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You’re Solving the Wrong Problem. That’s Why Nothing Moves.
Part 7 of a Series: From Messy Problems to Clear Definitions When Everything Looks Important… Nothing Moves You fixed the problem. You built the solution. You improved the process. And yet, things still feel slow. This is where many teams find themselves. Not because they lack tools, or data, or effort, but because everything seems equally important. Problems appear from different directions, each one urgent, each one worth solving. So work begins. Sometimes with dashboards.
3 min read
Your Data Setup Is Slowing You Down
Part 6 of a Series: From Messy Problems to Clear Definitions When Everything Is Right… But Progress Is Still Slow You fixed the problem. You built the solution. People are using it. And still, progress is slow. By now, we have worked through multiple layers. The problem is clear, the KPI is structured, the breakdown point is identified, the work is aligned, and the solution is designed for use. At this stage, things should move. But in many organisations, they don’t. The issu
4 min read
When “Unfair” Isn’t Unfair: And When It Actually Is
Start at 2:29 Every few months, a familiar pattern plays out. A new policy is introduced—more parental leave, rebates for HDB households, targeted subsidies—and almost immediately, someone steps forward to say: “What about me?” Sometimes, that reaction reflects a misunderstanding. But occasionally—though far less often—it points to a real issue. The challenge is knowing the difference. The Trap of Viewing Policies in Isolation It’s easy to zoom in on a single benefit and feel
4 min read
From D&I metrics to decision integrity: let evidence quality govern whose “diversity” matters
This post responds to a segment from a Yah Lah But podcast featuring Crystal Lim-Lange (with a shorter clip circulating on Facebook). In the segment I watched, the hosts start with a common assumption: Singapore’s system should be able to select the smartest person to lead. Crystal’s response (as I understood it) is that for a system to consistently surface strong leaders, it needs both : Diversity (so a wider range of talent and perspectives exists), and Inclusion / psych
4 min read
You Built the Right Solution… But No One Uses It
Part 5 of a Series: From Messy Problems to Clear Definitions When the Work Is Aligned… But Still Ignored In the previous article, we looked at a common issue in analytics work. The problem is clear. The work is aligned. The objective is defined. And yet, nothing changes. OKR → Data Product thinking helps connect what we build to meaningful business outcomes. That already improves the quality of the work. But even when that alignment is in place, another issue often emerges. T
3 min read
Stop Building Dashboards Nobody Asked For
Part 4 of a Series: From Messy Problems to Clear Definitions When Good Work Goes Nowhere You can do good analysis… and still create no impact. By now, we have spent time getting the problem right. In the earlier articles, we moved from messy situations to clear problem definitions. We broke down KPIs to understand where issues sit, and we used Pirate Metrics to identify where in the journey things break. By this point, the problem is no longer vague. It is specific, structure
4 min read
You’re Looking at the Wrong Part of the Funnel
Part 3 of a Series: From Messy Problems to Clear Definitions When the Problem Isn’t Where You Think Most teams don’t struggle to find problems. They struggle to find where those problems actually happen. In the previous article, we explored how KPIs can be misleading when taken at face value. A single number, like “sales,” often hides multiple drivers, and breaking it down helps us understand where the problem sits. That already brings a level of clarity. But in many real-wor
4 min read
When the “$40M Computer” Says It’s Magma — and Your Best Analyst Disagrees
In an old scene from The Hunt for Red October , a sonar operator (“Jonesy”) brings his captain something awkward: the ship’s expensive classification software has labelled an acoustic trace as “magma displacement” — essentially, a seismic event. Jonesy doesn’t dismiss the software. He explains why it might be doing what it was built to do (it was written for seismic detection), and why that same strength becomes a weakness when it meets a novel signal. Then he does something
4 min read
Your KPI Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means
Part 2 of a Series: From Messy Problems to Clear Definitions Why This Matters More Than You Realise In the previous article, we explored a common issue in analytics work. Most problems do not start clear. They start messy, and without proper structure, teams often move too quickly into analysis without fully understanding what they are trying to solve. That is where things begin to break down. But even when teams attempt to be more structured, another challenge appears almost
4 min read
Your Data Problem Isn’t Data. It’s This.
Part 1 of a Series: From Messy Problems to Clear Definitions The Problem Isn’t What You Think Most teams think they have a data problem.That’s why they keep solving the wrong thing. In many organisations, the pattern is familiar. Dashboards are built, reports are generated, and metrics are tracked with increasing sophistication. Yet when it comes to making decisions, very little seems to move. Meetings end with more questions than answers, and at some point, someone inevitabl
4 min read
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