Is it one that begins with a 52km commute to work and ends with a 52km commute home? Is it one that finds the analyst satisfied with his day or frustrated and/or angry? Does this analyst sleep peacefully or dream of blue screens or wireframes and URS’s? Does the morning find the analyst excited at the prospect of new challenges or hoping that the day goes quickly?
My days include all of the above possibilities and more. Some are more interesting and enjoyable than others. But the reason I keep at it? As an analyst, I often find myself loosing track of time and place as I:
1. Learn to use new software to answer old business questions
2. Discover the source data that causes the problems downstream
3. Uncover simpler ways of doing things
4. Forage through rows of data, realizing patterns
5. Build new reports that answer unusual end-user questions
6. Modify reports to correct longstanding problems
7. Listen intently to a person, translating what she says into data fields
8. Design SQL queries for different legacy databases using multiple packages
9. Figure out how to make these queries yield actual data
10. Present reports to customers that elicit good questions and no doubts
I have managed people and projects, and sold products and relationships. All of these activities have proved challenging, but none has captured my attention in the way data analysis does.
That’s me, an analyst, staring at a computer screen, feeling that this user’s question is the most important thing. A thrill charges through me when I discover how the *!$%#@! (innacurate) data is getting into the database. I enjoy a brief sense of confidence when I identify a business trend that is built on (relatively) clean data.
BTW, today is a reminder of two things, Happy Birthday Ilona and 2nd, peace to all those families that were affected by the WTC disaster of 2001.
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Published by theirishduck
I love the ability where I can plan, prioritise, design, develop and deliver blended learning solutions for a variety of markets. I love to consult and advise about the best use of digital learning and improve design standards in line with evolving ways of working. I also enjoy to keep up to date with, understand and regularly recommend emerging technologies and practice to improve individuals, teams and organisational capabilities.
With over 12 years digital learning experience and demonstrated experience in both instructional design and eLearning development, I have also a lot of experience conducting training needs analysis including how to leverage principles such as design thinking and root cause analysis to understand and address performance gaps. I also have led many facilitation workshops and even presented at iDesignX and Game Developers Conferences both here in Australia, Wales and in the United States.
I bring loads of coding experience in Java, ASM, C++, HTML, JavaScript, SCORM and xAPI, as well as proven capability using Adobe Captivate, Trivantis Lectora and Articulate Storyline 360 Studio authoring programs. Of course, Adobe Creative Cloud is also part of my toolbox which I also use daily. Being taught traditional and advanced 3D animation techniques, I love hand drawing and polymer clay sculpture, but can also use the Blender, 3D Studio Max, Maya and Softimage applications.
With strong multimedia, training and programming backgrounds, I understand modern learner behaviour including micro and social learning, I am very familiar with most LMSes and app-based (XCode and Android Studio), adult learning models and e-solutions.
I also possess the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, whilst being pro-active in delivering work independently with minimal supervision, but enjoy working in teams.
I've been told I am a resilient, relationship focused guy which can manage and navigate conflicting views and stakeholders/subject matter experts.
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Campbell Craig 