Key Metrics

When I started work as a Web Analyst I must say I took me some time to actually understand the real relevance of the key metrics that are associated with a web site. In this post I will try to lay out my thoughts regarding what key metrics are and what some of them signify. Here goes:

 
 

 
 

Key Metrics: Key Metrics has a somewhat relevance for a web page as a key performance indicator has for a website or business in general. So the Key Metrics for a page would probably tell you how the page has been performing in terms of :

 
 

1. How many people actually viewed the page (Unique Visitors, Visitors)
   
2. How many times was the page viewed (Page Views)
   
3. Was the content /service or what ever the page was supposed to be for really relevant to the user (Exit rate/bounce rate : generally defined as an exit from the page in question)
   
4. How much interest has the page created for the users to navigate for more into your website (page views/session)
   
5. How many times did the visitors come back to a page (sessions/visitor or sessions/unique visitor)
   

    
    

    
    

   The ones listed above are some of the basic insights that you can get from the key metrics for your pages.
   

    
    

   You can do a lot more deep diving into your key metrics numbers to understand more about your website. Look out for more interesting posts here.
   

    
    

    
    

SAS help

PROC IMPORT:

Data can be imported from external sources or DBMS using the SAS
procedure IMPORT

eg.

proc import datafile ="/files/data.csv"
out = mydata
dbms = csv replace;
run;

INFILE method in DATA step:

eg.

DATA read;
INFILE '.../rawfile.dat'
run;


Using DATALINES to insert Raw data:


DATA results;
INPUT name $ height weight age;
DATALINES ;
sam 72 83 24
jack 75 87 25

run;

Excel Dashboards

Requirement Gathering for dashboards:

 
 

1. Be sure what the dashboard is required for. Talk to the end users if that is needed
   
2. Don't fill up useless data, even if you have that!!
   
3. While gathering the user requirements use component questions rather than just a word to better understand the component that needs to be created. e.g.
   

   instead of simply adding the word "Revenue" into user requirements,
   

   write a component question, such as, "What is the overall
   

   revenue trend for the last two years?" I call it a component question because
   

   I intend to create a single component, such as a chart or a table, to answer
   

   the question.
   

   For instance, if the component question is, "What is the overall
   

   revenue trend for the last two years?," you can imagine a chart component
   

   answering that question by showing the two-year revenue trend.
   

    
    

    
    

4. Conventional wisdom says that the measures on your dashboard shouldn't
   

   be governed by the availability of data. Instead, you should let dashboard
   

   KPIs and measures govern the data sources in your organization
   

    
    

5. Data modeling is important when creating a dashboard, so that it take less manual labor to update the dashboard, every time the data changes
   
6. Create three layers in the data model: data layer, an analysis layer, and a presentation layer
   

   Data layer: Consists of Raw data
   

   Analysis layer: Contains formulas that pull data from the raw data layer based on formulas
   

   Presentation layer: To display the data in the dashboard format
   

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

Hi. I am about to leave the organization I work for in a day and is trying to figure out how I should be feeling about it. Though I really enjoyed working here when I had started out, of late it became rather mundane. As such I was looking for a change in career direction. Fortunately enough , the phone rang one day and I was talking to the HR of a company that was going to offer a fresh lease to my professional life. I think this new role that I am embarking on would be more challenging and is definitely something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time.

Need Vs. Want

What is the difference between a need and want?

I think many people have tried to answer this question before me and many would continue to do so after me. But is there any absolute answer to this question? I guess not, otherwise I would not be writing this as I am.

The basis for answering this question would be to understand that each individual irrespective of his being part of a group in some way or the other is a unique entity which has no other instance i.e. to say that his individuality is a universal and absolute truth and there is nothing relative about it. Out of this individuality arise each individual’s unique needs. Now these needs are nothing but the basic, primary requirements which are important for a dignified existence. But the interesting thing to note here is that we as human beings have some needs that are common to all of us and these needs transcend individuality. However there are also some needs that crop up because of a person’s uniqueness in some cases.

Wants on the other hand may be conceived as purely superficial requirements that people think are important to them. Unlike needs a person can survive without his wants. But it is his wants that give rise to his uniqueness. It has more to do with the individuals social standing, his material cravings, a constant desire to prove to others that he is better than the rest or in some cases a childhood dream that needs to be fulfilled. There is another very important difference between needs and wants. Whereas needs can be completely satisfied, one can never completely stop wanting. As one achieves what one wants, another one creeps up. For example once you realise that you have had enough food, you would not go on stuffing more. But when you have had that watch or bike or cellular phone, you would want something else. It’s an empty pit that you can never hope to fill till the day you are dead.