How to measure your analytics team's impact
A no-vanity-metric framework for showing the business what your data team is worth.
'Number of dashboards shipped' is not an impact metric. Neither is 'number of tickets closed.' Both are activity metrics dressed up as impact.
Real impact metrics tie to decisions changed and dollars moved. That is a harder measurement problem, but the alternative — measuring throughput of an activity that may or may not matter — is worse.
A framework we've seen work: for every material analytics deliverable, name the decision it informs and the range of business outcomes it can move. Track how often the decision was made, and whether the deliverable was actually used. Publish the hit rate quarterly.
This is uncomfortable at first, because it makes visible how much analytics work does not get used. That discomfort is the point.
James advises boards and CDOs on data strategy. Former CDO at a global bank and a top-3 retailer.
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