How Are We Managing? Data Teams Management IRL

The title “Data Scientist” has been in use for 15 years now. We have been attending PyData conferences for over 10 years as well. The hype around data science and AI seems higher than ever before. But How are we managing?

Whether you work in a data team, or work with some of us, you might be interested to learn about what makes us tick, what makes us great colleagues, and yes, even what makes us challenging to work with 😉.

Transcript

1. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Noa Tamir, April 18th 2023, PyConDE & PyData Berlin How Are We Managing? Data Teams Management IRL
2. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social The “Data Scientist” title has been in use for 15 years now.
3. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Thomas H. Davenport and DJ Patil, HBR Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century
4. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Thomas H. Davenport and DJ Patil, HBR Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century
5. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Cassie Kozyrkov, Medium Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 22nd Century
6. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Almost everyone wants to build ML products, offer AI services, or be a Data Scientist
8. Relative popularity of Google search terms worlwide (Last 12 months) 0 25 50 75 100 Week 2022-05-08 06-05 07-03 07-31 08-28 09-25 10-23 11-20 12-18 2023-01-15 02-12 03-12 2023-04-09 data science AI GPT
9. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Managing a new and rapidly changing business function is not easy
10. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Chapter 1: a shared understanding Chapter 3: Learning Forwards Chapter 2: Some Challenges Cliffhanger Plot Twist Management
11. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social What is Data Teams Management?
12. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social psst, it’s not just meetings !
15. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Management is a broad domain
16. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Essentially, it’s about how we organize to achieve goals
17. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social You may have heard of the 3 Ps of Management
18. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social People, Processes, Platforms
19. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social A lot of our work is similar to other domains
20. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social But some of our work isn’t "
21. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Some managers are doing great work and sharing their know-how
22. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Some managers are doing great work and sharing their know-how
23. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social How are we really managing?
24. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Let’s get into my first “problem”
25. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social What does it mean to be a data scientist?
27. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Why is data scientist different than developer, or designer?
28. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Data driven work is probabilistic
29. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Oh, and that it is often managed differently
30. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social But, why?
31. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Well, it depends…
32. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Well, it depends…
33. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social The titles-zoo is a symptom, but it has adverse effects beyond hiring
34. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Job satisfaction, and career development
35. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Generalist vs. Specialist
36. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Data Team Lead
37. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social People Manager Technical Manager Product Manager
38. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social People Manager Technical Manager Product Manager
39. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Data consumers & generators #
40. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Processes and structure will change with scale and maturity.
41. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social One more thing.
42. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Dear Data Scientists
43. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Business Value. Efficiency. Communication.
44. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social What did I skip?
45. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Basic people Management.
46. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Basic people Management.
47. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social What can we learn from all of this?
48. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social Assigning data roles is hard
49. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social A shared understanding, and definitions of ready are vital
50. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social code quality is your friend
51. /in/noatamir @noatamir@chaos.social We’re all learning here
52. Thank you And to all who provided me with input, feedback, and support. And to those who shaped my experience, mentored, and sponsored me throughout the years. I hope everyone experiences such kindness and generosity in their career. CJ Jenkins, Elisabeth Reitmayr, Ellen König, Gulinuer Yimingjiang,
 Hannah Bohle, Inessa Pawson, Jakob Graff, Jessica Greene, 
 Katarzyna Leszek, Katherina Rasch, Laszlo Sragner, Maren Westermann, Mattias Andersson, Mor Sondak, Rosona Eldred, Sarah Schulz, 
 Stefan Gudmundsson, Stephen Cunningham, Tereza Iofciu, 
 and countless others hello@noatamir.com