presentation can be viewed here

WAW Austin 090513

View more presentations from edwu.

Thanks everyone for attending the event and look forward to seeing you again. Be sure to join WAA!

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Posted in Post in English, This Week in Web Analytics, web analytics association

Here I am San Jose!

03 May

Finally on my way to San Jose.

By no means, this is going to be a very special trip. Not only I am going to attend the first WAA Board of Directors meeting followed by eMetrics Summit from Tuesday to Thursday, but also because everything else going on, specifically the whole swine flu thing.

In my backpack, I’ve got my iPod loaded with songs, podcasts and sermons I like, Nikon Coolpix, to take pictures and videos whenever I want, Logtitech Webcam, to talk to my wife and kids with ooVoo, and of course, my Dell laptop, to work at night when all the eMetrics craziness is gone.

But this time, I’ve got something else. My dear wife, fearing of the pandemic spreading of swine flu, bought me two 3M N95 masks, and a gelFast personal hand hygiene unit. Imaging on my belt, there is hand sanitizer on the left, and Nikon Coopix and my Blackberry Pearl Flip on the right. No matter what, I’ve got myself prepared.

I definitely don’t think I am a risk averse type of person. If I was, I wouldn’t choose to risk my life and climb big mountains with a bunch of amateur student mountaineers from college. Quite contrarily, I think I am a type of person enjoy risk taking. But to risk my own life is one thing, to put my family at risk is another. Bible says, “A wise man is cautious…” (Proverb 14:16) Why a wise man needs to be cautious? Because he needs to take care of his family!

I booked my travel and registered eMetrics summit two weeks ago but only made up my mind until Friday when I told my wife, “Honey, I think I will go, but with extra caution”. She gracefully agreed. What complicated the situation was she suddenly got a fever on Friday night and had 101 temperatures. We were about to attend spring outing with the church group on Saturday morning and a house party with my wife’s colleagues in the evening. We canceled both. Although we know the chance is slim, we didn’t want to take it, and we didn’t want others feel uncomfortable either. I almost gave up. No matter how much I love this “web analytics” thing, I can’t leave my wife behind especially when she is sick.

But thank God. My wife feels much better today and she encourages me to go, at least for the Board of Director meeting because she understands that’s very important to me.

Maybe you are laughing at me…maybe you think we are over concerned. The reason I am telling you all these is that I want to say “thank you”, as the newly elected Director of the Board of WAA. I understand how difficult for you to come out and make time for this three days summit. It is challenging to get companies to pay for the registration fee, travel and lodging these days, as each one of them is cutting back on OPEX. It is uneasy to leave families, friends and communities behind. The three days’ summit is not like a vacation, but a brain washing, quite painful if you are not used to it. And when you are back, your managers expect you to deliver immediate 1000% ROI…do the math and calculate how much conversion rate you need improve.

I understand all these, but I am confident as you are and believe that these three days will be different. You and I will learn everything as we can. We will immerse ourselves in the ever-changing technologies, thought provoking presentations and workshops, not mentioning life changing networkings and meetups…

So that’s my little story of eMetrics. How about you? Do you have your story too? Tell us how you overcame challenges and finally made your way to San Jose!

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Posted in Post in English, This Week in Web Analytics, Web Analytics in Action, eMetrics Summit, web analytics association

Attention: My Fellow Web Analysts

22 Apr

I’ve been very swamped lately at work and haven’t got chance to write anything about the election of Board of Directors of Web Analytics Association. But this is official; I am elected to the board and will serve my two year’s term from May.

Needless to say, I am very grateful and still couldn’t really believe this is all true. I started the campaign with fairly low expectation as I understand how competitive the election is. But history is made. By You, my fellow web analysts.

I want to thank a lot of folks who stand behind me for this election. The first person is Bryan Eisenberg. He is the one asked me to consider running for the Board of Directors and gave me his full support. Joel Wright, my buddy and colleague at Dell, introduced me to web analytics and told me that I’ll win even before the election is closed (good prophecy, Joel!). Gautam Madiman, my manager at Dell, for encouraging me and endorsing me. Anil Batra from Zerodash1, Jonghee from Victoria Secret…and many others I don’t even know their names. Last but not least, for my wife, willing to share more family loads to support my duty as a Director.

So what’s the next? What I am going to do for the web analytics community as a Board of Director in the next two years? These are questions wondering in my mind. I am fully aware that as the only Director on the Board without a CXO title (sah!), I am bringing some unique perspectives to the Board. But to better serve you, I need your help.

May 3-4, I will be in San Jose, attending the Board of Director meeting. I will also be in the eMetrics Summit for the next three days. I encourage you to get in touch me if you are there. Let’s chat about work, life and the community while we are in the WAA Community Meeting and Speed Networking, or WAA Reception, or Birds of a Feather Lunch, or eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit Reception, or Web Analytics Wednesday. Talk to me about your ideas, passions or frustrations. If you are not there, feel free to drop me a note via ed at superwebanalyst dot net or follow me on Twitter @ed_wu.

Look forward to seeing you and hearing from you. Remember, we are super web analysts. No tool (no matter how good they are) can do us any good, until we are using it in the right way, with much passion and intelligence. And to do it right, you’re going to need help and guidance from WAA. Hope you have a great week.

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Posted in Post in English, Web Analytics in Action

Managing Analytics

Archive for the ‘Post in English’ Category

What’s your analytical framework?

Got the million dollar slide?

Two Random Job Postings

What’s your title?

Web Analytics 101 & Career Advice by Alex

Seth Godin Saying “No”

Super Web Analyst Tip 1: Tell me why you need this data before I give it to you!

Speak at WAW Austin

Here I am San Jose!

Attention: My Fellow Web Analysts

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