Please join me on my journey to build a Data Architect portfolio using data recycled from world renowned sources such as the World Bank, World Health Organisation, OECD, WTO, CDC etc. and some lesser known datasets on Kaggle.

The aim in building this portfolio is to focus on developing data products based on selected international days observed by the UN and a mixture or personal analytics projects, the primary objective of this process is to be a continuous improvement initiative aimed at improving my analytical work competency. The secondary aim is to improve competency in the use and deployment of data tools and solutions respectively.

These are the international days and weeks currently observed by the United Nations.

Observed Days - View List

The United Nations designates specific days, weeks, years and decades as occasions to mark particular events or topics in order to promote, through awareness and action, the objectives of the Organization. Usually, it is one or more Member States that propose these observances and the General Assembly establishes them with a resolution.

On occasion, these celebrations are declared by the specialized agencies of the United Nations, such as UNESCO, UNICEF, FAO, etc., when they concern issues that fall within the scope of their competencies. Some of them may be later adopted by the General Assembly.

Data products just like any other digital service/product have metrics through which the idea of a successful implementation can be based and assessed, this leads to the setting of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help in the evaluation of progress tracking as more products are delivered. Below is a list that outlines each KPI and the definition of the metric it takes into account:

1. Development turnaround time - a metric for estimating how long it will take to complete development of a data product, ensuring delivery of the product on the set date for the UN international day or week to promote relevance and significance. With continuous reporting and monitoring of this metric, product managers and engineering managers can validate engineering estimates against their proven history. This provides for more accurate time estimates and more reliable roadmaps.

2. Quality assessment - all products have to be developed with quality in mind, user sentiment will be recorded and evaluated from all the product's publishing platforms mostly on social media.

3. Product user views count - once developed and deployed, the data product's success will be measured by the number of views (not discrete), that the product will receive through social media (Facebook, LinkedIn) and data publishing platforms (Tableau Public)

These are some of the tools to be used in developing the data products:

1. Microsoft PowerBI
2. Microsoft Excel
3. Tableau Public
4. Python (Pandas, Luigi, Plotly, Seaborn, Bokeh)
5. Google Data Studio
6. OpenRefine (Google)
7. Weka
8. Chart.JS

Below is a link to the data products' development calendar based on the thematic events I have selected to be part of this portfolio.

NB This selection in no way prioritizes or ranks any of the events, this is purely on personal preference and my work schedule.

Selected UN Days and Weeks - View Selection List

The portfolio will be developed and maintained on GitHub (https://github.com/lmakoti/), below is how the repositories and updates to their content will be managed.

Under Review

Data Product Naming Convention - SDG'X' - 'Thematic Area' , X is the main SDG in focus and 'Thematic Area' is the focus of the selected UN event.

Folder Structure (Root)

Data Product file (Dashboard/Report) 'Event name - SDGX (UN Document Code)' e.g. International Day of Education - SDG4 (A_RES_73_25-242024)

Sub-Folders

• Description (readme.md) - theme description based on the UN issued documentation on the topic.
• Meta-Content - Support/Connect (Social profiles)
• Licensing - Creative Commons (CC)

Folders

1. Data Source - store theme associated data sources from relevant UN agencies (NB. UN has 16 specialised agencies)

2. ETL Architecture (Pipeline) -

3. Resources - store any pictures or graphics associated with building the dashboard

4. Dashboard/Report - data product presentation in a dashboard/report format

1. International Day of Education ,24 January 2022 - View Project, An overview of education in the SADC region
2. International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February 2022 - View Project , An overview of education in the SADC region
3. World Meteorological Day, 23 March 2022 - View Project, Using progress trackers for SDG goals 13 and 14 in relation to the ocean, climate and weather.
4. International Girls in ICT Day, 28 April 2022 - View Project, an overview into SDG 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet.
5. World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, 17 May (Fitbit: Health and Fitness) - View Project, The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.
6. World Environment Day, 05 June 2022 - View Project, Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually on 5 June since 1974, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world.

Download my Curriculum Vitae(PDF) - Preview/Download CV

1. English (Proficient)

2. Sesotho (Native)

3. French (Beginner-A1 CEFR) - New Skills Academy Enrollment Letter

4. Southern Bantu Languages: Kelobedu, Lozi, Pedi, Tswana (Beginner)

Understand you won't always have an answer, but also understand it's your responsibility to have one the next time the same question comes up.