Welcome to hypothesis formation! In business analysis, a hypothesis is your educated guess about what's happening in your data before you dive into the numbers.
Think of it as making a prediction you can test with data.
Engagement Message
What's one business question you've wondered about that data might answer?
Good hypotheses have three key qualities: they're specific, testable, and measurable.
Instead of "customers are unhappy," try "customers who wait over 5 minutes are 30% more likely to rate us poorly."
Notice how the second version gives you something concrete to measure?
Engagement Message
Which two variables would you track to test this hypothesis?
Start with observations from your business experience. "I notice more complaints on Mondays" could become "Monday customer satisfaction scores are lower than other weekdays."
Your daily observations are goldmines for hypothesis ideas.
Engagement Message
What business pattern have you noticed that could be turned into a hypothesis?
Always ask: "How would I measure this?" If you can't measure it with available data, refine your hypothesis.
"Customers love our product" becomes "customers who use feature X have higher retention rates" - something you can actually count.
Engagement Message
What makes the second version better for analysis?
Connect your hypothesis to data you can actually access. No point hypothesizing about competitor pricing if you don't have that data.
Check what metrics you can measure: sales, clicks, ratings, time spent, return rates, etc.
Engagement Message
Which of these metrics could you likely access in most businesses?
