Using Data To Identify Problems
In my Week 15 reflection, I shared how my colleague and I teamed up to analyze data for LookForJob.com, an example of a job employment platform. As a Business Analyst (BA), our goal in analyzing data is to tell a meaningful story and guide stakeholders, such as management and the product team, in making informed decisions.
Related blogpost : Week 15 : Data Analysis & Visualisation (Using Microsoft Excel & SQL) - Newbie swotting as a Business Analyst
So what’s next after data is analysed?
After analyzing the data, the subsequent step involves identifying potential issues that may emerge. Businesses typically undertake this to gauge the performance of released features or products, determining whether they are successful or encountering challenges. For instance, if there's a decline in the Click-Through Rate (CTR) on a page, it might suggest issues with user engagement.
Scenario
Addressing a Drop in CTR on LookForJob.com
In this scenario, I'll be using terms to simplify the analogy and my learning reflection, avoiding specific references to my employer's context:
LookForJob.com - a fictional job employment company
Apply Job - the page where users click to apply for a job
"X" banner - an example feature on the Apply Job page
Introduction: LookForJob.com recently released a new feature on their Apply Job page. However, the Data Analyst team noticed a drop in user clicks on the Apply Job page, which could lead to fewer job applications.
*I'm unable to disclose specific project details due to confidentiality reasons. Therefore, the samples featured in this post are purely for visual illustration and example purposes. Please imagine that these feature designs are applied to a hypothetical scenario, such as the operations of Lookingforjob.com.
Problem Identification: The drop in clicks on the banner on the Apply Job page suggests potential user engagement issues, possibly caused by recent layout changes.
#1 Analyzing the Impact:
“(We changed the position and text on the banner ) We found that in primary research that users did not understand what banner intended to say, as it was not direct and skipped it.”
A drop in clicks could lead to fewer job applications, affecting the success of LookForJob.com. Immediate action is required to fix this problem and maintain user engagement.
#2 Problem Framing
Identifying OKR
Example of OKR : “Increase the Click-Through Rate to 80% on “X” Banner in Applied Job page”
Stakeholders, including the product, data, and management teams, come together to agree that this is a problem and that the design needs enhancement to improve the CTR. An agreed-upon solution is converted into Objective Key Results (OKRs) for the team to work on within a quarter.
Note to BA : BA don’t involve in this stage but is kept informed in the communication loop.
Expected solution
By responding to user feedback, analyzing behavior, and refining the page layout, LookForJob.com successfully addressed the drop in clicks on its Apply Job page, ensuring continued user engagement and platform success.
#3 Solution Implementation
This is where comes together to discuss the solutioning to agreed problems that’s mentioned as OKR.
In the process of fixing the drop in clicks on LookForJob.com, different team members have specific tasks:
User Testing (Design Team): Some team members from the design team ask users for feedback about the Apply Job page to see if they find any problems with how it looks or works.
Understanding User Behavior (Data Analysts): Other team members, like data analysts, look at data to see how people use the website. They try to understand why users might not be clicking as much.
Making Changes (Product & Design Team): Once they know what the problems are, the product team works on changing how the page looks or works to make it easier for users to use.
Testing Different Ideas (Product & Design Team): The product team tries out a few different versions of the page to see which one works best.
Watching the Results (Data Analysts): After making changes, data analysts keep an eye on how many people are clicking on the page. If the number goes up, it means the changes are working!
Note for BA : Business Analysts (BAs) don't directly perform tasks like user testing, making design changes, or monitoring results. However, they do play an essential role in the process by gathering requirements, analyzing data, and facilitating communication between different teams. So while BAs may not directly execute these tasks, they often collaborate closely with design, product, and data teams to ensure that the solution aligns with business objectives and user needs.
Informing & Alignment With Team “Communicating and Getting Everyone on the Same Page”
Example of solution : “Update UI Design of X Banner”
The framed problem information is communicated to the development team responsible for the Apply Job page. The team discusses how to address the issue, such as updating the UI design to make it more appealing.
This can be a meticulous process, which include identifying specific problem of the feature, further analysis, solutioning proposal which all aimed to enhanced the user experience (UX) and platform performance (refer context of Solution Implement section)
Making Change Step In Flow (By Product & Design Team) :
Designing Blueprint
Designer will create few options (usually 2-3 options) of potential solution of the feature
Design tool used : Figma (or any other tools that organisation uses)
Pre-Approval Review
Product and Business Analyst will help to review the design and provide feedback
Designer will showcase their Work In Progress (WIP) in meetings (eg. Daily Stand Up, Design Hour)
BA can start to gather requirements and document it on project management tool (eg. JIRA). It does not have to be perfect at this stage, be mindful that design might need approval first (How to do documentation to record the following : Requirement Gathering, write User Story and Acceptance Criteria. To be discussed in separate blogpost)
Approval
Product team will gather all this information and document it before sending it for approval.
Documentation is done on Confluence page (some company use other tools such as Sharepoint, Word Document etc)
An approved design will be informed by Product and Design team to BA for further step in the solution implementation process
Note to BA : BA will monitor this process and start to gather informations and create documentation on project management tool. e.g JIRA card
We'll discuss the next steps in a separate post, this may include :
Documentation on JIRA :
Creating a JIRA Card for new initiative (”the agreed solution”))
How to write User Story
How to write a good Acceptance Criteria (Note to self - refer note from Sharee)
Till next time, friends. Remember, "Everything is workable."
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You can also explore my other blog post on Agile Delivery, Project Solutions, Agile Mindset and Career Bits on WorkWizard. Leave me a comment, would love to hear if we are on the same wavelength!
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