Start with the Question: Turning Data into Insight
Let me tell you a story about data. I’ve seen it play out time and time again. Someone sits down with a mountain of numbers, spends hours building a dashboard, and then… nothing. Frustration sets in. They step back and say, “This doesn’t mean anything—it’s just numbers on a screen.” And you know what? They’re right.
Because they’ve started in the wrong place.
Start with Why
Data analysis isn’t about numbers. It’s not even about the data itself. It’s about the why. Why are you looking at this data? Why does it matter? Why should anyone care? And the why always begins with curiosity. That’s the key. You have to start with a question—one that matters.
A Question Changes Everything
Before you touch the data, ask yourself: What do I want to know? What problem am I trying to solve? A good question isn’t vague or generic. It’s clear. It’s specific. It lights a fire in you. And it has meaning—not just to you, but to anyone who’s searching for answers.
Because here’s the thing: one great question can turn a lifeless spreadsheet into a tool that inspires action. One great question can uncover insights that change the game.
Imagine the Answer
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Once you’ve got your question, don’t dive straight into the data. Instead, pause. Step back and imagine: What does the answer look like?
What patterns would you expect to see? What proof would you need to convince others? What would make the answer feel undeniable? By working backwards from the answer, you stay focused on the insights, not just the process. You’re no longer organizing information for the sake of it—you’re uncovering meaning.
Curiosity is the Catalyst
The best analysts aren’t the ones who know the most tools or formulas. They’re the ones who are the most curious. They ask why. They keep digging. They don’t just want to know what the data says—they want to know what it means. That’s the magic. That’s what transforms numbers into stories, and stories into action.
The Golden Rule of Analysis
If you find yourself stuck, if the data feels flat and lifeless, step back. Ask yourself: What question am I really trying to answer? Let that question guide you. Work backwards from there. That’s how you move from just analyzing data to uncovering something that truly matters.
Because in the end, it’s not the data that makes a difference. It’s the curiosity—the why—that sparks the insight. That’s where the story begins.
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When “Transformation” Isn’t Transformation
There’s a quiet absurdity in how most organizations approach change. Every few years, a vendor announces the end of support for a version — and suddenly, an entire enterprise scrambles into “transformation mode.” Slide decks get rewritten, budgets inflate, timelines stretch, and the word strategy gets thrown around like confetti.
Utilities Billing — Don't let Watermelon Reporting fool you. Billing sees the red everyday.
When the dashboards look green but your billing team is buried in exceptions—there’s a disconnect.In utilities, billing becomes the silent sinkhole of revenue operations, absorbing every upstream delay, data miss, and failed process. We call it Watermelon Reporting—green on the outside, red on the inside.This post is an ode to the teams who keep the lights on (and the bills going out) despite the chaos—and how the Celonis Utilities Smart Billing App helps them shift from firefighting to forward-looking.
My Journey to Building the App I Knew Utilities Needed — Part 3: Why the Squeaky Wheel Keeps Winning
In Utilities, being loud pays.If you're the one complaining the most, chances are, your issue jumps the queue. But what happens to the silent failures no one’s yelling about?That’s the question I dive into in Part 3 of my series.We’ve all seen it—leadership pulled into fire after fire, solving the same problems over and over, while deeper issues go unnoticed. Escalation becomes the strategy. And soon, the whole organization is wired for noise instead of insight.In this post, I talk about how we deliberately built our app to flip that model.
My journey to building an App I knew Utilities needed — Part 2 (The Beginning)
In Part 2 of My Journey to Building an App I Knew Utilities Needed, I explore how process mining helped a utility uncover the real causes of delays in the New Connection process—insights that traditional BI tools simply couldn't deliver. This post highlights how utilities can move beyond surface-level reporting to truly understand operational bottlenecks, improve customer experience, and strengthen their rate cases with data-driven transparency.
My journey to building an App I knew Utilities needed — Part 1
"For years, utilities have struggled with process inefficiencies that lead to millions in fines, regulatory scrutiny, and a complete breakdown in customer trust. But what if there was a way to cut through the chaos and truly understand what's going wrong? In this first part of my journey, I share how process mining and the Celonis platform opened my eyes to the brutal truth: most companies don't even recognize their real processes. I’m excited to share how my company, The Good Quarter, is on the verge of launching an app that will finally give utilities the insight they need to fix their meter-to-cash process—and stop the cycle of missed opportunities and massive costs.
A Blockbuster in AI Assistance: Google AI Studio's Screen-Sharing Feature
Discover the groundbreaking new feature in Google AI Studio that lets you share your screen with AI and get real-time, voice-driven assistance. Say goodbye to screenshots and miscommunication—this tool transforms productivity, troubleshooting, and learning by offering seamless, contextual guidance. It's like having J.A.R.V.I.S. from Iron Man as your personal assistant!
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: The World of Object-Centric Process Mining
Discover how Object-Centric Process Mining (OCPM) with Celonis transforms business operations. Uncover multi-object interactions, hidden relationships, and end-to-end transparency to drive actionable insights and operational efficiency. Learn how Celonis empowers businesses to move beyond traditional process analysis
Building a Conversational Agent for job aids (RAG Use Case)
Turn dense job aids into an always-on assistant that delivers quick, contextual answers. Discover how I built JobAidAgent using Microsoft Co-Pilot Studio and expanded its capabilities with the RAG framework to transform static resources into dynamic insights.
Embracing the Opportunities of SAP S/4 HANA Transformations
You hear a lot about the technology risks around S/4 Implementation projects.
What no one is really talking about are the business challenges and what the business can do to address 3 of the most common factors that lead to chaotic and unsuccessful S/4 HANA implementations
Rethinking Metrics: The Power of Object-Centric Process Mining
Discover the transformative power of Object-Centric Process Modeling (OCPM) in business operations. Unlike traditional tools, OCPM provides a dynamic, interconnected view of processes, revealing insights that drive efficiency and strategic alignment. Learn how OCPM is reshaping process analytics and empowering businesses to achieve operational excellence.
Who owns your data?
Do you own your data? What aspects of your data do you control? What areas are you responsible for in your organization? This article explores some of these concepts.
Getting better at what you do by how you do it
There are myriad ways of delivering greater efficiencies to the business. Some rely on incremental changes to deliver value in small increments. In contrast, others require a greater degree of change for an organization.
Sometimes, a large transformation project is an excellent opportunity to restructure your business operations. And one of the ways to consider what that aspirational state should be is by leveraging the principles of Domain Driven Design.
Move aside traditional methods.
It’s 2024. I think the continuous improvement folks could use a taste of their own medicine. I’ve outlined a few ways process mining could be used to improve the traditional process mapping methods
Why you track your life, but not your processes?
I’m confident you can pick up your smart phone and piece together a significant portion of your life in the past day, month, even years! Can you say the same about your processes at work?
Data Insights to Actionable Signals to Desired Outcomes
Organizations rely on data insights in today's data-driven world to inform their decision-making processes and drive successful outcomes. However, simply collecting and analyzing data is not enough.
We explore the journey from data to insight to action to outcome and what organizations must focus on along the way.
Top 3 reasons why data, analytics and insight are all dressed up and have nowhere to go in your enterprise
In neurology, a condition called ataxia manifests as a lack of muscle control or coordination of voluntary movements, which may be an apt metaphor for this dissonance in the business organization in relation to data.
So what is the solution? What can business leaders do to turn the tide on this trend?