For the Business Analytics students, April wasn't an easy month although we already finished final exams in March. Three days of SAS training and seven days of case preparation, helped us realize how we could reach our potential. We are able to analyze data by using new programming tools and deliver business insights and solutions to solve a real-world problem.
Ivey MSc in Management partnered with Deloitte, Scotiabank, and SAS this year for Hack the Case. Specifically worked with Scotiabank's Scene loyalty points program, we were given real data from the company to draw insights and to tell the story in order to improve business performance. I had an amazing team for Hack the Case, our group – Brogrammers did an awesome job and made it to the final round. Looking back, the experience is much more valuable and important for our long-term growth regardless of the ranking, here are my takeaways from two weeks of Hack the Case.
1. The power of TEAM work
I’ve never realized the power of teamwork until Hack the Case. I remember when I first got the team composition, I was happy that I got a team with people from different background varies from engineering to business. It was important to elaborate on what everyone is good at and leverage everyone’s skills into job distribution. There are always people who have stronger technical skills, research skills, or presentation skills. Respecting everyone’s opinion and listening to your team members’ ideas always contribute to better results.
2. Communication is the KEY
No progression would be made if there was no communication. When someone had a good approach, we always discussed it in a breakout room. It was a good rule to make sure everyone is on the same page and work toward the same goal. The case was a bit overwhelming at the beginning since we were only given seven days to work on it. The data was raw and messy, and we needed to figure out what are the key variables and get rid of the least important ones. One member of our team jointed all the key factors together through SQL, then another team members import the new tables into SAS and R to do customer segmentation and regression analysis. Meanwhile, team members who had used the Scene program did market research to keep everyone up to date with their current marketing strategies, while others created and developed a seamless presentation deck.
That time a freak ice storm hit in April, on the day of Hack the Case Finals. But a little freezing rain didn't stop the competition!
4. Be flexible to tackle the TWIST
Life is not about to waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain. Business Analytics students definitely learned how to dance in the freezing rain (literally). We were supposed to head to the Deloitte office in Toronto for the presentation, however, the weather twisted suddenly the day before. Ivey had to cancel the bus trip due to safety concerns. The presentation was scheduled to video conference instead. Everyone was worried because we all know that it won’t be the same as if we delivered the presentation in person. We all worked so hard on the case, and we didn’t want all the efforts we have put in to be erased by the terrible weather. Being able to be flexible to any kind of situation is important as it distinguish you from the rest. We treated the video conference as a chance because that’s not the normal case, but if we do good, we would be memorized.
5. Treat challenges as opportunities and make friends on the way, you would enjoy every single experience in the future.
Winning Hack the Case team – Saloitte.bank (left to right): Will Biderman, Jeremy Xu, Laverne Wang, Ashley Tannis, Sukham Dulay, Daniel Chen