# Historical Insights Historical Insights provides powerful analytics across all your organization's approved scoping estimates, helping you understand patterns in project types, industries, skillsets, and use cases. Use these insights to improve future estimates, identify service opportunities, and make data-driven business decisions. ## Overview Every time you approve a scoping estimate, it's automatically analyzed and added to your organization's custom knowledge engine. The Historical Insights dashboard aggregates this data to reveal trends, correlations, and patterns that would be impossible to spot manually.
## Accessing Historical Insights 1. Navigate to **Scoping & Estimates** in the main navigation 2. Click the **Historical Analysis** button in the top right 3. The insights panel opens showing analytics across all approved estimates {% hint style="info" %} **Live Data**: Insights update in real-time as new estimates are approved, providing always-current intelligence about your organization's scoping patterns. {% endhint %} ## Key Metrics ### Summary Statistics The dashboard opens with high-level metrics across your selected date range: | Metric | Description | Use Case | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------ | | **Total Estimates** | Number of approved scoping estimates | Measure team productivity and volume | | **Unique Topics** | Distinct analysis topics identified | Understand breadth of your work | | **Industries** | Number of industry verticals served | Track market diversification | | **Skillsets** | Unique skills/roles across estimates | Identify capability requirements | | **Use Cases** | Different use cases or project types | Categorize service offerings | ## Analytical Views ### 1. Use Case-Industry Matrix **Purpose**: Identify which use cases are most relevant for which industries. This heatmap shows the correlation between your service offerings (use cases) and the industries you serve. Each cell displays: * **Project count**: Number of estimates matching that combination * **Color intensity**: Darker colors indicate stronger correlations **How to Use:** * **Identify Opportunities**: Spot underserved industry-use case combinations * **Specialize Services**: Focus on high-frequency combinations * **Market Positioning**: Understand where you have the most experience * **Sales Enablement**: Guide sales teams toward proven combinations **Example Insights:** ``` "We've done 15 Cloud Migration projects for Financial Services but only 2 for Healthcare - potential growth opportunity" "Data Platform projects are strong across all industries - this is a core competency we should market" ``` *** ### 2. Skill-Industry Matrix **Purpose**: Understand which skills are most needed in which industries. This correlation matrix reveals hiring and staffing patterns: * **Top 10 skills** vs. **all industries** you serve * **Project counts** show how often each skill is needed per industry * **Color coding** highlights skill demand patterns **How to Use:** * **Hiring Decisions**: Prioritize recruiting skills in-demand for your target industries * **Training Programs**: Develop upskilling for high-frequency skill-industry pairs * **Resource Planning**: Anticipate skill requirements for pipeline opportunities * **Rate Card Optimization**: Price high-demand skills appropriately **Example Insights:** ``` "Cloud Engineers are needed in all industries, but especially Financial Services (25 projects)" "Security Engineers are uniquely important in Healthcare - we should maintain depth in this skill for that market" ``` *** ### 3. Analysis Topics Distribution **Purpose**: Identify the most common themes across your scoping work. Topics are automatically extracted from your estimates using AI. The visualization shows: * **Word Cloud**: Visual representation of topic frequency * **Bar Chart**: Precise counts and percentages **Common Topics Include:** * Technical domains (cloud, data, security, infrastructure) * Methodologies (agile, DevOps, migration) * Technologies (AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, etc.) * Business outcomes (cost optimization, modernization) **How to Use:** * **Content Marketing**: Create thought leadership on frequent topics * **Service Packaging**: Bundle common topics into service offerings * **Partnership Opportunities**: Identify vendor/technology partnerships * **Knowledge Base**: Ensure documentation covers frequent topics *** ### 4. Industry Verticals Analysis **Purpose**: Track which industries you serve most frequently. Understand your market focus and diversification: * **Top industries** by estimate count * **Distribution percentages** across your portfolio * **Trend identification** over time **How to Use:** * **Market Focus**: Double down on top industries or diversify * **Industry Expertise**: Develop specialized offerings for frequent industries * **Case Studies**: Create industry-specific success stories * **Sales Targeting**: Align sales efforts with proven experience **Example Distribution:** ``` Financial Services: 35% Healthcare: 25% Retail: 20% Manufacturing: 15% Technology: 5% ``` *** ### 5. Skillsets & Roles Analysis **Purpose**: Understand the skills and roles you most frequently estimate. Track the human resources aspect of your scoping: * **Most estimated roles** (Cloud Engineer, Solution Architect, etc.) * **Frequency across all estimates** * **Skill demand trends** **How to Use:** * **Capacity Planning**: Ensure you have enough capacity in high-demand roles * **Hiring Roadmap**: Plan recruitment based on consistent demand * **Contractor Relationships**: Maintain bench strength in frequent roles * **Rate Card Updates**: Adjust pricing based on market demand for skills *** ### 6. Use Cases Analysis **Purpose**: Categorize the types of projects you scope most often. Common use case categories: * Cloud Migration & Modernization * Data Platform Implementation * Security & Compliance * Application Development * Infrastructure as Code * DevOps Transformation **How to Use:** * **Service Catalog**: Define standard offerings around frequent use cases * **Template Optimization**: Create specialized templates for common use cases * **Marketing Messaging**: Highlight experience in top use cases * **Innovation**: Identify gaps in your service portfolio ## Date Range Filtering Control the time period for your analysis: **Default Range**: Last 6 months (provides recency while maintaining statistical significance) **Custom Ranges:** * **Last Month**: Short-term trends * **Last Quarter**: Quarterly business reviews * **Last 6 Months**: Medium-term patterns (recommended) * **Last Year**: Annual analysis and planning * **All Time**: Complete historical view * **Custom**: Any specific date range {% hint style="warning" %} **Sample Size**: Insights become more reliable with larger sample sizes. For new organizations, wait until you have at least 10-15 approved estimates before drawing conclusions. {% endhint %} ## Use Cases for Historical Insights ### 1. Strategic Planning **Scenario**: Annual service portfolio review **How to Use:** 1. Set date range to "Last 12 Months" 2. Review Use Case-Industry Matrix for market positioning 3. Identify underserved opportunities (low count combinations) 4. Identify core competencies (high count combinations) 5. Plan service development or sunset decisions **Outcome**: Data-driven service roadmap for the next year *** ### 2. Sales Enablement **Scenario**: Equipping sales team with win stories **How to Use:** 1. Identify top Industry-Use Case combinations 2. Pull example estimates from these combinations 3. Create case studies and reference architectures 4. Guide sales conversations toward proven experience areas **Outcome**: Higher win rates in target segments *** ### 3. Hiring & Resource Planning **Scenario**: Building out your consulting team **How to Use:** 1. Review Skill-Industry Matrix for demand patterns 2. Identify skills with consistent demand across multiple industries 3. Note skills specific to high-growth industries 4. Prioritize hiring based on actual scoping data **Outcome**: Hire the right skills at the right time *** ### 4. Rate Card Optimization **Scenario**: Annual rate card review **How to Use:** 1. Identify most frequently scoped skills 2. Cross-reference with industry to see where demand is highest 3. Adjust rates for high-demand skills 4. Consider premium pricing for specialized skill-industry pairs **Outcome**: Market-aligned pricing that reflects demand *** ### 5. Template & Process Improvement **Scenario**: Making scoping more efficient **How to Use:** 1. Identify top 3-5 Use Cases from analysis 2. Create specialized templates for each common use case 3. Pre-populate typical skills for each use case 4. Add industry-specific custom fields based on patterns **Outcome**: Faster scoping with better consistency *** ### 6. Knowledge Engine Growth Monitoring **Scenario**: Tracking organizational learning **How to Use:** 1. Monitor "Total Estimates" metric over time 2. Watch "Unique Topics/Industries/Skills" growth 3. Celebrate milestones (50 estimates, 100 estimates, etc.) 4. Ensure diverse coverage across your service areas **Outcome**: Confidence that your knowledge engine is comprehensive ## Understanding the Visualizations ### Word Clouds * **Size**: Larger text = more frequent occurrence * **Opacity**: Darker items = higher frequency * **Count**: Number in parentheses shows exact project count * **Interaction**: Click or hover for additional details ### Bar Charts * **Bar Length**: Proportional to frequency * **Percentage**: Shows distribution across all estimates * **Count**: Absolute number of occurrences * **Top 10**: Only shows highest-frequency items for clarity ### Heatmaps * **Color Intensity**: Darker = more projects with that combination * **Numbers**: Project count for that specific cell * **Hover**: Detailed breakdown on hover * **Empty Cells**: Light gray indicates no projects found ## Best Practices ### Getting Started 1. **Wait for Data**: Need at least 10-15 approved estimates for meaningful insights 2. **Use Defaults**: Start with 6-month view for balanced recency and sample size 3. **Explore Gradually**: Don't try to analyze everything at once 4. **Look for Surprises**: Unexpected patterns are often the most valuable ### Regular Review Cadence **Monthly (Sales & Delivery Leaders)** * Check recent Use Case-Industry trends * Identify new opportunities in pipeline * Monitor skill demand for staffing **Quarterly (Leadership Team)** * Strategic service portfolio review * Hiring and capacity planning * Rate card and pricing analysis * Template and process improvements **Annually (Executive Team)** * Comprehensive market positioning analysis * Service portfolio optimization * Long-term capability development * Strategic partnership opportunities ### Data Quality Tips ✅ **Do:** * Approve estimates only when complete and accurate * Use consistent terminology in scopes * Fill in all custom fields for better categorization * Review AI-generated tags for accuracy ❌ **Don't:** * Approve test or draft estimates (pollutes data) * Use inconsistent industry/use case naming * Leave custom fields blank * Ignore obviously wrong AI categorizations ## Interpreting Insights ### High Concentration Patterns **What it means**: One or two combinations dominate your work **Implications:** * ✅ Strong market position in specific niche * ✅ Efficiency from specialization * ⚠️ Risk: Over-dependence on single market * ⚠️ Limited growth if market saturates **Actions:** * Maintain excellence in core area * Diversify gradually into adjacent segments * Build case studies in specialty * Monitor market health closely ### Broad Distribution Patterns **What it means**: Work spread across many combinations **Implications:** * ✅ Diversified portfolio reduces risk * ✅ Multiple growth paths available * ⚠️ Potential lack of differentiation * ⚠️ Harder to build deep expertise **Actions:** * Identify 2-3 focus areas to build depth * Create specialized teams for top segments * Develop tiered service offerings * Strategic marketing in focus areas ### Emerging Patterns **What it means**: New combinations appearing frequently in recent estimates **Implications:** * ✅ Early in a trend or opportunity * ✅ Chance to build thought leadership * ⚠️ May require new capabilities * ⚠️ Market may not be proven yet **Actions:** * Invest in emerging areas selectively * Create content to establish expertise * Monitor for continued growth * Be prepared to pivot if trend fades ## Frequently Asked Questions **Q: How often is the data updated?**\ A: Insights update immediately when an estimate is approved. The dashboard reflects real-time data whenever you open it. **Q: Why don't I see any data?**\ A: You need at least one approved estimate. Draft and In Review estimates are not included in historical insights. **Q: Can I filter by specific team members or projects?**\ A: Not currently. Insights are organization-wide. Filtering options may be added in future releases. **Q: What's the difference between Topics and Use Cases?**\ A: Topics are technical/domain themes (e.g., "cloud", "security"). Use Cases are business problems being solved (e.g., "Cloud Migration", "Security Assessment"). **Q: How are these categories determined?**\ A: AI analyzes the content of your approved scoping estimates to extract industries, topics, skills, and use cases. You can influence this by using consistent terminology in your scopes. **Q: Can I customize the categories or tags?**\ A: Not currently. The AI automatically extracts categories. Ensuring consistent terminology in your estimates helps improve categorization accuracy. **Q: Is this data visible to anyone outside my organization?**\ A: No. Historical insights are completely private to your organization. No data is shared across organizations. ## Related Documentation * [Scoping & Estimates](https://docs.darcyiq.com/workspace/scoping-estimates) - Main scoping feature * [Templates](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/templates) - Configure templates based on insights * [Rate Cards](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/rate-cards) - Optimize pricing based on demand patterns * [Knowledge Bases](https://docs.darcyiq.com/additional-features/knowledge-bases) - Understand the knowledge engine *** **Ready to analyze your scoping data?** Navigate to **Scoping & Estimates** and click **Historical Analysis** to explore your insights.