🕘 Schedule:
5:00 PM – Registration, networking and pizza
5:30 PM – Data Talk presentation - From Zero Impact to Real Action: A 5-Part Framework for Operational Change
6:30 PM – Networking
📊 From Zero Impact to Real Action: A 5-Part Framework for Operational Change
Most of us have built a pipeline, a model or a dashboard that worked perfectly, but changed nothing. The data was good and the report shipped, yet the same issue resurfaced, or worse, new and preventable, yet unexpected, issues emerged.
The cause is rarely technical. Data fails when it lacks an operational engine around it: agreed definitions, clear ownership, direct decision paths, and feedback loops.
In this talk, Jason will explore the decisions that helped tame the chaos, and discuss a five-part operational intelligence loop (Reality → Definition → Ownership → Decision → Feedback) that treats data quality as an ongoing operating practice rather than a one-time cleanup.
Three anonymized case studies will show the loop in practice:
Case 1: Coverage & Control - Reconciling running systems against the official asset record to close technical, process, and governance gaps, which greatly improved both accuracy and attestability.
Case 2: Audit Efficiency - Capturing compliance evidence as part of daily operations, instead of rebuilding it each year, cut audit effort from several thousand staff hours to under 40, sustained over three years.
Case 3: AI-Readiness - An ongoing cleanup of scattered files, archives and institutional knowledge is building a governed foundation that makes AI a more effective and efficient thinking partner.
A generous Q&A session will follow. Bring a challenge from your own ecosystem: we'll look for its control points together, and trade the strategies that have held up over time.
Speaker: Jason Bunston is an independent IT consultant and solutions architect, and founder of Elite Conceptual Consulting. He brings 20+ years of experience across global enterprises and large public sector organizations to turning complex processes into workable practice in tightly governed environments.
🎯 Why Attend?
Whether you're a data leader, analyst, software engineer, or anyone who is curious about bridging technical work with business strategy, this session will help you:
Map the ecosystem: Spot the visible and hidden dependencies and control points that shape data outcomes in large, strained environments. 🔍
Test metric actionability: Try the six-question test to see whether a metric will drive real decisions 📊
Start with minimum viable data: Begin with one recurring decision, not an expensive universal model 🎯
Build ownership pathways: Raise ownership and feedback with stakeholders, even when you don't own the decision 🛠️
Connect with fellow data enthusiasts 🤝
Enjoy great conversations over pizza and refreshments 🍕🥤
💲Cost
Free for Victoria Data Society members.
$10 cover charge for non-members (pay at the door).
⭐ Become a member and attend this and other Data Talks for free for the year.