Your Role:

You are the director of data analytics at the consulting firm you are working at. You realize that there are problems with the current business approach of Worldwide Commerce, and you need to come up with insights and alternative solutions.

Management wants a detailed plan for the changes in business to improve revenue and reduce costs, and wants hard numbers and facts to back up any proposal you submit. Remembering your time in ITM 209, you recall that Tableau allowed you to use data analytics to provide high quality analysis of businesses. You decide to use Tableau to investigate the current business operations and to assess the quality impacts of several changes you have in mind. Based upon your findings, you will make a recommendation to management about your specific marketing and operations improvements.

 

Set-Up Instructions for Tableau (You may wish to refer to the Instructions Section of In-Class Practice Activities II):

You have got a sense of how to use Tableau, so let’s preparefor assignment #2 and get oriented for this assignment.

1. Retrieve the Tableau Assignment #2instructions from D2L and read the instructions and the model scenario thoroughly.
2. Use the xlsxdata file from the Assignment #2 folder asa starting point.Please refer to the Getting Started with Tableausection of In-Class Practice Activities II to download this file, save it on your Desktop and P Drive, launch Tableau, and load this file into Tableau to prepare for Assignment #2.
3. You will be using the knowledge gained and the steps we did in In-Class Practice Activities II to complete Assignment #2.

 

Describing Tableau Results in an Executive Memo

 

The results from your analysis will be summarized in an executive memo.Be sure to include the results from each question within your memo. You should lead the executive through a “story” of how you approached the analysis using Tableau toexplain your findings. You are leading your executive through the same path of discovery that you used in answering all of the business questions. Be sure to include the dashboard into the executive memo and refer to the dashboard in your memo. Encourage your executive to view the Tableau worksheet results and graphs and encourage your executive to actually utilize the Tableau dashboard and dashboard filter within your memo. Here are a few key points to guide you with your memo:

• After you have completed the business analytics and answered the analysis questions, what insights can you share regarding the use of Tableau for data analytics?
• You will need to write an executive memo to the management explaining your analysis using Tableau.Be sure to include the Tableau dashboardgraphs/figures noted above in your executive memo.
• These questions may help you to write a better memo
  1. Who will be reading your memo? Do they really know the process, or do you need to help explain it (at a higher level)?
  2. What should you say about the analysis in Assignment #2 so that your description provides more information than can be obtained by simply reading the numbers in the database?
  3. What are your recommendations and what is your argument on why your recommendation will create the most value?
• The following outline may be useful for your executive memo:

1. Background Information
2. Results Using Tableau (be sure to include results from Assignment #2). Include the requested Tableau dashboard graphs & figures.Describe the dashboard figure in your memo and encourage the executive to “experiment” with the dashboard using the Tableau file itself.
3. Be sure to reference the Assignment #2 Solutions to all questions in your analysis and encourage your executive to view the Tableau results in the six worksheets.
4. Explain all results from the questions in your memo and perform additional analysis using Tableau that you think would be useful.
5. Summary of Findings and Recommendations.

• Use the following Memo Template:

 

MEMO TEMPLATE

(This is a required template for your memo)

 

Date:Oct31/ Nov 1, 2018

TO:CMO

Subject:Recommendations based onPerformance Data Analytics Results for Worldwide Commerce

 

ADD YOUR CONTENT HERE

 

Your Name

Director of Data Analytics

 

Submitting Your Assignment:

• Once your Tableau Workbook has been completed, save the file as a Tableau Packaged Workbook. Go to File > Save As.  Change the default File Type to “Tableau Packaged Workbook (*.twbx)” by using the dropdown menu.
• Submit: A “TableauPackaged Workbook”(.twbx) that you used to perform the analysis which includes all five Tableau worksheets and the Tableau Dashboard.Submit the file to your TA’s dropbox on D2L.

 

• Submit: An “executive memo” (in the form of a three-pageword document) describing the context of your analysis with Tableau solutions, your interpretation and evaluation of the solution results, and your corresponding conclusions and recommendations based on your evaluation. Page three of your memo will be your Tableau Dashboard. Submit the document to your TA’s dropbox on D2L.

 

Grading for Assignment #2 will be based on:

• Correct answers of ALL questions, including the Tableau dashboard.
• Quality of writing and grammar.
• Discussion and rationale for recommendations using the results from Assignment #2 questions.
• Reasoning behind conclusion.
• Academic Integrity

 

Points breakdown	Grading Requirements
10 points	Correct & complete Tableau file submittal
35 points	Correct solution results to Assignment #2 questions, including the Tableau dashboard
30 points	Reasoning within Memo Ÿ Introduction and Context Setup Ÿ Recommendation on what to do with your analysis results (reasoning behind the recommendation) Ÿ Conclusion
20 points	Memo quality Ÿ Narratives: Interpreting your results Ÿ Quality of writing

 

 

Please refer to page 1 of the ITM 209 Syllabus for the statement on Academic Integrity and Honor Code. Your submission to your TA’s dropbox implies that you adhered to these integrity guidelines.