How to master data-driven decision making

What is data-driven decision making? 

Data-driven decision making, sometimes referred to as DDDM, is the process of collating data, transforming it into insights, then using it to validate a business decision before you take action. For example, financial data such as cash flow statements and balance sheets can help you recognise potential risks and make investment decisions accordingly.  

Benefits of data-driven decisions

The main advantage of using data for making decisions is that it can inform you on setting actionable and measurable goals that are aligned with your company’s mission and your customers’ needs – this is key for long-term success. 

Using data in the decision-making process removes subjective elements, making it easier for employees to get on board with a strategy without worrying too much about it being the wrong decision. You can ensure your business decisions are justified when they’re backed by data, facts, or patterns, rather than based on gut feeling or intuition, which can be biased. 

The objective nature of data-driven insights allows everyone in your organisation to be on the same page, working towards the same goals and KPIs. It ensures a confident and proactive approach to decision making, which leads to boosted productivity and cohesion across your organisation. 

Steps to take in the data-driven decision-making process 

It’s important to break down the process of DDDM into actionable steps:

1. Define the business objective or goal you want to achieve
2. Collect the data you will use to inform your decision
3. Organise the data on a dashboard – visualising it helps to spot trends 
4. Analyse the data 
5. Draw a conclusion and make your decision 

By following these key steps, you can ensure that data is involved at every stage in the decision-making process. 

Technology you need for DDDM

The potential of DDDM is growing rapidly, thanks to technological advancements which simplify the process for you. Business intelligence software is particularly useful when it comes to data visualisation and reporting. It can help you understand trends in your workforce, predict outcomes, and make strategic decisions accordingly. 

For example, Microsoft Power BI is a market-leading reporting tool that provides a suite of dashboards and the ability to share information across your business in real-time. It removes data silos while delivering visualisation and analysis of data for detailed reporting. By automating processes, it saves you time and does the hard work for you when it comes to data analysis and business analytics. 

Challenges of data-driven decision making

Ensuring data quality and accuracy is necessary when using data to make decisions. Poor data quality has a damaging effect on every stage of your decision-making process; it leads to inaccuracies in your analysis which can cause you to make misguided decisions. You must also ensure to implement data encryption and strong access controls as security measures.

Another obstacle to successful data-informed decision making is data illiteracy within your business. If you identify a knowledge gap among your workforce, you may need to train your employees on how to work with and interpret data. Ultimately, data-driven decisions can only be made if you build a data-driven workplace culture that encourages employees to think strategically and critically about data.

Final considerations 

Using data to your advantage is the key to success when making business decisions and driving sustainable growth in your organisation. A data analytics tool is just one piece of the puzzle; DDDM can only happen in your organisation if you foster a data-driven mindset among your employees. This way, you can expect to see long-term, tangible results from the data-driven business decisions you make. 

If you’d like to learn more about how analytics can enhance a range of functions, check out our latest analytics report.