Category Archives: basics

Stopping your head from spinning

by leah

head spinning?

head spinning?

When I think about measurement I get excited. Maybe that’s just me, but you’re missing out if you don’t feel at least a tiny thrill when you think about the possibilities for your organization.

A moment after my initial excitement my head starts to spin as I think of how many different things I could potentially look at and how much information I need to have available and I start to feel stuck in a Catch-22.

Internal voice 1: “I can’t know how my audience would feel about X if I don’t have data on X already available!” Continue reading …

Visiting the mother ship

by leah

Northwestern Sept 2012Though I’ve long socialized and worked online, I am for the first time in my life enrolled in a school program that is completely online. This has been more difficult for me than I imagined it would be when I first enrolled in the Predictive Analytics program at Northwestern. After all, in the time I was at Blackbaud I worked easily with clients and co-workers hundreds of miles away, many of whom I never met face to face.

I jumped at the chance to attend the 2-day September open house that Northwestern hosted for students in four online MS programs: Predictive Analytics, Medical Informatics, Information Systems, and Public Policy & Administration. Having the chance to meet other students face to face, hear from faculty, and see presentations from people working in the field was much appreciated.

The highlight for me was a talk by Bill Franks, author of Taming the Big Data Tidal Wave, who Continue reading …