Types of Analysis
Describing, diagnosing, predicting and prescribing — and knowing which one you were asked for.
Data Analyst
Junior
Write correct SQL, build trusted dashboards, ask good questions.
- Ad-Hoc AnalysisOne-off questions answered quickly, with the right amount of rigour.
- Descriptive AnalysisSummarising what happened: counts, averages, breakdowns.
- Period-Over-Period ComparisonThis week vs last week, done without fooling yourself.
Mid-level
Own an analysis end to end, from vague question to recommendation.
- Predictive AnalysisEstimating what will happen, and saying how sure you are.
- SegmentationSplitting users or customers into groups that behave differently.
- Scenario AnalysisTesting decisions against several plausible futures instead of one forecast.
- Sensitivity AnalysisFinding which assumptions your conclusion actually depends on.
- Diagnostic AnalysisFiguring out why a number moved.
- RFM AnalysisScoring customers on how recently, how often and how much they bought.
Senior
Own experimentation and metrics design; call out bad numbers.
- Survival AnalysisModelling time until an event: churn, failure, conversion.
- Association RulesFinding which items tend to appear together, and how weak 'tends to' really is.
- Prescriptive AnalysisRecommending actions, not just predictions.