How to Integrate AI and Data Science into Your Business Strategy | by Hans Christian Ekne | Dec, 2024

Most of the work associated with a workshop like this is actually done before the workshop even starts. To quote one of my favorite inventors and statesman:

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” — Benjamin Franklin

Functional Areas Research and Alignment

Depending on your level of industry knowledge, be prepared to put in a lot of time on pre-workshop research. There are several topics that need to be addressed before you can draft the outline for the workshop.

• A high-level understanding of the industry: Who are the major players, what are the key drivers, what are the trends, and what are the current challenges
• Functional business areas: Thoroughly investigate what are the key functional business areas for the business you are working with and then do a deep dive in each of these

Try to segment the functional areas one level down to get a more granular view. Using an energy utility as an example, a typical list of functional areas could be like the list below:

1. Power Generation and Energy Resources Management: Traditional Power Plants, Renewable Energy (Solar, Wind, Hydro), Distributed Generation, Energy Storage Systems, Generation Optimization
2. Grid Management and Asset Maintenance: Transmission Networks, Distribution Networks, Smart Grid Technologies, Predictive Maintenance, Outage Management, Asset Lifecycle Management
3. Customer Base Management, Marketing, and Sales: Customer Service, Billing and Payments, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Marketing Campaigns, Sales Operations, Customer Analytics
4. Energy Trading, Market Operations, and Risk Management: Energy Procurement, Wholesale Trading, Price Forecasting, Market Analysis, Hedging Strategies, Risk Assessment
5. Supply Chain Management and Operational Efficiency: Procurement, Supplier Management, Inventory Management, Logistics, Process Optimization, Cost Reduction
6. Finance, Compliance, and Regulatory: Financial Planning, Budgeting, Accounting, Regulatory Compliance, Auditing, Government Relations, Policy Advocacy
7. Human Resources and Workforce Management: Talent Acquisition, Training and Development, Employee Engagement, Performance Management, Workforce Planning, Health and Safety
8. Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Innovation: IT Infrastructure, Cybersecurity Measures, Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, Innovation Programs, Research and Development (R&D), Emerging Technologies (IoT, AI, Blockchain)
9. Environmental Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility: Emission Reduction Initiatives, Sustainability Reporting, Environmental Compliance, Renewable Energy Certificates, Community Engagement, CSR Programs

You have now completed the first part of the research and should, ideally, align with the client as to whether this list is what they want to focus on or if they want to expand on some areas while excluding others. The above structure will help you specify the agenda for the workshop in more detail and also help steer the rest of the research for the workshop.

Functional Area Deep Dives

After aligning on the structure, we can start doing deep dives into each of the subcategories to understand where and how AI and data science is being applied to generate value. This is usually where I need to spend the most time on research.

I typically start out with specific queries, like: “How is AI being used in power generation, specifically in wind generation?” Results for this query might yield the following topics:

• Use of AI and quantum computing to better understand how to plan and optimize turbine location in onshore wind farms
• Time series modelling for fault detection and diagnostics for turbines
• Time series modelling for predictive maintenance for turbines

If available, try to also quantify the possible value that comes from using the technology. For example, if Equinor, an energy company, was able to reduce unplanned downtime of wind turbines by 40% after implementing a predictive maintenance project, how does this translate into monetary value? How would this example translate into your specific business if you for example had a wind farm with 1000 wind turbines? The quantification aspect is important because it will help in the later work of prioritizing initiatives.

At this research stage, it is also OK to think outside the box and perhaps explore how a specific technology could be borrowed from one industry to another. Many technologies start out being used in one industry and then transition into others with similar functional areas. For example, data driven churn management started out being used by the telco and banking companies but was quickly adopted in almost all industries.

Drafting the Agenda

With an understanding of the industry, functional business areas, and technological possibilities, it’s time to draft an agenda for the workshop.

For a two-day workshop, I would recommend at least 30 minutes for an introduction to present the workshop and its goals. I would also schedule time to review pre-workshop findings, as this gives the participants insights into their collective a priori views, expectations and prioritizations. The rest of the workshop we would then be devoted to sessions on the selected functional areas. Finally, end the workshop with a summary of the topics covered and next steps.

A 2-day workshop with 9 functional area deep dives, could be planned using the structure below:

Day 1

9:00 AM — 9:30 AM: Welcome and Introduction
9:30 AM — 10:00 AM: Review of Pre-Workshop Findings
10:15 AM — 11:30 PM: Session 1
1:00 PM — 2:15 PM: Session 2
2:30 PM — 3:45 PM: Session 3
4:00 PM — 5:15 PM: Session 4
5:15 PM — 5:30 PM: Day 1 Wrap-Up

Day 2

9:00 AM — 9:15 AM: Recap of Day 1
9:15 AM — 10:30 AM: Session 5
10:45 AM — 12:00 PM: Session 6
1:00 PM — 2:15 PM: Session 7
2:30 PM — 3:45 PM: Session 8
4:00 PM — 5:15 PM: Session 9
5:15 PM — 5:45 PM: Final Wrap-Up and Next Steps