The 5 Best Data Operations Posts from 2023
Reviewing the best 5 essays from 2023 in a special year-end edition. Read: "Everything Starts Out Looking Like a Toy" #178
Hi, I’m Greg 👋! I write weekly product essays, including system “handshakes”, the expectations for workflow, and the jobs to be done for data. What is Data Operations? was the first post in the series.
This week’s toy: a software developer creates auto-generated deep fake AI of “David Attenborough” doing a real-time commentary. It’s pretty amazing in its detail and should both amuse you and ring alarm bells about the veracity of content you view. Edition 178 of this newsletter is here - it’s December 29, 2023.
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The Big Ideas from 2023
5 short long-form essays about data things
⚙️ 2023 in Review
2023 saw 53 essays on data things.
Here are 5 of the essays I enjoyed writing (and you enjoyed reading) the most.
While you’re here, let me know what you’d like to see in 2024!
Here are the top stories of 2023 …
When you need an incremental data metric for your report, the rollup is your friend
Roll-up fields add a very useful dimension to existing reporting and enable you to create deeper analysis and filtering. By creating “skinny tables” of information you can join on a unique key, you make it possible to answer almost every “just one more thing” question your stakeholders ask about a dataset.
Creating Harmony: Collaborative Database Schema Design for Better Data Teamwork
Data teams are responsible for delivering clean, consumable data views, and GTM teams need to ask for what they need to run the business and make decisions. The structure, metrics, and cadence of refreshing data all feed into this process. (part 2 of a 4 part series on how these teams can work together)
Stay ahead: Exponential growth in AI and GPT means you need to change tactics
The best way to learn more about AI and GPT tools is to try them. Start with something like ChatGPT and then experiment with sequential prompts to explore these capabilities and find something that works for you. Keep in mind things are changing faster than you can respond: the goal is to get familiar with how it feels to use AI.
Using SUBSTITUTE, TEXTJOIN, and COUNTA to flatten a list in Google Sheets
A few minutes spent on a formula in Google Sheets is a great way to prototype the transformations you need for data pipelines. While it won’t always give you a solution for the ultimate problem, fixing it in a spreadsheet for a known group of data is an excellent start to solving your problem.
We need a better way to select software
The information to run a better software selection process that’s customized for our particular Job to be Done is out there in the market, but not yet easy to search, collate, and analyze. There’s a big market opportunity to make this better, along with the potential to teach business users “how to fish” when scoping, procuring, and selecting software to meet their needs.
What to do next
Hit reply if you’ve got links to share, data stories, or want to say hello.
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The next big thing always starts out being dismissed as a “toy.” - Chris Dixon