In tech, there tends to be a lot of data-driven decision-making. On the surface, that sounds great. After all, shouldn’t we all be making our decisions based on the data?

Yes…sort of. Using data to inform a decision is a great idea. But, singular data points rarely tell the whole story.

If, for example, traffic is lower after a new feature launched, don’t immediately assume that it needs to be rolled back. Instead, look at what else was going on: was it a holiday? Was there a massive internet outage somewhere? Did another feature change that messed up the normal user flow?

Use data, but use it wisely. Don’t just point out the cup of tea—try to read the leaves.