Asking your branch network questions in plain language
You can ask your branch network questions in plain language and get an answer drawn from your layout and floor data. DataDime is built for that. You type or say the question, the way you would ask a colleague, and it reads the data to reply.
It removes the gap between a question an operations head has and the report that someone has to build to answer it.
Why is branch data hard to use?
A bank with many branches has plenty of data. Footfall, queue lengths, layouts, security events. The trouble is access. Each view usually sits in its own report or dashboard, built for one purpose. A new question means a request to an analyst, a wait of days and a result that answers a slightly different question from the one you meant.
By then the moment has passed. The decision was made on instinct.
The people closest to the decisions, regional heads, branch network managers and security leads, are rarely the people who know how to query a database. So the data stays one step away from them.
What does a plain-language question look like?
Here are examples of the kind of thing an operations head might ask.
- Which branches get the longest lines on Monday mornings?
- Where do customers spend the most time before reaching a counter?
- Which branch layouts have the ATM lobby furthest from the entrance, and does it matter?
- If we move a counter, what happens to the way people flow through the floor?
These are ordinary questions. None needs a special query language. The value is in being able to ask the second and third question straight after the first, while the thought is still fresh.
How DataDime works with the rest of the platform
DataDime lets you ask questions about the layout and the floor data in plain language. The floor data comes from queue and wait readings and other signals that Sakshi produces from existing CCTV. The layout comes from the design side of the platform.
That pairing is the point. A question like where do people stop in this branch becomes more useful when the answer can sit next to the floor plan. You see the pattern and the space it happens in.
It also helps with security work. Flagged events from branch security analytics can be explored the same way, for example by asking which branches see the most off-hours activity.
DataDime works from the data your system holds. It will not invent facts about branches it has no information on, and answers are only as good as the data behind them. Read more at DataDime.
What changes for the network team
When asking is easy, people ask more. Regional heads can compare branches before a review meeting rather than after. Security leads can test an idea in the morning and act on it by afternoon. Analysts are freed from routine requests and can work on harder problems.
It also changes the quality of conversation with branch managers. Instead of arguing about whether Tuesday is quiet, both sides look at the same answer.
For a wider view of this idea outside banking, see asking your stores a question.
How to get started
- Write down ten questions you wish you could ask. Collect them from regional heads, security leads and service teams.
- Check what data exists for them. Layouts, footfall, queues and flows are a good starting set.
- Start with a pilot group of branches. Choose a region where the questions matter most.
- Let a few non-technical users try it. Watch what they ask and where the answers fall short.
- Expand to the wider network. Add branches and data sources once the pilot questions are answered well.