Datascience

The Missing Data The story of Abraham Wald and the WW2 bombers is the perfect metaphor for modern Product Management. The Generals made a logical error: They assumed the data they had was the entire data. They forgot about the data they didn’t have: The planes lying at the bottom of the ocean. In SaaS, your “Ocean” is your Churn Rate. The “Power User” Trap We love our Power Users. They answer our surveys. They join our beta programs. They rave about us on Twitter. So, we build features for them. ...

The Horror Story It is the nightmare scenario. You are flying home for Diwali. You have your boarding pass. You arrive at the gate. And then you hear the announcement: “We are looking for volunteers to give up their seats for a voucher.” Why does this happen? Did their database fail? Did they double-book a seat by mistake? No. They bet against you, and they lost. The Economics of “Perishable Inventory” An empty seat is the most expensive thing on a plane. It consumes fuel but generates zero revenue. ...