Enterprise Data Science
“Impressive work! We’ve been trying to deliver an Enterprise Data Literacy program for five years now. Benke and her team delivered in under 9 months.”
“This is extremely valuable. We are now able to train and transfer internal talent rapidly into entry-level and above high-demand Data Scientist roles.”
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Challenge
In today’s world dominated by data, harnessing its potential is imperative for any organization seeking success. USAA recognized this critical need and its Board of Directors mandated an enterprise-level initiative to foster data literacy among its 36,000 employees.
This case study delves into the approach, plan, designs, and specific action steps I took, the positive impact achieved, and reflects on insights and lessons learned through this initiative.
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Team
As the Lead Technical Product Owner, Lead Business Program Manager, and User Experience Design Practice Lead for this initiative, I led a team:
1 Product Lead
1 Senior UX Researcher
2 UX/UI designers
2 Software Engineers
1 Scrum Master
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Solution
We collaborated with an HR Program Manager, Data Roles “Job Governors”, Instructional Designers, and a Data Science “Tiger Team” of Director-level Data Scientists to roll out this board-mandated program to employees and Data Strategy Senior Leadership.
We empowered USAA’s employees with the skills and knowledge to interpret and leverage data effectively, customized to their individual goals, roles, and levels.
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<9 months
In less than nine months, we researched, designed, and launched the Enterprise Data Literacy + AI/ML learning and development program to all 36,000 employees of USAA.
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<4 months
In under four months, we built and delivered the Career Catalyst Data Science internal learning and development program for 4,000 employees in targeted Data Science adjacent roles (i.e. Software Engineers, Data Analysts, Data Engineers, and Business Strategy Analysts).
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15% Lift in Enterprise Data Literacy
The Enterprise Data Literacy Score increased by over 15% year over year, exceeding the Board’s mandated 10% lift goal and #1 priority KPI for the year.
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How we did it
1. Discovery
To tackle this challenge, we conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative user research involving 425 employees from various departments and hierarchies across all business lines.
The research sought to understand current data literacy levels, identify pain points, and ascertain the specific needs of different employee groups (i.e. leadership, technology, non-technology, member-facing, and data-specific job roles.)
2. Definition
From our research synthesis, we crafted five data user personas, each representing distinct characteristics, skillsets, and data-related challenges. These personas became the center point throughout the rest of the design process, ensuring that our program catered to the diverse learning needs, position-specific needs, and learning styles of USAA’s workforce.
3. Ideation
At this point in the project, we needed to make a build or buy decision. At the beginning of this initiative, we had budget available to hire an outside Data Literacy, however after 4 months into the initiative due to risks outside of our control, we were constrained to zero budget. We had to develop in-house.
4. Pivot
From our research synthesis, we crafted five data user personas, each representing distinct characteristics, skillsets, and data-related challenges. These personas became the center point throughout the rest of the design process, ensuring that our program catered to the diverse learning needs, position-specific needs, and learning styles of USAA’s workforce.