Data and analytics templates
Analysis write-ups, metric definitions, dashboards, data requests, experiments and reporting. 35 free templates, 10 of them longer notes. Open one to fill in the blanks and copy it.
Analysis notes
Structure your thinking.
- Analysis write-up Note Question to recommendation. Question: [Question] Requested by: [Requester] Date: [today] TL;DR Data used Method Findings 1. Caveats…
- Metric definition Note Define a metric once. Metric: [Metric] Owner: [Owner] Definition Formula Source tables Filters and exclusions Known issues
- Dashboard spec Note Plan a dashboard. Dashboard: [Dashboard] Audience: [Audience] Questions it answers 1. Charts | Chart | Metric | Breakdown | |…
- Experiment readout Note A/B test results. Experiment: [Experiment] Dates: [Dates] Hypothesis Results | Metric | Control | Variant | Lift |…
- Data dictionary entry Note Document a table. Table: [Table] Grain: [Grain] | Column | Type | Description | | | | | | | | |
- Data quality check Note Check a dataset. Dataset: [Dataset] - [ ] Row counts match source - [ ] No unexpected nulls - [ ] No duplicates on key - [ ]…
- Weekly metrics review Note Recurring review. Week of [today] | Metric | This week | Last week | Change | | | | | | | | | | | What moved and why
- Model card Note Document a model. Model: [Model] Version: [Version] Purpose Training data Performance Limitations Monitoring
- Survey analysis Note Summarise a survey. Survey: [Survey] Responses: [Responses] Headline By question Themes from comments -
- Cohort analysis Note Retention by cohort. Cohort by: [Cohort] Metric: [Metric] | Cohort | Month 0 | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | | | | | | | | | | |…
Data requests
Ask for, scope and deliver data.
- Data request form Snippet Ask for data well. Question I am trying to answer: [Question] Decision it informs: [Decision] Metrics needed: [Metrics] Time…
- Clarify a data request Snippet Scope the ask. Hi [Name], Before I pull this, a few questions: 1. What decision will this help with? 2. Which time period?…
- Data delivered Snippet Shares results. Hi [Name], Here is the analysis you asked for: [Link] Key takeaway: [Takeaway] Caveat: [Caveat]
- Numbers do not match Snippet Explains discrepancies. Hi [Name], The two reports differ because [Reason]. The [Source] number is the one to use for [Purpose].
- Data access request Snippet Asks for table access. Hi [Owner], Could I get read access to [Dataset]? I need it for [Purpose]. I will not export personal data.
- Pipeline failure notice Snippet Data is stale. Heads-up: the [Pipeline] pipeline failed overnight, so [Dashboard] shows data up to [today]. We expect a fix…
- Metric change announcement Snippet Definition changed. Heads-up: from [today], [Metric] is calculated as [New definition] (previously [Old definition]). Historical…
Reporting phrases
Say what the numbers mean.
- Headline insight Snippet One sentence summary. [Metric] rose [Change] week over week, driven mainly by [Driver].
- Correlation caveat Snippet Avoid overclaiming. Note: this shows [A] and [B] move together; it does not prove [A] causes [B].
- Small sample caveat Snippet Low confidence warning. Caution: this is based on [N] responses, so treat it as directional.
- Seasonality note Snippet Explains a seasonal pattern. This dip is in line with previous years; [Month] is usually [Percent] below average.
- Recommendation line Snippet Clear next step. Recommendation: [Action], which we estimate will [Impact].
- Chart caption Snippet Explains a chart. [Chart] shows [What] from [Start] to [End]. The key point: [Point].
Analytics snippets
Formulas and queries for analysts.
- Excel XLOOKUP Snippet Lookup formula. =XLOOKUP([Lookup value], [Lookup range], [Return range], "Not found")
- Excel SUMIFS Snippet Conditional sum. =SUMIFS([Sum range], [Criteria range], [Criteria])
- Excel percent change Snippet Change between two values. =([New]-[Old])/[Old]
- Google Sheets QUERY Snippet Query a range. =QUERY([Range], "select A, sum(B) group by A", 1)
- Excel IFERROR Snippet Hide errors. =IFERROR([Formula], 0)
- Excel COUNTIFS Snippet Conditional count. =COUNTIFS([Range], [Criteria])
- Pivot description Snippet Pivot table setup. Rows: [Rows] Columns: [Columns] Values: SUM of [Values] Filter: [Filter]
- Pandas group by Snippet Aggregate in pandas. df.groupby("[Column]")["[Value]"].agg(["count", "sum", "mean"]).sort_values("sum", ascending=False)
- Pandas pivot Snippet Pivot table in pandas. df.pivot_table(index="[Rows]", columns="[Columns]", values="[Values]", aggfunc="sum")
- Conversion rate SQL Snippet Rate by group. SELECT [Group], COUNT(*) FILTER (WHERE [Converted]) * 1.0 / COUNT(*) AS conversion_rate FROM [Table] GROUP…
- Retention SQL Snippet Month-over-month retention. SELECT cohort_month, months_since, COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) FROM [Table] GROUP BY 1, 2 ORDER BY 1, 2;
- Median SQL Snippet Median value. SELECT PERCENTILE_CONT(0.5) WITHIN GROUP (ORDER BY [Column]) AS median FROM [Table];