Reader, did you know that you can derive pretty good insights from any data using just three questions:
What?
So what?
Now what?
Data can be anything.
A fact.
A conversation.
An incident.
A story
Or
A database!
Data doesn’t have to always look something like this:
Data means information.
Whenever we want to learn from the information, we have to process it.
There is a processing funnel.
The data passes through three stages in the funnel:
1. What?
This is a reflection stage.
We identify key information and connect it with other information.
It is important to know what is it that we are interested in processing. We can’t process all the information at once.
Also, we identify the impact.
2. So what?
Once we have narrowed down and identified the impact of the information, we reach this stage.
Here, we sum up what we have learned.
We also look for applications of what we have learned.
3. Now what?
Just knowing our learnings is not enough.
We have to commit to action.
That’s where this last question comes in handy.
Now what do we want to do?
Example
Let me illustrate this processing technique using an example.
If you remember, in my Data System Design Handbook, I have used an example of 10,000 tablets distributed to schools.
Suppose, during the annual review, we learned that 10% of the tablets were vandalized in a few schools by notorious students.
This is how we can process this data:
What? (The review stage)
What exactly happened?
Which schools have the highest number of vandalized tablets?
So what? (Sum up, apply)
How can we prevent this from re-occurring in the future?
Is there anything peculiar about those schools?
What is the cost of damage?
Now what? (Action)
Who is going to get in touch with those schools?
What message will we be relaying to the affected schools?
How will we recover the damage?
So, those are the questions that I ask myself when trying to get insights from any data.
What about you?
Hit Reply and tell me.
Also, if you want me to cover specific topics, write back to me.
Reads of the week:
If you think AI applications such as ChatGPT are just question-answer machines, these prompts from Microsoft will stun you. They released fantastic prompts to use with GPT models such as ChatGPT for educators and students. I tried a few of them, and I was in awe!
Especially, if you have kids or students, ask them to use them.