THE ACCIDENTAL ANALYST

FREE · SEVEN C’S INDIVIDUAL BENCHMARK

Find where your analysis becomes hard to trust.

Twenty-one questions across the Seven C's. In about four minutes, see where uncertainty is most likely entering the forecasts, dashboards, recommendations, marketing analyses, and AI-assisted answers you already own. Your answers stay in your browser.

This is a diagnostic, not an exam. There is no passing score. The useful output is knowing which stage deserves your attention first, before the work reaches a CFO, CMO, VP, client, or operating decision.

01ChooseStart with the business question and the decision it must support.

I can state the decision this analysis is meant to support, in one sentence.

I confirm what the requester actually needs before I start pulling data.

I notice when a request has no decision behind it, and say so.

02CollectGet the evidence that can actually answer the question.

I know where each number I use originates, not just which table it came from.

I check whether the data I have can answer the question, or only a nearby one.

I know what evidence is missing and what that costs me.

03CheckChallenge quality, definitions, missing context, and what the data cannot tell you.

I verify metric definitions rather than assuming they mean what they are called.

I look for the assumption that would change the conclusion if it were wrong.

I test an AI-generated answer against something outside the data before using it.

04CleanMake the data usable without erasing the business meaning.

I know why each exclusion or filter exists and can defend it.

I handle outliers deliberately rather than removing them for tidiness.

Someone else could reproduce my preparation steps from what I wrote down.

05ChartUse visual analysis to find patterns, exceptions, and better questions.

I chart to explore and find better questions, not only to present conclusions.

I look for the exception rather than the headline pattern.

I check whether a pattern survives being cut a different way.

06CustomGo deeper where the standard view is not enough.

I recognize when the standard view has stopped being enough.

I can build the non-standard view I need rather than settling for the default.

I know when extra sophistication would add nothing.

07CommunicateExplain what matters, what remains uncertain, and what decision follows.

I state plainly what remains uncertain instead of implying false confidence.

I lead with the decision rather than the method.

I can defend the recommendation when someone senior challenges it.

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