Website Analytics – Finally Done!

Man! Have i learned a lot! Terms such as tribal experience, trilogy & 10/90 rule are now a part of my quiver. The book is really very, very good.  For the novice (such as moi), it was easy to understand. Avinash is deeply rooted in the Analyti

Image by suzukik via Flickr

cs with a strong stir of Google. Great comparisons between Ominiture, GA, etc.  My book is full of highlights that i must revisit.

If you’re not sure of which book will give you an overview of website analytics, using real language, you owe it to your career to check out Web Analytics

Whew! Now it’s time to enjoy the Mardi Gras as only St. Louis can.

Web Analytics – My thoughts

Web Analytics by Avinash Kaushik

About 5 chapters ago, i began reading Web Analytics. Overall, i am finding value in this book. I like the one hour a day regimen. It’s a good marker but you never finish a chapter. This method does give you an opportunity to relish and process the information. Avinash provides a fresh angle in approaching the complexity surrounding data collection (customer complexity vs organizational complexity). This really helps to mentally categorize the large volumes of data involved.

Another good point is that he provides you with a clear cut method to website analysis. I get so tired of reading pros-n-cons about which website analysis tools. Avinash says, in so many words, use this. I can appreciate that.

Ya gotta start somewhere.

Chapter 5 (Web Analytics Fundamentals) really begins to dig into the crux of things. Areas such as choices between Web logs or Java scripts tags and tool choice are covered and answered.

Just that fact that i’m still reading this book is a delight in itself.

Cant wait for the next hour tomorrow

See ya around

To use or not to use? Consider Change……

Hmmm. I just read an article about the 10 most annoying phrases pushed from the Oxford Team.  To shorten the reading curve, I posted the list below;

Image via Wikipedia

1 – At the end of the day
2 – Fairly unique
3 – I personally
4 – At this moment in time
5 – With all due respect
6 – Absolutely
7 – It’s a nightmare
8 – Shouldn’t of
9 – 24/7
10 – It’s not rocket science

Now, I’ve been guilty of using several, several of these words (particularly 5 and 6). But, in all fairness, I’ve heard all of these from past and present clients.

As consultants, do we need to change our verbage or just expand it?

One one hand, using this overused words can move clients into a comfortable, conversational mood. They serve as connectors; moving clients to committment. These connectors then become conduits of revenue generation.

One the other hand, they can also cause a client to go offline;moving them into  “more of the same” mode. They’ve heard it already. Revenue doors begin to close.  Now you sitting there wasting your time. You’re now a carbon copy of the last meeting.

They’re looking for something different or, at least, sounds different.

Our president elect has made it very clear that words matter.  In these hard economic times, there are a lot of consultants out there. More so than ever, it has become important that consultants stand out from the crowd; developing their own sense of style and presence.

Yep, I’m talking about personal branding.

I’ve challenged myself to augment these annoying phrases with substitutes. Notice I said augment versus replace.  I think it’s important that these phrases are retained and put into play on an as needed basis rather than 24/7 (Doh!).

We as consultants need to maintain a level of nimbleness. Not because our clients expect it; they demand it.

I’ll leave you with this thought.

Gathering User Requirements Using Logic From The Obama Camp

Fall 2008 - St. Louis Missouri

Ahhhhh the feelings of fall. One of my most favorite times of the year; even the leaf raking. Well, earlier today, i sat and watched Chris Wallace (fox news sunday); as he interviewed the elusive David Plouffe ( Obama camp). When Chris asked David “What was your strategic insight for the general election?” David then stated “we find ourselves two days out from the election with a lot of different wayts to get to 270 electoral votes.” Clearly, having more than one way to reach the ultimate goal is less stressful and shows better leverage of company resources. This quote got my business analysis juices to going; ultimately leading to the following question;

As an Business Analyst, do you have more than one way to connect with your users?

Depending on the stakes, users can make or brake the project. Case in point, my most recent project involved a legacy user group. Veteran employees with 30+ years. Keepers of all inner workings of the department. These union-protected users knew their self worth and value to the department; nothing could be done without their blessing. The usual frontal attack; stating how helping would increase job security did not work. Why would it? So the question becomes…

What’s another way to gain buy-in from a group of users who maybe near retirement, have nothing to lose and could care less professionally about the companies future?

Try food with a side helping of frank honesty.

Employees listening to a spiel

I tell you, after my frontal approach fell on deaf ears, at the next meeting i brought pizza and a different spiel. I sat down, rolled up my sleeves and ate pizza with the masses. I then explained, between bites, how i knew they didn’t have to help but, by helping, they would help ensure the ongoing viability of the company for their future significants (children, wives, husbands, partners, etc) that were not about to retire. By eating a little humble pie i was able to move a solid mountain. Of course there wre those that hated the company and hated feelings of being bought with food. But most understood and appreciated the honesty and straight talk. It opened doors that every academic class in organizational behavior, psychology and change management did not and would not.

So try a little food and frank honesty. By the time people reach the age of retirement, they know “game” when they hear it; but they also know straight up honesty.

Skills So Soft…..

As business analyst, we are constantly in a state of learning. Whether its conferences, webinars or blogging, we are forever surfing the curve of learning. I’m wondering how many of my fellow teammates give equal time to bettering our soft skills?  Hmmm

Defintion

Soft Skills are definied as the “are personal attributes that enhance an individual’s interactions, job performance and career prospects. (SearchCIO).” It’s the way we comment and react; our body language. Having a good soft skill set will not only enhance your hard skills. Sometimes they’ll even take you farther.

How do you better your soft skills? Here’s a suggestion.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Involve yourself in diverse conversations. This means being around diverse people. With diversity comes variety. You’ll learn how to say the same thing in different ways. Imagine how much easier it will be to talk to users, programmers, c-level and the kids! Expect to be uncomfortable as you push out of your box, but believe me its worth it.

So strike up a conversation with that barista at Starbucks, that fellow gym member or that gruff teammate that you dread. Nothing major; just exchange a few safe subjects; weather, light politics, paris hilton, etc. I promise you that the more you immerse yourself in uncomfortable situations; the less you will have.

Now you’re one step closer to easier deliveries. It comes in handy when you’re negotiating with a new client, justifying a pay raise or listening to the rantings of a rabid project manager.

Good luck and happy Halloween!!!

Website Creation

You would think that having a masters in information systems and a minor in E-commerce, would afford me the ability to crank out a mega website right? Well, academia gives you insights but it doesnt give you time. Granted, i could take the time to refresh myself in website creation (html, css, ajax, spry, etc) but i’ve learned this in my day2day life’s travels.

Time is money.

The time that i spend enjoying the learning curve is time wasted from my chosen career; business & website analysis. With that in mind, i opted use the aggregating powers of web 2.0 to get a site up-n-going without selling my 5 acres and the mule.

I found a website that sells flash templates called flashden where i was able to find a snazzy enough website for $20. Here take a

All the pictures were there. It was just a matter of changing the wordage (which is not the harde

Image via Wikipedia

st thing to do in Dreamweaver CS3) and then upload to my ISP (Internet Service Provider).  Of course it took more than a few nanoseconds but there’s a takeaway here.

Of course, everything has caveats. One problem is that the site is all flash, you lose a certain percentage of your search engine indexing capability. For me, that just means that i have to supplement it with more blogging, article marketing and social networking.

That’s okay. I have time to do it; I’ll just take the time away from website creation

Sometimes it cheaper and more efficient to outsource your needs. Whenever you are challenged with adding a new process; assess how much time it will cost you in terms of learning, making mistakes, correction & frustration. All of this adds up to time taken away from making money

Just my thoughts.

Using web 2.0 to install a garage door

Very recently, i had to do what most homeowners have to do from time to time; replace the garage door. Rather than following the usual path;

• Go to Home Depot or Lowes
• Pay for the garage door ($500+)
• Pay to have it installed (another $400)

I decided to use some of my learned abilities and resources surrounding web 2.0.

1. Create a web page. I done this using my yahoo geocities account. The price was $0.00 and rampup time was less than 30 minutes.

2. I took a picture of my existing garage door using the camera on my blackberry curve

3. Created a youtube account. The price was $0.00 and rampup time was less than 15 minutes.

4. Created a short video explaining what i needed done using my flip video recorder. Even with retakes, it took less than 5 minutes

5. Uploaded the picture to my newly created webpage; along with my email address for contact

6. Uploaded my video to you tube along with my email address for contact

7. Advertised my request for door installation using Craiglist. I stated that the price was negotiable

Sat back and waited. Within an hour, i checked youtube and found out that 20 people had already looked at the video. I began to receive quotes ranging from $100 – $300. After doing some investigative work, i settled on one for 200 bucks! I was able to save myself at least $200!!!!

Morale to the story;

Using web 2.0 technologies (craigslist, youtube, geocities) i was able to save myself some money!

Next step; getting the roof reshingled…

My Thoughts > Clarence Thomas

Hmm. Finally decided to do some recreational reading (if that’s what you want to call it) by picking up my reading of “Supreme Discomfort“. Not sure why i picked up this little ditty. I think it’s because this brother has received so much bad press, i had to find out for myself how much of it was fact or fiction. So far, i’m getting the impression that he was really harassed for not following the black norms as a child and found some sort of solace in the white community. Granted this is not an autobiography;

and I’ve only on the 4th chapter, but, i do see some glimpses that can support his apparent white stance in life and logic. So far i’m not disappointed. I can certainly understand what its like to be ostracized by your own race because you have chosen alternative views. Some would cave-in and reconnect in an effort not to feel so “different” when viewed by one’s own race. I’m not that sort of person and, from what I’ve read thus far, neither is Clarence Thomas. Granted, i don’t know enough about him to make a educated summation but this is my logic and I’m sticking with it.
It’s also fair to mention that, while i do not agree with some of his stances, i do agree with moving against the grain and weathering any storm that results. It promotes a sense of self and confidence in knowing that you have made your choices and are willing to accept all that happens as a result (good or bad).

Just my thoughts