Stakeholder Needs

Technical Explanation

Different stakeholders have different needs, questions, and tolerance for complexity. Understanding your audience is essential for effective data communication.

Common Stakeholder Types

Stakeholder	Primary Question	Typical Metrics	Tolerance for Detail
C-Suite	"Are we winning?"	Revenue, Growth, ROI	Low
VP/Director	"Why/why not?"	KPIs, Trends	Medium
Manager	"What should we do?"	Operational metrics	High
Analyst	"What's really happening?"	Detailed breakdowns	Very High

Tailoring Communication

Aspect	Executive	Manager	Analyst
Summary	1 slide	1 page	Multiple pages
Metrics	5-10 KPIs	10-20 metrics	Unlimited
Comparisons	vs target	vs target, vs period	vs anything
Drill-down	None	Basic	Full

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Code Examples

Using the CatCafe dataset:

-- EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD: C-Suite (just the headlines)
SELECT
    SUM(total_amount) as monthly_revenue,
    SUM(total_amount) - LAG(SUM(total_amount)) OVER (ORDER BY DATE_TRUNC('month', order_date)) as mom_change,
    COUNT(DISTINCT customer_id) as active_customers
FROM orders
WHERE status = 'completed'
GROUP BY DATE_TRUNC('month', order_date)
ORDER BY DATE_TRUNC('month', order_date) DESC
LIMIT 1;

-- MANAGER DASHBOARD: Operational with trends
SELECT
    DATE_TRUNC('day', order_date) as date,
    COUNT(*) as orders,
    SUM(total_amount) as revenue,
    COUNT(DISTINCT customer_id) as customers,
    AVG(total_amount) as avg_order_value
FROM orders
WHERE status = 'completed'
AND order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '7 days'
GROUP BY DATE_TRUNC('day', order_date)
ORDER BY date;

-- ANALYST DEEP DIVE: Full breakdown
SELECT
    c.segment,
    c.city,
    DATE_TRUNC('day', o.order_date) as date,
    o.total_amount,
    cat.breed,
    cat.age
FROM orders o
JOIN customers c ON o.customer_id = c.id
LEFT JOIN order_items oi ON o.id = oi.order_id
LEFT JOIN cats cat ON oi.cat_id = cat.id
WHERE o.status = 'completed'
AND o.order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '7 days'
ORDER BY o.order_date DESC;

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The Cat Analogy

Explaining cat cafe performance to different people:

To CEO (just the headline):

"Revenue up 15% this quarter, exceeding target by $50K.
 Customer acquisition cost down 10%. We're winning."

To Marketing Director (trends and causes):

"15% growth driven by:
 - Email campaign: 8% conversion, best channel
 - Paid social: High volume, lower conversion
 - Organic: Steady, low cost
 Recommend: Increase email, reduce paid social budget"

To Marketing Analyst (full detail):

"Full breakdown by channel, campaign, creative, audience segment,
 day of week, time of day, device, location...
 [Here's the 200-page report]"

Same data, different depths for different needs!

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Exercises

Exercise 1

What does each stakeholder type typically need from a dashboard?

Exercise 2

How would you present the same data differently to a CFO vs a product manager?

Exercise 3

Why is knowing your audience important for data communication?

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Key Takeaways

• Tailor depth and focus to the audience
• Executives want headlines; analysts want detail
• Know what decision each stakeholder makes
• Adjust metric selection based on role
• One dashboard rarely fits all