Staying Current with the Latest Analytics Trends and Technology

Editor’s note. This article continues the series titled “Analytics Advice” in which topics and content are drawn from the collective experience and wisdom of the INFORMS community to provide advice on topics of interest to analytics students and early career professionals. A question is posed to the community, and the responses are edited into an article. If you have a topic for which you would like analytics advice, please email [email protected] with the suggestion.

“Analytics Advice” is sponsored by the INFORMS Analytics Society.

It can often seem daunting to keep pace with the rapid advancements in technology and the tools available to operations research and analytics professionals. The INFORMS community was asked to share their best tips for “staying current with the latest analytics trends and technology.” The following is an edited version of the best advice received through INFORMS Connect, along with some additional commentary. (The advice is not directly attributed to the respondents; however, the full list of respondents is provided at the end.)

1. Maintain depth in your area and an overall breadth of advances.

The consensus of the INFORMS community is that yes, it is important to stay current with the latest trends, but it is impossible to stay current with everything. It therefore becomes important to determine your focus and priorities.

One respondent recommends staying current in two ways. The first is by focusing on advancements that directly impact your core skills, knowledge and area of expertise. The second is by gaining a basic understanding of important emerging topics and trends. In other words, depth in your specific area and breadth in the overall fields of operations research and analytics.

Another respondent said they are always researching new problems they encounter to understand the current state of the art. The topics change based on problems encountered at work or areas of curiosity, but over time, they accumulate pockets of knowledge on a broad range of subjects ranging from multiechelon inventory to transportation equilibrium to financial hedging.

One suggestion for identifying emerging topics is to follow fast-moving industries, such as technology, automotive or consumer products. Their product development cycles are rapid, thus creating an environment supporting invention and implementation of new methods and technology.

2. Build and maintain a peer network.

Several of the respondents on INFORMS Connect pointed out the importance of building and leveraging a peer network with whom you can discuss the latest advances and emerging trends.

If you work within a large operations research/analytics team, then you may have opportunities to learn about new advances from coworkers. Some companies organize lunchtime seminars, invite outside speakers or even work through books together to learn new topics. Many don’t have these opportunities, or even if they do, they may want to branch out further. Suggestions for networking with peers include:

• Staying in touch with trusted colleagues, such as school friends or colleagues from a prior job.
• Discussing the latest analytics and technology trends with clients of your company.
• Participating in a professional society, such as INFORMS.
• Attending a conference and making new friends. Talk to someone who has given a presentation in an area you find interesting.
• Seeking out a mentorship, especially someone who can help provide a different perspective than yours.

3. Subscribe to technical websites and always continue to learn.

Read! Browse and let curiosity drive you to search for news articles, peer-reviewed literature, software trials, online tutorials and other interesting web-based information.

Although “Analytics Advice” doesn’t endorse specific websites, several respondents mentioned a good source was medium.com, which has a large number of technical articles. Other sites mentioned include Kaggle, which provides community-published models, data and code, and the publisher O’Reilly.

If your resources and time permit, take courses to learn new skills. There are numerous courses available online, some at no or low cost, including massive open online courses (MOOCs) and courses offered by universities, vendors and professional societies.

Another suggestion is simply to practice. Install a package or download and try out new software and tools. You never know when it might prove to be useful.

4. Create opportunities to use new analytical tools and technologies.

Erick Wikum has a saying: “If you learn it, you know it, but if you use it, you own it.” Engaging with your peer network, attending conferences and reading articles are all great ways to learn and build your breadth of knowledge, but until you actually use something, you won’t, as Erick would say, own it.

The best strategy is to learn on the job if you have opportunities to employ a new algorithm or software tool. When it works well, you have not only gained a new skill but also helped your company and elevated your profile within the company. However, when it does not work well, you have cost your company time and money. You might also meet resistance from others not as willing as you to learn something new. Trying something new is worth the risk, but only if you research the topic, make a compelling case and get buy-in from others in your company.

Another strategy is to volunteer for tasks you do not know but want to learn. There are many opportunities for this through hackathons for good, volunteering in your community or signing up for programs like INFORMS Pro Bono Analytics.

One of the respondents is an adjunct professor and uses teaching as a means for doing deep dives into new topics that they can bring to the classroom. Not everyone has the time or ability to be an adjunct professor, but you can volunteer to do a deep dive into a topic and share it with your colleagues at work during a brown-bag seminar or other event.

5. Does staying current matter?

A respondent commented that staying current with new advances hasn’t “been critical for my career because the rate of adoption is slow.” This is a valid and interesting viewpoint. Many in the operations research and analytics fields are curious and driven to keep learning, including this respondent, who went on to say that staying current is important for their research. As stated earlier in this article, you need to make your own determination of how much effort you put into staying current with the latest analytical and technology tools based on your goals and situation.

We welcome all students and early career professionals to join the Analytics Society to foster relationships, create networks and gain more analytics advice.

Source. This article was compiled by Dave Hunt. The respondents include (in alphabetical order) Alberto Aparicio, Vinod Cheriyan, Aaron Hussey, Duncan Klett, Mahindra Venkat Lukka, Marc Meketon, Kendra Taylor and Erick Wikum. Thanks to all the respondents!