8 Data Quality Issues That Quietly Break Your Reports
Eight data quality issues that quietly break business reports, from duplicates to mismatched definitions, with how to detect each one and fix it for good.
4 min read
Data analysis
Practical guides to analysing spreadsheets and databases, asking questions of your data in plain English, and trusting the answers.
AI Data Analyst for Small Businesses: What It Can (and Can't) Do
An honest look at using an AI data analyst in a small business: the tasks it handles well, where it falls short, and how to get reliable results from it.
5 min read
Chat With Your Data: Ask Business Questions in Plain English
Learn how to chat with your data in plain English: how natural-language analysis works, which questions get good answers, and how to verify every result.
5 min read
Connect SQL Server, PostgreSQL or MySQL to Reporting Safely
How to connect SQL Server, PostgreSQL or MySQL to a reporting tool safely: read-only users, example GRANT statements, SSL and least privilege.
5 min read
Data Cleaning Checklist: 12 Fixes Before You Analyse Anything
A practical data cleaning checklist with 12 fixes to make before you analyse: duplicates, dates, blanks, categories, outliers and more, with examples for each.
5 min read
Descriptive Statistics for Managers: Mean, Median and Why They Differ
Descriptive statistics for managers in plain English: mean, median, mode, range, percentiles and standard deviation, and why the mean and median often differ.
4 min read
How to Analyse Large CSV Files Without Excel Crashing
How to analyse large CSV files that exceed Excel's 1,048,576-row limit: Power Query, databases, Python, streaming and sampling, with steps for each option.
5 min read
How to Find Trends in Sales Data (Seasonality, Growth, Mix)
Learn how to find trends in sales data: separate growth from seasonality, compare like with like, use moving averages and analyse product mix, with examples.
5 min read
How to Spot Anomalies and Outliers in Business Data
How to spot anomalies and outliers in business data using simple, reliable methods: IQR, z-scores, percentage change and rules, with worked examples.
5 min read
Pivot Tables vs AI Analysis: When to Use Each
Pivot tables vs AI analysis: a practical comparison of speed, control, accuracy and effort, with clear guidance on when each approach is the better choice.
4 min read