What Data Analysts Wish Applica/on Developers Knew Alison Stanton @alison985 [email protected] Pronouns: She/Her/Hers #DataAnalystsWish 

#DataAnalystsWish 

Foundational Concepts #DataAnalystsWish 

Reconcilia/on #DataAnalystsWish 

Developers Are Upstream of Data Folk Business •  Priori/zes what gets built Developers •  Build Data •  Reports to Business on what Business wants to know about the build and the resul/ng built thing 

Fictional scenarios based on real life events. Names and details have been changed, merged, and muddled to protect the guilty. 

Run the World, Inc. #DataAnalystsWish 

First Request Jackie and Beyonce (Sales Team) come to Kerry with ques/ons from the client about why the demo they gave a client with the clients data doesn’t match what the client is seeing in their trial instance. #DataAnalystsWish 

The Inves/ga/on Reveals •  It’s visible. •  It’s not reproducible. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Core Problem Missing data. Not enough data was saved. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Detailed Problems ●  Can’t answer people’s ques/ons at all. ●  Can’t make decisions based on facts. ●  There’s no baseline or historical informa/on available for past informa/on forever. #DataAnalystsWish 

Dev. Ques/on How do I know what to save? #DataAnalystsWish 

Answer •  Save the dis/nc/ons for reconcilia/on. •  Think of them as data migra/ons. •  Keep them in one place. #DataAnalystsWish 

Second Request bell hooks (Support Director) and Marian Wright-Edelman (Lawyer) are reques/ng all the /mes we responded to a customer in IL with ques/ons about the guarantee on feature Y. #DataAnalystsWish 

Can't get to the data. #DataAnalystsWish Kerry's Core Problem 

Kerry's Detailed Problems ●  Ge_ng access permissions ●  ETL headaches #DataAnalystsWish 

Dev. Ques/on Where do I save it? #DataAnalystsWish 

Answer •  A place that everyone can get to. •  Data is in one place. Documenta/on is in one place. •  One. Singular. One. #DataAnalystsWish 

Third Request Audre Lorde (CEO) doesn’t get her Monday morning dashboard. She got an error message instead. #DataAnalystsWish 

The Inves/ga/on Reveals •  Kerry's code hasn't changed but the results did. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Core Problem Produc/on iterated and dev team didn’t tell anybody. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Detail Problems ●  Automated reports failed because schema changed. ●  Meanings changed without warning. #DataAnalystsWish 

Fourth Issue Oprah Winfrey (CMO) starts making ad buys because her sales report says we have 50 new customers this month. In actuality we have already surpassed the goal of 500. 

Dev. Ques/on What are the relevant pieces of informa/on about a deploy to communicate to the data team? #DataAnalystsWish 

Answer •  Something is changing •  Why is it changing? •  What is it now and what will it change to be when released? •  When is it changing? •  ASK ME #DataAnalystsWish 

Fiah Request Rosa Parks (Finance Director) is preparing for an investor audit. She’s reques/ng help calcula/ng FIFO on all products. Run the World, Inc. Run the World, Inc. #DataAnalystsWish 

The Inves/ga/on Reveals •  Aren’t saving history or edi_ng diffs. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Core Problem Not enough data to fulfill the request. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Detailed Problem ●  Impossible task #DataAnalystsWish 

Dev. Ques/on What can we do to prevent this in the future? #DataAnalystsWish 

Answer •  created by, created at, updated by, updated at, status •  Separate audit table •  What's the risk? #DataAnalystsWish 

Sixth Request Oprah (CMO) and Angelica (CSO) are figh/ng with Harriet (COO) about who brings in the most business. Every order needs to be afributed to either the sales or marke/ng department. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Core Problem Can’t integrate data across systems. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Detail Problems •  JOINing problems because of a lack of foreign system keys. #DataAnalystsWish 

Dev. Ques/on How do I prepare without over- engineering? #DataAnalystsWish 

Answer •  Store other systems keys whenever possible. •  Understand, maintain, and enforce uniqueness. •  Tools around mapping values. #DataAnalystsWish 

Seventh Request Toni Morrison (Accounts Director) comes over complaining that invoices to clients are being generated incorrectly. Instead of charging your biggest customer $500,000 the invoice was for $5,000. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Core Problem There’s a code bug that is wri/ng inaccurate data. #DataAnalystsWish 

Kerry's Detailed Problems ●  Lots of /me spent playing detec/ve. ●  Time spent communica/ng with developers. ●  Time spent fixing. ●  Time spent communica/ng with stakeholders. #DataAnalystsWish 

Dev. Ques/on How do I minimize organiza/onal pain? #DataAnalystsWish 

Answer •  Fix: Stop the Bleeding. •  Communicate: Time started, /me ended, what was effected and how. •  Prevent: –  Version control with release tags –  documenta/on of soaware (including the bug and how it was fixed) –  great tests –  Code review #DataAnalystsWish 

Dear Applica/on Developers, Please remember: 1) Save as much as possible. Anything you will need to know to re-create a result is relevant. 2) We adore standardized, accessible storage that is properly documented. 3) Please communicate about changes you're making. 4) Save an audit trail when needed and/or in the context of money. 5) Assume everything has to be able to talk to each other eventually. 6) When bugs arise: Fix. Communicate. Prevent. Sincerely, The Data Folk #DataAnalystsWish 

WARNING You will be cri2cized for working to solve the root of the issue. You will probably be cri2cized for talking to people instead of only wri2ng code. #DataAnalystsWish 

#DataAnalystsWish 

#DataAnalystsWish 

Thank You @alison985 [email protected] What Data Analysts Wish Applica/on Developers Knew #DataAnalystsWish