Christopher J. West, PhD Practicum Manager Institute for Advanced Analytics North Carolina State University

The Challenges Of Integrating Industry Sponsored Data

Analytics Projects Into Graduate Education For Professionals

NC State's Institute For Advanced Analytics Experiences And Lessons Learned

Business Risk meets Higher Ed

Senior Marketing Research Analyst

Job Description

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Marketing Research Analyst for our Business Analysis division to develop and present insightful and innovative solutions for a top fast moving consumer goods manufacturer located in the Richmond, VA area. The selected candidate will train at MSA’s headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA for a period of three to six months. After which, the selected candidate will begin working on-site at the client location on a full-time basis, with occasional trips back to Pittsburgh to meet with the core team.

The successful candidate will become an integral part of the client’s analytics group, forging successful client relationships as well as providing value-adding business insights. The new hire will also proactively seek additional business opportunities for MSA to provide to the client. Qualified candidates must possess an analytical background coupled with strong business acumen. Additionally, solid communications skills are required for articulating business recommendations based on quantitative modeling and techniques. The candidate will be required to utilize statistical packages such as SAS and SPSS to manipulate and integrate all germane data sources, as well as perform the statistical modeling.

Required Skills

• Requires BS/BA in quantitative business, math, statistics, economics or equivalent experience • MBA degree or MS in Statistics may substitute for one year of experience • Minimum three years related experience • Knowledge of statistics, mathematics and marketing required; business exposure highly desirable • The person must be knowledgeable of different quantitative research techniques and familiarity with various data sources preferred • High level of comfort and skill with statistical packages (knowledge of SAS desirable) and Microsoft Office products essential • Ability to translate analytical results to business implications is essential • Previous experience with project management and leading small project teams • Ability to effectively interact with clients • Excellent written and oral communication skills • Good interpersonal and team skills • Ability to multi-task is essential

New Employees

Data Driven Results

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New Employees

Data Driven Results

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New Employees

Data Driven Results

Communication

Practical

Teamwork

Analytical Techniques

Computing

Practicum - The Vision “A team-based learning experience that gives the student the opportunity to accomplish real-world analytics projects using data from sponsoring organizations.” 1. Soft-skills instructional content…and reflection 2. Learn by doing…and reflecting 3. A real-world project with deliverables for a customer

“At the core of the curriculum…”

The Nature of The Projects •  A 4-5 person team… •  …coached by IAA staff…

•  …under signed Non-Disclosure Agreement •  …from September to April •  The Data: ~50M-2TB*, Messy/Clean, Structured/

Unstructured, Nominal to Ratio, Text… •  Work Pace Avg*: 8-10 hrs/student/week

•  Deliverables: Report + Presentation + Other

•  Free

The Practicum Project Timeline

~5/1: Director’s call for proposals

~7/1: Proposal submission deadline

~8/31: Project selection announced*

~8/15 Team composition announced*

pre-solicitation marketing

proposal development

May June July August

student workload

primer boot camp fall + initial practicum

forming

The Practicum Project Timeline

~9/1: NDAs signed

~9/15: Data transfer complete*

~12/15: Midterm Review*

~10/1 Kickoff Meeting*

forming storming norming performing Sep Oct Nov Dec

fall + increased practicum

exploration understanding (re-)scoping data posturing

student workload

The Practicum Project Timeline

~3/15: Draft deliverable submissions

~4/10 – 5/1: Iterative final presentations: Coaching staff, Director, Sponsor

performing reporting Jan Feb Mar Apr

data posturing execution deliverables graduation

student workload job interviews

+ practicum

winter + practicum

winter + practicum

Practicum Project 8-months, 4-5 Students, No Fee, Confidential, Industry Standard Tools, Executive Presentation, Report, +, +, ….

Business Risk meets Higher Ed

The Sponsor: Proposal + Communication

The Data: Analysis

The Toolbox & Team:

Scope Development and Sources of Risk

The Challenges Proposal solicitation/development/selection Expectations management for sponsor Confidentiality agreements Data transfer and management Team allocation

Scope development Project management and milestone reviews Coaching vs. Advising (who owns/is-the-face-of the project) Deliverables development The people

Proposals The Marketing Funnel Iterative Development vs. Cold at Deadline Danger Areas (startups, top priorities, cheap consultant, sponsor maturity, do they know their data) Initial Idea >> Formal Proposal

•  Bottomline Value •  3 to 5 Business Objectives •  Describe the Data

Lawyers and IT The Form – online and short

The Sponsor

Sponsor Maturity – hoping for the sweet spot Do they know their data Expectations management – setting the sponsor up for success A handshake vs. a formal consultancy contract

Confidentiality Agreements

Free helps Its about student experience so give the sponsor the product No non-compete clauses Negotiation on language limited

Timely Data Transfer – the #1 source of risk to educational value

Commit to timeline in the proposal Commit them to timeline at acceptance Connect them to your IT and watch closely Cancel early and have a solid backup

The Teams Getting to know the students The ideal team leader profile Matching leads to projects The strong follower The higher end technical/programming talent Gender, nationality, student domain knowledge, maturity, student preference _____________________________ The Free Rider, the Dominator, and the Quiet One >>> Peer Feedback (the secret)

The Data Getting/developing the data dictionary Mergers and Joins Discovering Personally Identifiable Information Security When the data won’t support the proposed objectives

The Team

The Scope

Project Management and Milestones

Coaching vs. Advising

The Deliverables

The People

IAA Information • Want to sponsor a project? Its free, its confidential, and we use industry standard software… • Bottomline impact, 3-5 objectives, data description

• Website: • http://analytics.ncsu.edu/

• Contact Information: • chris_west@ncsu.edu