The Data Fluency Framework - Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication - page 23

uSING DATA VERSuS PRESENTING DATA
Supply and demand. Authors and readers. Producers and consumers. Data
fluency is the exchange of ideas with data as a medium. Without both sides of
an exchange, no message can be conveyed. However, separating people into
consumers or producers of data content is a bit simplistic; the same person
may play both roles at different times. Sales people may consume reports
about organizational performance, product trends, and sales scoreboards. At
the same time, they can be well served to communicate to the sales manager
about their performance with data analyses rather than anecdotal complaints
about poor quality leads. Within the framework, you can learn how to build a
cohort of sophisticated data consumers and a culture that facilitates shared
understanding. On the producer side, the framework offers guidance on
teaching the skills for effective data communication and the systems required
to make these producers successful. Now take a deeper look at the pieces of
the data fluency puzzle.
ELEMENT 1: DATA LITERATE CONSuMERS
If data fluency is the fluid exchange of ideas using data, data literacy is the ability
for individuals to understand and draw meaning from data. You should start
here because reaching a willing and informed audience is perhaps the most
fundamental condition for a data fluent organization. The famous philosophical
thought experiment asks, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear
it, does it make a sound?” That is, does something exist if it is not perceived?
Does your data matter without someone to read, understand, and interpret it?