The story

Good reporting is essential for effective decision support in a complex and dynamic business environment.

What this means for the work

Data-driven management involves basing decisions on concrete data to make more confident and informed choices.

Digitalization 2.0 focuses on analyzing and leveraging data from digitized processes to gain better insights.

Independent research places the subject in a wider context than the tool itself. In March 2023, Forrester identified data accessibility, availability and readiness as persistent barriers to turning analytics into decisions. A report or platform therefore has to be assessed together with definitions, ownership and working practices.

Gartner’s April 2024 trends highlighted trust in data as a central challenge for data and analytics leaders. Faster visualisation or more self-service creates value only when users understand where figures come from and when they can be used.

Management should agree on data quality, access, common metric definitions and responsibility for corrections. The effect can be measured as less manual work, shorter time from question to answer, or fewer disputes about the underlying figures.

Sources and perspectives

Primary source: Fra data til beslutning: Ledelsens krav til innsikt og analyse

Forrester: The Key To Insights-Driven Decisions Is Curiosity Velocity (8 March 2023)

Gartner: Top Trends in Data and Analytics for 2024 (25 April 2024)

Practical follow-up

A metric becomes more useful when managers can connect it to the work behind the result. Data recording and an understanding of the factors influencing performance were therefore central to the conversation. They provide a basis for discussing what the organisation should change.

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