Hey there, fellow data enthusiasts! So, picture this: every week, one of us from the incident.io Data team steps up at our all-hands meeting to dish out a tasty data insight, lovingly dubbed the Tasty Data Morsel. It’s like a bite-sized treat—a single chart on a slide, served up in five minutes or less.
When I served up my first data morsel, I took a peek at how often folks were using the CMD+K feature on our dashboard. That was way back when I was just three weeks into the gig. Since then, our data morsels have covered everything from sales velocity tidbits to which dishes were a hit at our company Christmas bash. (Fun fact: our engineers are not big fans of salmon, but they go crazy for Beef Wellington!)
But why do we do it?
You might be wondering, “Hey, these data insights don’t really tie into the rest of the meeting—shouldn’t we talk about more serious stuff?”
We believe in keeping things lively at all-hands, mixing business with pleasure. The Tasty Data Morsel can be both, and that’s why we’ve stuck with it for two whole years.
They make us curious
Imagine you’re part of the incident.io crew (welcome, grab some swag!). You’ve just seen me showcase a chart on paused incidents over the last 30 days. As your eyes roam over the bars, chances are you’ll start pondering some questions. Why do users pause incidents instead of closing them? What’s up with those weekly spikes in paused incidents? And why is the chart so aggressively pink?
Well, the answer to the last question is simple: I just really like pink. As for the other questions, they might linger in your mind. Later, when you log into our self-serve data tool Omni (more on that in a future blog post), you might dive in to find those answers yourself.
They spark discoveries
When we question the data, we also question the product. And when we find answers, those discoveries can shape the product for the better.
For instance, while digging into the average time to declare an incident, we noticed that the number of fields in the form impacted how long it took to declare. So, we rolled out a feature that warns customers when their form gets…a bit overwhelming.
By constantly poking at the data, we unearth nuggets about our product that can blossom into new features. There are countless improvements and ideas waiting to be found, but you’ve got to venture into the unknown, into the nitty-gritty details, and into the less-glamorous parts of your data to uncover them.
They bring delight
If it hasn’t been clear, I’m a huge data geek. And while that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I’ve seen enough graphs on “Britain’s top meal deals” with millions of likes to suspect that deep down, most folks enjoy a good chart.
But the real joy of presenting the tasty data morsel is knowing that behind every feature, campaign, or sales win is a colleague. Being able to spotlight their efforts in a way that isn’t always captured in standard metrics is incredibly fun and fulfilling.
They shine a light on the data
If you’re not aware of the data we have, you won’t know what to ask for. You might have loads of burning questions about your product, but mistakenly assume we can’t answer them. By sharing insights weekly, everyone in the company gets a better grasp of what’s possible with data.
It’s also a chance for our Data team to show that we’re here to support you. If you see us every week, you’ll (hopefully) remember us the next time you’re pondering how many incidents get declared between 2 am and 4 am.
In a nutshell
A year and thirteen tasty data morsels down the line, I still recall my first morsel vividly. The axis labels were tiny, I stuck with the default color scheme, and I can still feel the butterflies from snagging the mic from our MC at all-hands.
Besides the benefits the Tasty Data Morsel brings to the company, it’s also been a boon for me as a data pro. Hunting for a fun insight to share each month pushes me to think creatively and seek out stories in unexpected places. Condensing a complex insight into a single chart has sharpened my data visualization skills, and facing my peers monthly has definitely made me a less jittery public speaker.
Some of our morsels spark ideas that reshape the product, while others simply bring a smile to our faces. I’m eager to see how this year’s Christmas party picks stack up against last year’s.
