Beyond the Algorithm: How Teaching Analytics Cultivates Indispensable Human Skills

By Walt DeGrange & Nick Ulmer

In the dynamic world of analytics, technical prowess is undeniably essential, giving us the tools to transform data into insights. However, what truly distinguishes exceptional analysts—the ones who successfully drive change—is their ability to distill complex ideas into clear, actionable insights. This crucial skill, often honed in the classroom, reveals the profound connection between teaching and practicing analytics.

Many recognize that teaching strengthens familiarity with analytical methods. But the deeper advantage is that teaching compels you to break down intricate mathematical concepts and present them in a way that resonates with someone unfamiliar with them. This honed explanation skill is crucial because the successful application of analytics in the real world is fundamentally a human-to-human endeavor.

At CANA, we understand this relationship intimately. Many of CANA’s analytical professionals have had the opportunity to teach at the Naval Postgraduate School. Nick and I continue to teach both professional society courses and graduate-level courses. This blend of instruction and real-world practice ensures that our insights are grounded in firsthand experience.

The Human Component: Analytics' Biggest Hurdle

Successfully implementing a new analytic model or tool is often challenged more by dealing with the human component than by technical issues. Resistance to technological change is frequently linked to social, behavioral, and cultural issues, such as people’s resistance to change, fear of knowing the truth, or reluctance to share data or information. These are issues related to organizational and individual concerns rather than technical matters.

Analysts, acting as change agents, must affect outcomes and ensure implementation success. Without strong human-to-human communication, even optimal analytic models can be met with resistance, forcing analysts to ask, “Why won’t they use our model?”. Effective human communication addresses these organizational and individual concerns, which often outweigh purely technical matters.

Teaching as a Lab for Empathy and Rapport

The classroom or training session serves as an invaluable testing ground, where instructors constantly refine their explanations through interaction with students possessing diverse backgrounds and varying levels of understanding. This constant refinement through teaching strengthens the ability to communicate insights effectively and cultivates the essential soft skills necessary to work effectively with non-technical stakeholders in the professional world.

This experience is key to building rapport, which is communication rooted in trust. To achieve rapport, you must be able to see the situation from the other person's point of view. Teaching requires this constant orientation around the learner, forcing the instructor to anticipate needs and adapt the message dynamically. This empathy allows the analyst to make the audience care about the message by connecting the findings back to the business question, reducing the impact of potential math anxiety.

Mastering the Art of Explanation

Teaching refines the analyst's ability to translate complex, multi-faceted mathematical models into terms that non-technical audiences can grasp and trust. The goal is to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely and ensure there are no comprehension barriers by explaining potentially unfamiliar topics and terms upfront.

Several specific techniques honed in the classroom translate directly to the client engagement space:

1. Using Analogies: Instructors routinely use analogies to clarify new concepts by setting them within the framework of something familiar, such as comparing hypothesis testing to a criminal trial. These analogies help link complex mathematical concepts to similar ideas in other domains, making them powerful tools for ensuring comprehension.

2. Atomizing Knowledge: Analysts gain proficiency in atomizing knowledge, which means breaking down complex concepts into small, memorable, and teachable pieces. By exposing stakeholders to these "bite-sized chunks" over time—for instance, defining parts of a methodology over several briefings—analysts can incrementally increase understanding and build trust in the technique.

3. Explaining Cause and Effect: The classroom forces clarity not just on the "how" of the analytical solution, but also the crucial "why"—the significance of the analytical solution to the real-world problem. Teaching reinforces that providing insights requires framing information in an engaging way that addresses the recipient’s goals.

   
   

The Value of Two-Way Communication

Effective communication is a two-way street. The classroom teaches the importance of listening and acknowledging, an essential component of professional interaction. In a balanced environment, students feel comfortable enough to ask questions and seek clarification.

In client settings, this translates to improved performance in gathering requirements and managing stakeholders. Listening mindfully and asking targeted questions helps the analyst uncover essential, sometimes inexplicit features of the problem, allowing them to frame the ambiguous business problem into a clear, measurable analytics problem.

Conclusion: The Indispensable Human Professional

The ability to seamlessly convey the significance of analytical findings to clients, colleagues, and leadership—fostering a deeper understanding and crucial buy-in—is the true, practical benefit of teaching analytics.

By developing these skills in an educational environment, analysts cultivate a more human, connected, and mature professional presence. Teaching what you practice creates a well-rounded and impactful professional. It ensures that while automation may provide the “how” behind analytics, the analyst remains the indispensable human element bridging the gap by providing the “why” and connecting the analysis to real-world context.