Historical Insights
Analyze patterns and trends across your organization's scoping estimates
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
Navigate to Scoping & Estimates in the main navigation
Click the Historical Analysis button in the top right
The insights panel opens showing analytics across all approved estimates
Key Metrics
Summary Statistics
The dashboard opens with high-level metrics across your selected date range:
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
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.
Use Cases for Historical Insights
1. Strategic Planning
Scenario: Annual service portfolio review
How to Use:
Set date range to "Last 12 Months"
Review Use Case-Industry Matrix for market positioning
Identify underserved opportunities (low count combinations)
Identify core competencies (high count combinations)
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:
Identify top Industry-Use Case combinations
Pull example estimates from these combinations
Create case studies and reference architectures
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:
Review Skill-Industry Matrix for demand patterns
Identify skills with consistent demand across multiple industries
Note skills specific to high-growth industries
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:
Identify most frequently scoped skills
Cross-reference with industry to see where demand is highest
Adjust rates for high-demand skills
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:
Identify top 3-5 Use Cases from analysis
Create specialized templates for each common use case
Pre-populate typical skills for each use case
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:
Monitor "Total Estimates" metric over time
Watch "Unique Topics/Industries/Skills" growth
Celebrate milestones (50 estimates, 100 estimates, etc.)
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
Wait for Data: Need at least 10-15 approved estimates for meaningful insights
Use Defaults: Start with 6-month view for balanced recency and sample size
Explore Gradually: Don't try to analyze everything at once
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 - Main scoping feature
Templates - Configure templates based on insights
Rate Cards - Optimize pricing based on demand patterns
Knowledge Bases - Understand the knowledge engine
Ready to analyze your scoping data? Navigate to Scoping & Estimates and click Historical Analysis to explore your insights.
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