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Competencies
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competencies:
Perform a gap analysis between current and future states
Collaborate with data management professionals on data needs
Scenario
You are a data analyst for a company. Your mentor, a senior data professional, has informed you about a data project that is currently ongoing to support the acquisition of a different company. Your mentor, Alfred, has given you the opportunity to create a mock presentation that addresses the data project to support your professional development and give you feedback. Your mentor has also informed you that if your work exceeds expectations, it will be included in a presentation to the management of the data analysis team prior to their next steps.
You completed and received feedback on the first part of the assignment from your mentor in Project One. Now, you will use the initial assessment you performed in Project One to inform your decision making for Project Two.
Directions
You completed a preliminary assessment of data related to the merger and determined that there is enough information to perform the next steps. Begin by completing a gap analysis, using the provided data, on the given organizational problem presented in the scenario. You will use your conclusions from the gap analysis to write a proposal that specifically outlines the needs identified in the gap. The results of your gap analysis and proposal will be submitted to your mentor in presentation format.
Though you will submit your work to your mentor, you must write your gap analysis and proposal as though you were communicating with management and the various data management professionals in your organization. Specifically, you must address the following:
Gap Analysis
Perform a gap analysis to determine the actions needed to move from the current state to the future state. The gap analysis must include the following elements:
Current and Future States: Explain the current and future state of the organization.
Write clear and concise descriiptions of your organization’s current problem and the desired future state.
Identification of the Gap: Identify the gap between the current state and future state of the organization.
Describe the differences between the current state and the desired future state. Illustrate the impact on your organizational problem if you do nothing to reach your future state.
Move From Current State to Future State: Determine the steps to move from the current state to the future state.
After the gap has been identified, you will determine what organizational or process changes are needed to move from the current state to future state. Propose steps to complete these changes.
Presentation and Presentation Speaker Notes
After completing your gap analysis, you will inform stakeholders of your results. In your presentation, include the following:
Visualize the Gap Analysis: Create a visual representation of the gap analysis to move from current state to future state.
Use the Gap Analysis Template in the “What to Submit” section to create a matrix to visualize your gap analysis results. Your matrix should demonstrate the results of your gap analysis and how it aligns to the current and future states.
Summarize the Gap Analysis: Explain the results of the gap analysis to stakeholders.
After you create your visualizations, summarize your findings from all the prior steps and your proposal for next steps.
Create a checklist or other visual representation (e.g., a flowchart) to identify the actions and process flow needed to reach the future state.
Identify what is needed for each gap analysis checklist item and which stakeholder is responsible for having that information.
Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) Process: Describe the ETL process.
Describe the ETL process as it relates to your proposal to close the gap. Describe what data needs to be extracted, how the data could be transformed to meet future needs, and where the data will be loaded for storage.
Sensitive or Confidential Information Handling: Write a summary for the handling of sensitive or confidential information.
The storage, handling, and manipulation of confidential or sensitive information is an important part of data handling projects.
Identify if there is or could be sensitive or confidential information contained in your organizational problem, and describe how sensitive information will be handled.
Identify the sources of the above information and any regulatory considerations in using that information.
Production and Testing Environments: Identify appropriate use of production and testing environments needed for the data project.
Explain why using sandbox environments is important to the preservation of data integrity.
Additional Data Resources: Justify the need for additional data resources, defending the need for any resources that seem currently out of the scope of the project.
What to Submit
To complete this project, you must submit the following:
Gap Analysis
Submit your completed gap analysis matrix using the Gap Analysis Template.
Presentation and Presentation Speaker Notes
Presentation: Submit your presentation using the Project Two Presentation Template. Your presentation should be 12 to 15 slides in length. Include speaker notes for each presentation slide. Any sources should be cited according to APA style.
Supporting Materials
The following resource supports your work on the project:
Spreadsheet: Kansas City and Warehouse Data Set
Use this spreadsheet to access data for Project Two.
Document: Kansas City Monthly Totals
Use this spreadsheet to access data for Project Two.
Too Tired? Too Anxious? Need More Time? We’ve got your back.