Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2020 - 46

teams must get data governance right
before any high-powered analytics are
possible, and it is where many learning
organizations are currently stuck.
Instructional designers may not be privy
to what relevant data is collected, how
it is stored and secured, who owns it,
or its level of quality. This is especially
true if useful data is collected by another
department or external entity. Asking
around for this information is a good first
step, as what you find may trigger ideas
for exciting analytics.
Many organizations have designated
learning data as low priority, but you
can advocate for improved governance
if you demonstrate how the data will be
useful. Other organizations - especially
small ones - will have newly established
governance strategies, and you can
lead the charge to set standards for data
entry, data checking and data ownership
relevant to your goals.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST FACTORS
INFLUENCING A DATA PROGRAM'S SUCCESS
IS THE CULTURE BUILT AROUND IT.

GET THE TOOLS YOU NEED
By this point, most L&D organizations
have implemented content authoring
tools and learning management
systems. These tools spit out useful
data, such as number of enrolled
students, time spent online and final test
scores. Some companies may have even
invested in the latest technologies like
experience application programming
interface (xAPI). These are all great tools

BUILD A DATADRIVEN CULTURE

ASSESSMENT RESULTS

| 46

for collecting data, but analytics is so
much more. The canned reports and
dashboards provided by these tools may
not give you what you need. Additional
tools for storing, cleaning, analyzing,
collaborating on and visualizing data
may prove more useful. Ask around
your organization to see what tools are
available to you and consider taking a
data literacy course to understand how
they can enable your work.

DATA PREPARED

DATA DRIVEN

You are data prepared
if you scored under 8
points in data literacy
and 8 or more points
in data infrastructure.

You are data driven
if you scored more
than 8 points in both
data literacy and
data infrastructure.

DATA NASCENT

DATA LITERATE

You are data nascent
if you scored under
8 points in both data
literacy and data
infrastructure.

You are data literate if
you scored 8 or more
points in data literacy
and less than 8 points
in data infrastructure.

One of the biggest factors influencing
a data program's success is the culture
built around it. Whether it's a large
analytics program or specifically related
to learning, you need a leader to
champion data's usage through actions
such as highlighting successful data
projects in newsletters or at events,
asking for data in meetings, or bringing
in experts for "lunch and learns." You
and others may want to attend datarelated trainings and conferences or
start a community of practice.
With time and practice, L&D organizations
will begin to move up the data analytics
maturity model. As they do so, content
creators will have more information
available to optimize learning experiences
than ever before. What would you like
your data to tell you?
Sarah Dreyer, M.Ed., and Meghan
Cipperley, M.A., are instructional
designers at Data Society, a data science
training and advisory company and one
of Forbes 10 EdTech Companies You
Should Know About. Merav Yuravlivker
is the CEO. They all enjoy making
content compelling, data driven and
approachable. Email the authors.
Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2020

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