Oz du Soleil presenting at 1871.
Commitment to Data Literacy
DataScopic.net began as a website for Excel tips and tricks. Over the years, through blogging, working with clients, teaching workshops and listening to students, DataScopic is committed to Excel as a tool in service of Data Literacy: competence in collecting, manipulating, interpreting and auditing data.
Tips and tricks are needed, but they don’t matter if the analyst never checks the data quality or understands the workflow. Complex solutions die a pathetic death if they aren’t scaleable or user-proof. Moreover, more unprepared people are becoming de facto analysts even though their job titles don’t make it obvious.
Through real world stories, the DataScopic blog, explores what it takes to be in the real world as an Excel user and responsible analyst:
- Real Data Management Is Managing People Who Don’t Like The Results
- Bad Data, OK Data
- What Does It Cost To Clean My Data? (Capturing Cerberus)
- Big Data, Schmig Data. How ‘Bout Some Perspective?
- Excel Data Validation: The Thin Line Between Truth and Disaster
Why Excel?
- It’s everywhere. It’s used for all manner of tasks. It’s waiting for graduates who learned on expensive software in school but their employer can only afford Excel. Even for the global enterprise with the databases and dedicated specialists, their customers or vendors will ask, “can you send the data to us in a spreadsheet?”
- Excel is powerful! Over countless projects over more than 10 years, when asked, “can Excel do _____ ?” the answer has always been yes.
- Excel might not be perfect but it’s fantastically malleable.
- You can get a timesheet software, but it’ll only ever be a timesheet. Excel can be used to build an excellent timesheet.
- The same can be said about other one-trick-pony softwares. An inventory system will only be an inventory system. Excel can be an adequate inventory system.
- The benefit is that you don’t have all these different softwares with differing tech support mechanisms, their subscriptions, and your data spread hither and yon.
- The Excel community is vast and incredibly helpful.
Oz teaching a workshop at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School. Photo credit: Jude Khin (1972-2012)
Oz du Soleil Is Available For
- Speaking to your group about Excel, Data Management & Data Literacy
- Excel Workshops, public and private
- Tutoring
