Custom Data Projects

You need information - not just data - at your fingertips.

You just want to be able to make data-informed decisions, or otherwise use data as part of your workflow.

Unfortunately, you don't have an internal IT or data team that you can call on to do this data work for you.

But you don't want to be a "data scientist".

Rather than learning how to do it yourself, you want to work with someone who understands business and understands how to address your issues - using data.

Here are some of the projects we've worked on:

The projects listed below are just some of the ways we've helped clients with both one-off and ongoing/recurring needs. These projects use both quantitative and qualitative data.

An Employee Capacity Study for a Hiring Decision

• An interactive dashboard ... so that they could examine employee capactiy and hiring/training needs
  • The One-off Need: The client was at what felt like a capacity ceiling and was interested in using a time study to determine current employee workload.
  • The Project: Blou Designs created a data collection form for use with employees during a 2-week time study. Those task logs were combined with other company data, including error logs, for a more complete analysis of "capacity".
  • The Deliverable: An interactive dashboard so that the client could explore factors in employee capacity and hiring needs. Options were given to splice through the data by error severity, task type, and other categories in order to assist with identifying training opportunities and other productivity roadblocks for existing employees, and bottlenecks that might indicate a need for new employees.

Market Research for Strategic Direction

• Focus groups ... so that they could name and tweak their service for better market fit
  • The One-off Need: The client was at a strategic crossroads and wanted help assessing client and non-client perception of their mission and service direction/fit, as well as target audience needs. The client was most interested in market fit and service naming. To save budget, the client wanted to have an in-house staff member conduct all focus groups.
  • The Project: Blou Designs assisted with both the focus group framework, training of the in-house staff member, and data analysis. Based on the project objectives, Blou Designs created the participant qualification survey and the focus group questions, including a Zoom-based quiz. Training included how to record video, audio transcripts, and pop-up quiz responses in Zoom. The qualification survey, focus group videos/transcripts/chats, documents related to the client's service, and the client's brand identity checklist were used to inform the analysis.
  • The Deliverable: An analytical write-up of findings that addressed specific questions asked as well as other findings.

An Excel-based Tool for a Recurring Schedule Management Need (Quantitative Data)

• An Excel tool ... so that they could automatically filter, sort, split, highlight/annotate, and tally data for easier schedule management
  • The Ongoing Need: The client needed a way to parse and annotate large CSV data dumps, which were regularly exported from an online database application and saved to a shared drive. This work was already being done manually, but was time consuming and error prone, especially given certain known idiosyncrasies in the data. The client needed a way to automate the manual steps for a click-of-a-button solution.
  • The Project: In an environment where the client was prevented from installing new software, Blou Designs capitalized on what the client already had installed - Excel - and created a data processing tool using a mix of Power Query and VBA.
  • The Deliverable: A single Excel workbook file. Through an interface, users were given the ability to select any CSV source file and then click a button to have the CSV file automatically processed into new worksheets. An option was provided for automatically exporting data worksheets to their own individual workbooks. Users could modify the rules used to filter, sort, and highlight/annotate.

Here's how we can help you:

From ideation to execution - or anywhere in between - there are a number of ways we can help you address your business needs with a custom data project.

• Surveys - including questionnaires, feedback forms, interviews, focus groups - so that you can get the information you need
  • optimize your data collection opportunities
  • use the right tool for the job, including how you phrase and sequence questions
• Templates and Forms - so that you can have better process support and reporting
  • no more suffering through a free-for-all of whatever folks feel like submitting
  • collect usable data - in the format you need, with the data you need
  • consistent processing of data into your standardized weekly, monthly, or yearly reports
• Excel-based tools
  • interactive, exploratory dashboards - so that you can answer questions and explore your options - using one or more data sources, updatable at the push of a button
  • automate data manipulation tasks - so that you can get reliable results, quickly and using a tool already at your disposal
• Metrics - so that you can understand where you're at and measure progress
  • identify typical ranges (averages can only take you so far)
  • determine baselines
  • incorporate both quantitative (number) and qualitative (word) data together for more robust insights
• Visualization and Reports - so that you can communicate and persuade and inform next steps
  • select the right chart or format for both the type of data you're working and what you're hoping to communicate
  • summarize findings, both qualitative and quantitative, to tell your data story
• Get more out of what you already have
  • combine data from multiple silos so that you can get deeper insights and a bigger picture - silos can be part of a good data governance plan, but they don't have to hold back your analysis
  • review and revise data categorization - including client types, task types, error types, pricing buckets, contact segments/tags, etc. - so that you can expedite analysis & decision-making and optimize operations
  • review your existing data quality so that you can tweak as necessary to collect better data for better process support and insights

How this works:

There's probably a lot you want to do, and you know data can help. Here's our 3-step data project process:

1. We start with a conversation. Let's see if we're a good fit. We start with a no-obligation conversation about your needs and what you're thinking about. As needed, we can explore and define options together.
2. We sign a contract. If we decide to move forward together, you'll receive a contract with the project scope, payment terms, and any other details (e.g., deadlines) we've agreed upon.
3. We do the work. Once the contract is signed, we get to work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I'm not sure what type of data project I need?

We can brainstorm possible solutions during our conversation.

How much does this cost?

There's no charge for the initial conversation. After that, it really depends on your data project. I can't guarantee what I'll quote, but most data projects cost less than $10,000.