Analytics
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Recently, I was at a client’s office and asked to work with an analyst currently using Excel to generate a weekly report. The process had 3 input sources, it used multiple v-lookup formulas and created metrics for weekly, monthly (period) and yearly weighted averages. At the end of our time together, we had reduced an hour long process down to a mere 6 seconds, During our initial consultation I had introduced him to my favorite Starbucks drink, a breve latte, and to my favorite analytic tool; Alteryx! He thanked me for both introductions and will likely be coming back to purchase licenses for himself and for his team.
With our first exercise we estimated his annual savings of 52 hours of work. The run-time was dramatically reduced and the process was also documented and shareable across his team. His focus now is on creating new use cases for us to review. “I’ve been using a typewriter for all these years and now you show me a word processor! How many other tools have been hidden from me?”
This use case was fairly straight forward, but had a few data twists to keep me on my toes. Average calculations were highly customized with products categorized into multiple groupings. These groupings were used to create weighted averages based upon the composition of data values (e.g. SKU or Plant).
Good news travels fast, but Alteryx travels faster. With the additional functionality and a more complete end-state, the new Alteryx process easily outperformed the legacy process. My next step is to help him quantify the benefits to his employer. When I told him how quickly the data could be integrated into Tableau, the meeting was over. Automated integration into published Tableau workbooks was more than his heart could take (thanks to a good dose of caffeine and Alteryx). Analytic independence brings quick rewards and paybacks that consistently demonstrate the range of value that can be achieved with a $3,995 software license.
Keys to a successful Alteryx Use Case:
- Create Success Criteria early in the engagement.In this case it was creating a repeatable and well documented process for generating a weekly report.
- Have ready access to data. Use of production data allowed us to directly compare our results to the legacy process. Note however, legacy processes are not always accurate.
- Visualize the solution to reflect the requirements of the use case.Creating an easy to follow workflow that is logically organized instills confidence.
- Create client ownership of the solution.Knowledge that it doesn’t require an Alteryx ACE to create or maintain the workflow is important.
CEO & Founder, Marquee Crew
Marquee Crew represents Alteryx professionals delivering success to their partners and clients. Mark is a certified Alteryx partner with 10 years of hands-on Alteryx experience in quickly delivering business value in data blending, spatial and predictive analytics. He is also one of the newly appointed Alteryx ACE.
