This is a difficult post to write. From a personal perspective, I really struggle with this topic. In my daily work, I assist organizations with enabling a self service data strategy. Collaborating together, we spend hours working to find the right path that matches the needs and goals of the organization with the realities of the organization. I am a huge advocate for self service analytics and believe in it. Because of this, I want to be ridiculously helpful with everyone I encounter.
Sadly, I run into people on a regular basis that want “a little help” to perform some analysis with Power BI or Excel. The problem with this is that the ask is quite complicated. The reality of my situation is that I can make the ask happen quickly. I can spend an hour or two on a report and it will look beautiful. Having worked with Power BI for almost ten years, I have a pile of experience to make it happen efficiently. But the requestor wants me to help them build it themselves. This takes three to five times longer because I am guiding someone through the process. And I am all for doing this because it helps enable another person to use Power BI or Excel.
While I am all for helping people, I find that their interest in learning about these tools is often non-existent. They have a goal in mind that needs to be completed and they think Power BI or Excel is an easy way out. It is a self service analytics tool, so it should be easy! And yet they find the opposite. Without taking taking the time to understand the basics, they end up lost.
What makes this hard for myself and others is that it cheapens the skills we possess as data professionals. Data is not easy. Personally, I find this approach to be a little insulting. So how do we fix this problem?
Setting Expectations for Self Service Analytics
I started responding to every request I receive with clear expectations around self service analytics. I explain the challenges and skills they need to possess before they embark on such a project. Sometimes this scares them off, but it is reasonable way to find alignment.
I often share the basics they will need to learn to be successful. I start with understanding data modeling. We start by talking about things like building a star schema, using a date table, and managing relationships. Sometimes a flat table from Excel or SharePoint is fine, but other times they want more depth and dimension to their reports. Without this in place, they will never achieve their goal.
Next, we discuss how to build out measures. Like every beginner, including myself at one time, they rely on implicit measures. These measures often provide basic aggregations and get the job done. However, they often ask for something more complex. They need to perform time based analysis or use filtering. They are going to need to learn how to write DAX expressions for explicit measures.
Lastly, we will discuss what report design looks like. Often, I have a theme file or template for the organization available, so this helps with branding. But it is important to address best practices with data visualizations. This avoids confusion and provides a better consumer experience.
Assign Some Homework
With expectations set, it is time to assign some homework. Self service analytics requires some investment. But before helping anyone, I assign some basic training. The concept is simple – if someone does not know the basics, they are never going to understand the advanced topics.
Microsoft Learn is my go to for training others around the basics of Power BI. Because it is free, the only real investment is time. It covers a lot of the basics of the tool and allows me to focus on the more advanced topics. I, just like you, need to protect my time. The more I can push to other resources, the easier it is for me to stay focused on my work.
There are two benefits from using this method. First, I can ask for a badge validating that they completed the training. However, I like that this method helps gauge the interest of someone who is asking for help. The course linked above takes about three hours to complete. If they cannot invest three hours in themselves, then why should you invest three hours in them? The answer to that question is up to you, but it sets expectations for the relationship you will encounter through this engagement.
Create Working Sessions
At this point, if they have completed their homework, I recommend creating working sessions to set boundaries. I start with setting up 45 minute sessions with a clear agenda. Ideally, a weekly working session is best. Naturally, you might need to schedule more frequent sessions based upon the business requirements. It is important that you agree upon the cadence to avoid conflict in the future.
For each working session, start with a recap of the previous session. Review the previous topic and any progress made since you last met. Then, work through the assigned topic for the current week. Make sure it is recorded so it can be referenced afterwards. Lastly, decide what the topic of the next working session. This helps keep future sessions focused and your timeline compact.
I recommend that you continue assigning homework. For example, if you have an upcoming working session that will focus on a particular DAX statement, provide resources ahead of time. If you have a measure that needs to use the SWITCH() function, send them to an article like this one to help them understand the concept ahead of time. You can also assign work to be completed in their report before the next session to streamline your working sessions.
As a rule of thumb, I work to keep sessions scheduled. An ad-hoc working session often ends up being a mess. You also have other deliverables and expectations from your leadership that could get in the way. If someone needs time with me between sessions, I generally ask them to schedule it. I feel like the “Can we hop on a quick call? I have a quick question!” conversation always comes at the most inopportune time. Setting these boundaries goes a long way to ensuring you can maintain a balance in your workday.
Provide Some Learning
It never hurts to provide additional learning and training. There are several sources out there. There are several books and sites out there to help. If you need help with Power Query, you can check out my book as an option to assist. If it is with DAX, I recommend The Definitive Guide to DAX by Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari. Lastly, you can suggest Now You See It by Stephen Few if they need help with data visualization.
At some point, you they will need to embrace self service analytics on their own. By providing materials, they can be focused on their learning and be able to sustain their own solutions. These resources will provide assistance both during your working sessions and in the future.
If self service analytics is a goal, investment in learning is key. I see customers who continue to struggle with this because they do not invest in training and learning. When you are working with an individual, at some point they will need to invest more in themselves to achieve that goal. If you do not help them head down that path, you will be stuck helping them forever.
Conclusion
I love helping people discover the world of self service analytics! I hope you are too! Just make sure you help others in a sustainable manner. These types of relationships are good to have, but you need to manage them well. Be ridiculously helpful – just take care of yourself as well!
Have you encountered this situation? Do you struggle with people who think self service analytics is easy? If so, tell me about it in the comments below!