

However, not everyone agrees that all three terms are needed. It’s useful for identifying new opportunities and fresh ideas for prototypes. There is no one answer many data sources are explored to generate new directions or inform strategy. Being data-inspired is being inquisitive. Other factors like strategy, user interviews, organizational strengths, and resource availability also factor in.
#Informed decisions full
Usually there’s not just one data source, and data isn’t the full picture, just taken into consideration.

The data needed is available and provides a straightforward answer.Ī data-informed decision also uses data, but in a different way. A data-driven decision typically answers a distinct question and data is the only factor that the decision is based on. And while exact definitions vary by company and team, the distinction generally lies in how the data was instrumental to the decision. What is the difference between data-driven, data-informed, and data-inspired decisions?ĭata-driven, data-informed, and data-inspired approaches have similarities and differences.
#Informed decisions how to
While that may be true in some cases, really understanding how to correctly use data based on a particular need is critical to creating products that customers love. Some may argue that adding the terms data-informed and data-inspired to the data-driven discussion adds complexity and muddles the discussion around data. Data-informed and data-inspired decisions consider depending not only on data for clear-cut decisions, but on using data in conjunction with other important influences and to invent something new. This is why the concepts of data-informed and data-inspired are being added to the data-driven discussion they allow for a more nuanced definition of how data is actually used in an organization. Is data only being used to validate straightforward decisions? Are multiple sources of data combined with other factors to determine priorities like the features to be worked on next quarter? Or is an exploration of data being used to spark innovation and determine new strategy? Each situation requires different skills, tools, and ways of working with data to be successful. But there can be vast differences with how data is used to make these decisions. When an organization says they are data-driven, they typically mean that they base decisions on data.
