One of the key thing I’ve learned is importance of differentiating the concepts of “Data Reporting” and “Data Analysis”. So, let’s first see them visually:

Here’s the logic for putting Data Reporting INSIDE Data Analysis: if you need to do “analysis” then you need reports. But you do not have to necessarily do data analysis if you want to do data reporting.

From a process standpoint, Here’s how you can visualize Data Reporting and Data Analysis:

Let’s thing about this for a moment: Why do we need “analysis”?

We need it because TOOLS are really great at generating data reports. But it requires a HUMAN BRAIN to translate those “data points/reports” into “business insights”. This process of seeing the data points and translating them into business insights is core of what is Data Analysis. Here’s how it looks visually:

Note after performing data analysis, we have information like Trends and Insights, Action items or Recommendations, Estimated impact on business that creates business value.

Conclusion:

Data Reporting ≠ Data Analysis