Data Science ― Create Teams That Ask the Right Questions and Deliver Real Value

This book helps your team embrace a data science mindset. Data tools are getting better and continuing to improve. As the field continues to grow new players are inventing better solutions. Yet you shouldn’t focus your efforts on the data tools. Data Science: Create Teams That Ask the Right Questions and Deliver Real Value shows that the most important thing you can do now is help your team think about data. 

Most organizations still focus on objectives and deliverables. Instead, a data science team is exploratory. They use the scientific method to ask interesting questions and run small experiments. Data Science demonstrates that the value in data science is that you can now get a deeper understanding from your data. This new understanding requires a new way of thinking. Your team needs to ask the right questions. They need to run short experiments and see if the data illuminates their question. Then they have to use critical thinking techniques to justify their insights and reasoning. They should pivot their efforts to keep their insights aligned with business value. Finally your team needs to deliver these insights as a compelling story.

Data Science has three overarching concepts:

• · The first is that you should mine your own company for talent. You can’t change your organization by hiring a few data science superheroes.
  
• · The second is that you should form small agile-like data teams that focus on delivering valuable insights early and often.
  
• · Finally, you can only make real changes to your organization by telling compelling data stories. These stories are the best way to communicate your insights about your customers, challenges, and industry.
  

Management coach Doug Rose walks you through the process of creating and managing effective data science teams. You will learn how to find the right people inside your organizations and equip them with the right mindset. There’s no need to hire superheroes. Much of the talent already exists within your organization. They just need to have the right mindset and the courage to learn and improve.