Tag: Analytics Moonshot

The Analytics Moonshot of Upskill Training 500K Filipinos… So how is it all connected?

There are undoubtedly many ways to approach a task of this magnitude, but for me it starts with creating more experts.

One of the biggest challenges facing Data Science and Analytics in the Philippines right now is a lack of subject matter experts.

Those who have the background, the experience and the skills to be a senior analyst or data scientist are in short supply.

Over the past years the demand for top DSA has boomed laying bare an unescapable reality, there just aren’t enough of us to go around.

The proliferation of data themed trainings, coupled with the recent launch of several academic efforts to mint experts show us that there are those thinking about how to address the supply problem.

However, my worry is that these efforts are simply too small in scope to significantly alter the trajectory we are currently on.

Even on my own, as a top expert and training resource, I can only directly impact a couple of thousand Filipinos a year.

If my analysis of the current DSA Ecosystem plays out, we, and by we, I mean ALL parties involved in training DSA experts, we will still be far short of the 500,000 DSA job opportunities the Philippines will see by 2022.

To turn things around we need to not just focus on creating DSA experts, but creating DSA experts who can create more DSA experts.

It starts with training trainers who can train DSA topics.

It continues as we influence our leaders, our policy makers and our educators to address the need for experts via the education system.

At the same time we embrace non-traditional ways of learning and we enable self-educated experts.

All the while we train, train, train. Upskill train entry level workers for new careers, train managers to manage using data and build teams who know data, and train executives how to lead their organizations into the digital age.

And our efforts build as we unify the ecosystem to get key players to align into a framework that supports each other.

With that, we then move these efforts nationwide.

Now we are talking. This concentrated effort might just get us to 500,000 Filipino DSA experts, which can mitigate the risk to the BPOs, make us competitive across the Asia-Pacific region and succeed in the digital transformation of an entire country.

And that’s why I call it our Moonshot.

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Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH is a founding member of the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP.PH) and specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders.

Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

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The Scope of the Challenge of our Analytics Moonshot

Sometimes I think it helps to having had a project management experience before I dove into analytics full time. There are a lot of project management methodologies that come in handy when sizing an analytics project. Like coming up with data for a BRD.

A Business Requirements Document (BRD) includes explicit specifications of how data should be used to solve a business problem and how much it should cost depending on what it is expected to achieve.

The main goal is to deliver actionable insights by taking into consideration the data, the time allocated and the needs of the end user/audience.

The BRD must be universally agreed upon by all stakeholders involved.

The author of the BRD must understand the business processes and the key objectives of the project to ensure proper implementation.

The most important element of a BRD is the scope of the project, which includes any restrictions and constraints that need to be considered during the development process.

  1. What is the problem that the organization needs to solve?
  2. What are the restrictions that need to be considered?
  3. Is the time and money invested in solving the problem worthwhile?

So for our analytics moonshot of upskill training half a million Filipinos in the next five years, we need to start with a project management approach. So here are some considerations for our BRD:

  1. The organization (AAP.PH) and its growing legion of partners needs to facilitate the large scale training of 100,000’s of Filipinos with Data Science and Analytics (DSA) skills in the very near future. If we succeed, the economic growth of the Philippines will have a much higher chance of continued to success in a world besieged by changes from new technologies. If we fail, then I see the change of continued economic growth and prosperity being much harder of achieve here in my adopted home. So we start our scope with the audacious goal: upskill train 500,000 Filipinos to be DSA enabled professionals by the year 2022.
  2. There are many restrictions that we need to consider. Not enough experts able and willing to conduct the trainings. Not enough schools able to educate students in DSA skills. Not enough teachers with DSA knowledge. Lack of awareness among decision-makers in government, in business and in academia. The diversity of needs, with skill requirements all across the spectrum from simple reporting using excel to complex data science and predictive analytics, Nationalism and attempts to slow or reverse globalization, most interested parties work independently and there is little history of collaboration, and on and on… The only way to address all of these restrictions is share stories based on data to compel Filipinos to become part of our advocacy. The data behind why we need to get better at data is clear, its the acceptance of what the data tells us and using even more data to guide our decision-making that we need to make clear.
  3. What ever time and money investments made into this advocacy will have amazing benefits. Maybe we can’t save all call center jobs from being threatened by A.I., but we can save a lot. Maybe we can’t turn every school into an engine that produces DSA skills graduates ready to contribute day one, but we can empower a lot. And maybe we can’t help every Filipino business infuse for DSA into their processes, but we an help 1,000’s. The time is now, The money is there. We just need to line things up so that our moonshot succeeds. And when we do, the Philippines will be a world hub for analytics unlike any other nation, primed and ready to deliver world class DSA services both domestically and abroad.

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Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH is a founding member of the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP.PH) and specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

The Analytics Association of the Philippines and our DSA Moonshot

When I think about what we can accomplish with the AAP I think about some pretty big stuff.

Moonshot kind of stuff.

It took more then just a government initiative to put a man on the moon. It took an effort of thousands. And the support of millions.

For the AAP, our moonshot starts with advocacy which comes in the form of doing as much talking about DSA as possible.

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Raising awareness among decision-makers is key. It is no longer an awareness about what is DSA (Data Science & Analytics). People get it.

Now it is an awareness of how Filipinos can use DSA in their  business.

I get excited thinking about how the AAP  can focus our message as thought leaders and look to continue to complement each other in ways that individual companies could never dream of.

We have been actively looking for speaking opportunities to push the message that DSA in the Philippines is of paramount importance.  In many ways, even a matter of national security when you look at the threats of Artificial Intelligence, nationalism and political instability… impact OFWS and BPOs directly. The two biggest source of revenue in the country.

Outside the core group who have come together to get the association off the ground, we can empower the multitude of interested parties to help too spread our advocacy too.

I see us sharing our message of collaboration and the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats across every industry and from all sectors. Big and small, domestic and international, size and scope don’t really matter, we all need more analytics in our businesses.

If we get enough key players on board with the advocacy we will have a legit change to actually upskiil train 500,000 Filipinos to be DSA enabled in the next 5 years. That is the moon shot goal I’m dreaming about.

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Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH is a founding member of the Analytics Council of the Philippines and specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture.

We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.