This article is part of The Measurement Advisor’s Special Issue on the Measurement Sherpa, an in-house data wrangler and measurement resource who organizes, queries, and gains insight from data. Our coverage follows the development of a Sherpa’s skill and experience, from newbie to pro, and is organized in three levels:
Sherpa Level One: Getting Out of Base Camp
- Introducing the Measurement Sherpa
- 10 Signs That You Need to Hire a Measurement Sherpa
- 5 Reasons Why You Really Want to Become a Measurement Sherpa
- The First 5 Steps to Take to Become a Measurement Sherpa
- Learning on the Job: Notes from a Sherpa-in-Training
Sherpa Level Two: Climbing the Mountain
- Must-have Equipment for a Measurement Sherpa
- Commonly Confused PR and Social Media Measurement Terms
- 6 Books That Should be in Every Measurement Sherpa’s Library
- Katie Paine’s Advice for Measurement Sherpas: Dos and Don’ts for Reporting Web and Social Media Analytics
Sherpa Level Three: Peak Operations
Measurement Sherpas live and die by their ability to use and interpret data. But, no matter how clever they are, they can’t do it with their wits alone. Here are some indispensable tools.
1. Excel
Excel is the Swiss Army Knife of measurement. It is the tool with which you can import and export data, make different systems talk to each other, create great reports, and find all your answers. It also has very easy to use statistical analysis tools that are perfectly adequate if you don’t have SPSS or SAS.
2. Pivot Tables
Yes, I know, it’s part of Excel, but it is such an important analysis tool that I’m listing it separately. Pivot tables are those magical things that enable you to stand your data on its head, drill down into it, and find the golden nugget of information.
3. Google Analytics
Mastering Google Analytics will make the rest of your job so much easier. Once you know how to set it up and get the right data from it, you’ll be addicted
4. Survey Monkey, Survata, Qualtrics — or whatever your favorite electronic survey tool is.
The faster you master Survey Monkey or one of its brethren, the faster you’ll be able to deliver the answers to the questions everyone is asking. Survey Monkey has a tremendous number of features now that make collecting data incredibly easy.
5. PowerPoint
Ugh. It makes me gag to even put this on the list, since we all have suffered too many “deaths by PowerPoint.” But, ultimately, you do have to present data in a cogent, comprehensible way. I have yet to find anything better, especially given its integration with Excel. ∞
Thanks to The Planet D for the image.
