Creating a Data-Driven Culture

Metrics, Data, Business Insights, Qualitative Interviewing

Overview

In addition to supporting Taproot Plus, a two-sided marketplace connecting nonprofits with skilled professionals for pro bono support, our Program Operations team is responsible for managing Taproot Foundation’s data and internal tools.

The Problem

Data quality issues in our online program data were creating fragmentation in teams’ ability to access and leverage insights. I recognized the need for:

  1. To identify and elevate internal KPIs for objective evidence of progress toward strategic objectives and an analytical basis for decision-making
  2. A comprehensive data quality and integrity review across the organization

Process

My first step was to conduct user interviews with key internal stakeholders to better understand the KPIs teams were currently using as well as how frequently they were tracking them. Surfacing data quality issues, I escalated my findings and proposed solutions to our COO and CEO, gained buy-in, and took ownership of the significantly expanded project scope from end-to-end.

The following questions emerged:

  • How might we evaluate the quality of our data and identify key areas for improvement?
  • How might we combine, clean, shape, and operationalize data flows to empower teams with new questions and trend-spotting?
  • How might we elevate the principles of a data and feedback-driven culture across the organization?

My next step was to collaborate internally with teams to reassess their KPIs using the HEART framework and convert tedious Excel reports into real-time, SQL-based dashboards. This included partnering with team leads to evaluate the state of their current data quality on key measures: completeness, validity, accuracy, consistency, timeliness, and integrity. These six pillars added clarity for us to understand existing problems in order to prioritize solutions based on impact and feasibility.

The Solution

Based on insights from the discovery phase, I helped identify infrastructure improvements and break down data silos across teams through knowledge-sharing and documentation, including best practices. Moreover, I ensured this work will be adopted org-wide via full integration into the organization’s onboarding and team workflows.

Outcomes

The project was of high importance as it directly impacted Taproot’s ability to demonstrate progress toward our mission, our bottom line as a nonprofit. The work has led to higher quality, more trustworthy data that drives more accurate, timely and effective analysis across the organization. It has also reduced time for all teams by eliminating repetitive downloads and time spent creating reports in favor of intuitive, real-time dashboards.