VIDEO | GE Digital VP of Digital Transformation: Operational Metrics Is the Heartbeat of the Data Business

(US and Canada) Maggie Hubble, VP of Digital Transformation at GE Digital, speaks with Susan Wilson, Group VP and Americas Solutions Leader at Informatica, in a video interview about operational metrics for success, following a KPI-driven strategy, the role of storytelling, and taking ownership of analytics in AI.

At the onset, Hubble discusses success metrics and refers to operational metrics as the heartbeat of the nature of data business. She uses operational metrics to determine the data landing, performance optimization, and data availability. In addition, she also looks at a dashboard in Tableau to measure completeness from an account and contact perspective. She further examines data fitness, which includes measuring accuracy, integrity, and hierarchy.

To check progress, Hubble uses a baseline from year to year and then tracks monthly or more frequently if needed. She also checks analytics and insights specifically related to content completeness, dashboard reporting load times, user components, and data reliability. Finally, Hubble also reviews usage statistics for analytics as one of the measurable KPIs.

Delving further, Hubble asserts that when it comes to analytics and insights, the recency of the data is of the utmost importance. She suggests teams follow a KPI-driven strategy that provides clear-cut details rather than pages of measurables.

Hubble ensures that when constructing a KPI-driven strategy, her team partners with the business to ensure meaningful and relevant details. She notes that the two components that business units are mainly interested in are data and governance. They do not pay much attention to aspects such as the amount of data received and utilized.

Furthermore, Hubble shares monitoring KPIs monthly while holding quarterly meetings with the business units to keep them abreast of the analytics and governance aspects that are in alignment with the business. She maintains that the reviews with the business side lead to meaningful conversations.

Elaborating, she points out that in case of a missed metric, the root cause is typically a flawed business process. This could be an issue of human interaction, such as a required field filled out incorrectly or a process that needs to be improved. By rooting out causes, the team may be able to identify areas for improvement, such as introducing revised standards of work or better communication with stakeholders. She emphasizes that these conversations are vital.

Next, Hubble stresses the importance of a team and mentions that investment is never handed on a silver platter. She considers enabling storytelling to connect with business objectives to secure the necessary investment. She affirms that this is key to the team's success.

When asked about taking ownership as a leader, Hubble highlights the importance of an individual having responsibility for the entire data pipeline, from where it lands to delivery. She discusses how the ‘directly responsible individual’ eliminates waste and increases business acumen across all teams, from data scientists and engineers to reporting. She also asserts that the underlying point is to get to the root of the problem and not unnecessarily explain every fix.

Finally, fixing issues at their source eliminates frustration and keeps track of explainability, allowing teams to work more efficiently and stay ahead of problems, says Hubble. Therefore, having an entire pipeline in a reporting relationship with a data office provides the best outcomes.

CDO Magazine appreciates Maggie Hubble for sharing her invaluable insights with our global community.

See more from Maggie Hubble

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