Data Analyst
Project Overview
This project represents my work in Business & Operational Analytics, where I focused on understanding how everyday decisions in a restaurant environment influence financial outcomes, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
Instead of looking at metrics in isolation, my goal was to build a connected story—one that explains why the business performs the way it does and what actions stakeholders can take to improve it.
This analysis integrates multiple departments:
Business & Revenue
Operations & Staffing
Menu & Product Performance
Customer Experience
The result is a single, unified dashboard that supports executive decision-making.
Analytical Approach
a. Understanding the Business Model
Before touching the data, I mapped how the restaurant operates:
Menu drives revenue
Food cost & wastage drive leakage
Staffing drives operational capacity
Customer feedback reflects service quality
This helped me design KPIs that mimic real-world business challenges, not just numbers.
b. Building a Connected Data Model
I combined data from Orders, Menu Profitability, Wastage Logs, Staffing Logs, and Customer Feedback to create a 360° view of the business.
This allowed me to answer cross-functional questions like:
Are low ratings related to operational overload?
Do waste-heavy items affect profit margin?
Are staff hours aligned with peak demand?
This multi-fact approach helped me understand cause-and-effect relationships across departments.
c. Developing KPI Frameworks That Leadership Understands
Instead of overwhelming stakeholders, I organized the analysis into four simple executive themes:
1. Financial & Menu Health
How does the restaurant make money? Where does it lose money?
2. Operational Efficiency & Capacity
Can the team handle demand or are we stretching resources?
3. Customer Satisfaction & Service Quality
How do customers feel—and what issues appear repeatedly?
4. Business Insights & Improvement Opportunities
What should the leadership prioritize?
This structure made conversations with stakeholders clearer and actionable.
Key Insights Delivered
a. Revenue vs. Menu Efficiency
I discovered that a small portion of the menu drives most of the revenue, while many items contribute very little. This mismatch indicates opportunities to:
streamline the menu
focus marketing on high-performing items
rethink low-performing dishes
This helps the business reduce complexity, reduce waste, and increase profitability.
b. Waste Patterns Impact Profitability
Through analysis of wastage logs, I identified that waste is not evenly distributed—certain items consistently generate higher waste.
This insight supports decisions such as:
revising preparation batches
training staff on portion control
negotiating better cost terms
adjusting recipe or menu design
Addressing waste has a direct and immediate impact on profitability.
c. Operational Overload Affects Customer Experience
When I connected staffing logs with customer complaints, a clear pattern emerged:
Overloaded shifts
Delayed service
Increased customer dissatisfaction
More negative reviews
This gives management a strong case for:
adjusting staffing schedules
optimizing prep workflows
balancing staff across shifts
reducing bottlenecks during peak hours
Improving operations improves service quality and customer loyalty.
d. Customer Feedback Reflects Internal Problems
Recurring issues like “cold food” pointed toward operational inefficiencies, not customer behavior.
This allows leadership to:
redesign food handoff processes
improve heating & holding equipment usage
revise delivery timelines
strengthen QA during peak times
Customer complaints became a diagnostic tool, not just a ratings metric.
What I Learned as an Analyst
This project strengthened my ability to:
1. Think holistically across business functions
I learned to connect revenue, menu design, staffing, and customer experience into one storyline.
2. Build KPIs that support real decision-making
Not vanity metrics — but measures that actually drive action.
3. Translate operational problems into business impact
E.g., waste → cost → margin → profitability.
4. Identify hidden inefficiencies
Such as:
where staff capacity breaks
how waste patterns form
why ratings fall
how demand and supply mismatch
5. Communicate insights simply and effectively
I learned how to talk about complex operations in a way leaders can understand immediately.
Business Value Provided to Stakeholders
Through this project, stakeholders gained:
✔ A single source of truth for business, operations, and customer experience
✔ Visibility into where money leaks and where improvements matter most
✔ Ability to make data-driven decisions about staffing, menu, and operations
✔ Clear identification of bottlenecks and improvement opportunities
✔ Actionable insights that can directly improve margins and customer satisfaction
The dashboard doesn’t just show numbers —it supports strategic decision-making.
Final Summary
This project helped me step into the role of a true business analyst—someone who doesn’t just visualize data but understands how different functions come together to shape the company’s performance.