Data Team Junction

Why this might help

Data teams get pulled in a lot of directions. Someone in marketing needs a dashboard by Friday. Someone in finance wants a new metric defined. And half the time, nobody wrote down what 'active user' actually means. This room is here to help your team handle those requests clearly — who asked, what they need, what the data means, who owns it, and when it's due. A data request brief keeps everyone on the same page before the work even starts.

Does this feel familiar?

A stakeholder asks for a report, but you're not sure what question they're actually trying to answer.
Two teams are using the same metric name but calculating it differently.
A request lands in Slack, gets buried, and nobody follows up until it's urgent.
Your team finishes a dashboard, but the requester says it's not what they meant.

Try this together

Before you start any request, write down the business question in one plain sentence — not the output, the actual question.
Agree on definitions early. If the request uses a word like 'churn' or 'revenue,' confirm what it means before you build anything.
Assign one owner per request. It doesn't have to be the person doing all the work, just the person keeping it moving.
Set a realistic delivery date together with the requester, not just for them — surprises go both ways.
After you deliver, spend five minutes noting what was unclear at the start so the next request goes smoother.

Data Request Brief

Open a new work item in Tindlo and give it a clear name — something like 'Q3 Retention Report – Marketing Request.'
Fill in the Brief field with the business question, the requester's name, and any definitions your team agreed on.
Attach any relevant files or links — a sample spreadsheet, a Slack thread, a spec doc — so the context stays with the request.
Set a due date and assign an owner so the request shows up on your team's shared Week view alongside everything else.
Use the Comments field to log updates, questions, and decisions as the work moves forward, so nothing gets lost in chat.

Questions worth talking about

When a new request comes in, how do we decide if it's ready to start or if we need more information first?

Do we have a shared place where everyone can see what's in progress, what's waiting, and what's done?

If two people define the same metric differently, how do we decide which definition wins?

A few common questions

What if the requester doesn't know exactly what they need yet?

That's really common. Try asking them one question: 'What decision will this help you make?' That usually unlocks the real need. You can fill in the brief together — it doesn't have to be perfect on day one, just good enough to start without guessing.

How do we handle requests that keep changing scope?

Write down the original scope in the brief and treat any changes as a new conversation, not a quiet edit. When the requester sees what they originally asked for written down, it's easier to have an honest talk about what's actually needed and what it costs to change direction.

Can Tindlo help us manage data requests as a team?

Yes, in a practical way. You can create a work item for each request, attach the brief and any files, set a due date, and see all open requests together on a shared Week view. It won't fill in the brief for you, but it keeps everything in one place so nothing slips through.

Keep the story close to the schedule

A date makes more sense when you can also see the reason, the owner, and the work around it. Tindlo brings those pieces together when a calendar alone isn't enough.

See how Tindlo works →

Where would you like to go next?

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