Product Insights Team
By: Francesco Rinaldi
Tags: Product Insights, Analytics, Data Driven, Data Science, Data Visualization

If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything

- Ronald Coase

Hello World! Welcome to our blog. If you make it to the end of this post, you will have a clear understanding of how the “Product Insights Team” tames the data monster to extract the insights that subsequently inform the actions required to improve our products.

Here at TUI-Musement, we strive to deliver the best possible experience to our customers whilst they book their next activity on our platform. To achieve this, we rely on an end-to-end, cyclical data-driven approach; yes, that’s quite wordy, so let’s unpack this last sentence:

end-to-end means that we own the project from the very first interaction with key stakeholders where we define scope and direction, through the phases of analysis, modelling and evaluation, to the deployment and testing of the results;

means that we own the project from the very first interaction with key stakeholders where we define scope and direction, through the phases of analysis, modelling and evaluation, to the deployment and testing of the results; trends, strategies and consumer behaviour are not set in stone and this is why most analytics approaches incorporate a cyclical nature, where a solution is continuously tested and revised periodically, according to business needs and product roadmaps;

nature, where a solution is continuously tested and revised periodically, according to business needs and product roadmaps; data is the bread and butter of our work, so a data-driven approach doesn’t come as a surprise. Working with online platforms fortunately allows access to plenty of data: from proprietary tracking, to technical performance data to financial and sales data. It is thus our responsibility to inspire, educate and support a data-centric culture at every level of the organisation by developing tools and dashboards that allow a reliable self-service analytics environment.

Fig.1 End-to-end cyclical data-driven approach

The transverse nature of the Product Insights Team allows us to be involved in each step of the journey previously described, which in collaboration with our talented colleagues from all departments in the organisation, enables us to deliver all kinds of projects, such as:

centralising and consolidating (internal and external) data sources , to have a unique source of truth, and defining useful metrics

, to have a unique source of truth, and defining useful metrics making data available and easily accessible to the whole business via interactive dashboards , with different level of complexity

, with different level of complexity working side by side with product managers, developers and ux designers, ensuring we make the best data-informed decisions by performing all kinds of ad-hoc analysis , and sharing new insights once opportunities are identified

, and sharing new insights once opportunities are identified continuously testing and assessing new product features based on our customer’s behaviour and satisfaction

and assessing based on our customer’s behaviour and satisfaction developing statistical learning models and deploying them into production.

Fig.2 Sankey graph using proprietary tracking system to study in depth the customer journey

Fig.3 Prior to introducing new features or modifying existing ones, we analyse their impact on key metrics via proprietary AB testing assessment tool

So far, we’ve described the approach we use to tackle big projects, but our daily work is much more than that, we get to wear many different hats, from

the knight’s helm when we fight SQL queries, window functions, log investigations, currency conversion and data cleaning,

when we fight SQL queries, window functions, log investigations, currency conversion and data cleaning, to the sage beard when it’s time to brainstorm a new idea or help out a teammate that’s stuck with coder’s block,

when it’s time to brainstorm a new idea or help out a teammate that’s stuck with coder’s block, and of course, the nerd’s glasses when it’s time to learn some new techniques or develop our skills through a webinar.

This is why we look for specific traits when we need to make an addition to the team:

technical skills are important, but we believe that a curious and inquisitive mindset is essential,

is essential, we need people that are eager to propose fresh ideas but that are also willing to listen and explore another person’s point of view ,

, and finally, we value our work environment and our teammates, so we try to be empathetic and look after each other.

If you would like to know more about us or about possible openings in our team, feel free to reach out!