The Analyst's Toolkit
The everyday tools and habits behind a trustworthy analysis.
Data Analyst track
Junior
Write correct SQL, build trusted dashboards, ask good questions.
- Analysis NotebooksCells of code, output and notes run in order, and the out-of-order execution that ruins them.
- Data ExtractA point-in-time copy of data pulled for one question, and how it drifts from the source.
- Lookup FunctionsPulling a value from another table by key, in a spreadsheet or in SQL.
- Pivot TableDragging fields into rows, columns and values to rebuild a table any way the question needs.
- Spreadsheet FormulasThe cells that recalculate, and the ones that quietly stop being true.
- Spreadsheets for AnalysisThe grid as a first analysis tool: sorting, filtering, pivots and formulas.
- Spreadsheets vs SQLWhen the spreadsheet is the right tool and when it quietly stops being one.
Mid-level
Own an analysis end to end, from vague question to recommendation.
- Data Quality ChecksThe assertions a dataset must pass before you build numbers on it.
- ImputationFilling blanks with a stand-in value, and what that costs you in certainty.
- Missing DataBlank values that arrive for reasons, and what the reason does to your analysis.
- Reproducible AnalysisProducing the same number again from the same inputs, months later, on someone else's machine.
- Versioning Analysis CodePutting queries and models in source control so a number can be re-run and diffed.
Senior
Own experimentation and metrics design; call out bad numbers.
Nothing here yet.
Staff
Shape how the organization measures and decides.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set measurement strategy across the company.
Nothing here yet.