Podcast
Last-Mile Data Delivery for the Modern Data Stack: Build Data Products to Boost Adoption
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Last-Mile Data Delivery for the Modern Data Stack: Build Data Products to Boost Adoption
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Episode Overview
How do you turn a powerful modern data stack into analytics people actually use? In this episode, Caitlin Moorman, VP of Data and Business Operations at Trove Recommerce and former data lead in crowdfunding and self-publishing, walks through the last-mile data delivery challenges that block adoption and offers practical approaches to build data products that drive decisions.
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Chapter Summary
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- 0:00 - Episode introduction & Locally Optimistic community
- 4:40 - Career journey: private equity to modern data stacks
- 8:48 - Defining the “last mile” in data delivery
- 13:24 - Modern data stack vs last-mile execution challenges
- 16:45 - Pareto thinking for analytics: 80/20 and high-leverage work
- 20:02 - Cultural barriers to adoption: incentives and behavior
- 24:13 - Trust and usability: discoverability, interpretability, and data quality
- 26:21 - Diagnosing poor adoption: treat data as a product and do user research
- 28:42 - A/B testing reporting: simplify statistics for decision-makers
- 32:25 - Product-design mindset for analytics: abstractions and personas
- 34:00 - Outcome-first design: start projects from the decision you want to enable
- 38:15 - Embedding data in meetings: mapping metrics to real decisions
- 39:32 - Low-fidelity prototyping: sketches, whiteboards, and rapid feedback
- 41:18 - Proving impact: creating measurable wins to build advocacy
- 42:18 - Measuring hard-to-track work: proxies, time studies, and practical metrics
- 45:35 - Driving change by scoping narrow slices and building momentum
- 47:30 - Identifying high-leverage questions: start with financials and cost centers
- 49:25 - Handling resistance: recruiting advocates and selling upside
- 52:45 - Growth marketing as a starter use case for data-driven change
- 53:46 - Interviewing domain experts: curiosity, rapport, and job documentation
- 55:35 - Building influence: soft skills and recommended reading
- 58:11 - Managing uncertainty: linear projects vs circular (exploratory) projects
- 1:01:30 - Advice for aspiring analysts: curiosity, business impact, and on-the-job
- 1:03:53 - Where to find Caitlin and the Locally Optimistic community