Database Reference
In-Depth Information
One method for writing the situational overview in a succinct way is to summarize
it in three bullets, as follows:
•
Situation:
Give a one-sentence overview of the situation that has led to
the analytics project.
•
Complication:
Give a one-sentence overview of the need for addressing
this now. Something has triggered the organization to decide to take
action at this time. For instance, perhaps it lost 100 customers in the past
two weeks and now has an executive mandate to address an issue, or
perhaps it has lost five points of market share to its biggest competitor in
the past three months. Usually, this sentence represents the driver for why
a particular project is being initiated at this time, rather than in some
vague time in the future.
•
Implication:
Give a one-sentence overview of the impact of the
complication. For instance, if the bank fails to address its customer
attrition problem, it stands to lose its dominant market position in three
key markets. Focus on the business impact to illustrate the urgency of
doing the project.
12.2.3 Main Findings
Write a solid executive summary to portray the main findings of a project. In
many cases, the summary may be the only portion of the presentation that hurried
managers will read. For this reason, it is imperative to make the language clear,
concise, and complete. Those reading the executive summary should be able to
grasp the full story of the project and the key insights in a single slide. In addition,
this is an opportunity to provide key talking points for the executive sponsor to use
to evangelize the project work with others in the customer's organization. Be sure
to frame the outcomes of the project in terms of both quantitative and qualitative
business value. This is especially important if the presentation is for the project
sponsor. The executive summary slide containing the main findings is generally the
same for both sponsor and analyst audiences.
Figure 12.7
shows an example of an executive summary slide for the YoyoDyne
case study. It is useful to take a closer look at the parts of the slide to make sure
it is clear. Keep in mind this is not the only format for conveying the Executive
Summary; it varies based on the author's style, although many of the key
components are common themes in Executive Summaries.
