Part 1 Visualising Analysis with Excel Hi there ……… so you’re interested in analysis? What’s your specialist subject? I’m guessing a sport – rugby, football or hockey perhaps? But of course you could equally be in banking, property or perhaps in sales? Either way I bet you will probably have a pile of data on your subject, so much so that you don’t know what to do with it. What form is your data in? A pile of paper or perhaps spread sheets? Either way, you probably have a bundle of it and your boss or coach is asking you to explain this, that or the other. Where do you start? I bet you have found yourself in the position that there is so much information available to you that you don’t know where to begin, or perhaps you have a ‘gut feeling’ and need the data to support your theories? Me? Sorry I should have introduced myself. My name is Mark Davies and my analysis subjects are sport and property, but just like you I can turn my hand to most things. I’ve been involved in property management for some ……… well let’s just say it’s been a long time, and sport for some 20 years. In those early days I pioneered an automated system for providing visual representations for the coaches, specialising in live data capture. My visualisation tool of choice is Excel, mainly because it’s available on a Mac and a PC and is interchangeable. It’s also very powerful, more powerful than people realise. I’ve been asked to post some thoughts over the coming weeks on the way I visualise data, which I hope you will find of interest. Excel is such a powerful tool that there are many ways in which we can achieve similar outputs, so the following is just one way – there will be many others. So lets start at the beginning. Plan As we know people learn in different ways and therefore people need to visualise the data in differing ways. What’s their preference? Lengthy reports, data in tables, snappy graphs or video? Quite likely it will be a combination of all of these. So before you start, consider the following: - For the purpose of this exercise we will presume that we have sorted out the first two. The choice of graph output will obviously depend on the Excel version you have available to you - I’m currently running Excel 2011 on my Mac, which is compatible with Excel 2010 for MS Windows. By the way I’m assuming that you are comfortable with using Excel and creating basic charts and have access to one of these versions. Here are 2 of the example graphs we will be looking at. Next week we will look at how to create this worked example.

Product simplicity with complex thought processes Currently the market holds a vast array of products that support the performance analysis industry, from timeline based analysis products to online athlete management tools. Each product from either of these categories will be unique in its own way but will still have similar characteristics and features to the other products that are available in what is slowly becoming a congested market. Manufacturers of these products are all looking for the feature that will make their product the market leader and will claim that their "super feature" is worth the extra squeeze on your budget in times when no matter how hard you squeeze (or good the function may be), it is just not achievable or in actual fact necessary. This can also often mean that products are packed full with functionality of which some can be highly beneficial whilst some are rendered completely redundant in the working day to day #life of a performance analyst and are never ever used. The more affordable "simple" products that are available will more than likely be able to provide the same results as the "high end, elite user" products, you just have to be stood completely outside of the box to achieve them. This comes down to the users ability to stretch a product to its maximum, combine workflows from one product to another and innovate your way to the required outcome. The process of innovating your way to various outcomes will mean that your investment in a product is fully maximised and will also mean you are challenging yourself to be an expert. Darren Lewis Head Analyst Bath Rugby

Analysing Emergent Performance Two events have provided us with compelling data for analysing emergent qualities of performance. Firstly at Ashgrove Special School music day, where Darrell and Adam set up 2 cameras and a VPA system, capturing engagement with Somantics from a dual perspective. Secondly, at the Touch Trust where we relied on a single camera and mindful participation within the activity. In both scenarios, using input data from the kinect sensor mirrored though the Somantics body schema outputs, we have a powerful, empirical opportunity to study interactive gestures. Each session benefited from post activity review by experts with deep knowledge of the subjects, from teaching, occupational therapy and dance therapy professions. Building on their feedback, which suggested unprecedented levels of engagement, the next stage is to analyse the video in relation to the experience of flow, presence, social bonding and cause and effect (Godoy and Leman, 201.

Part 2 My Journey Through Work-Based Learning This is the 2nd part of a blog series sharing my journey through WBL. Having progressed through academic programmes at both UG and PG level, undoubtedly my journey will draw similarities with others who have chosen to pursue a career in performance analysis. Which WBL experience is the best? As a reflective practitioner, all my WBL experiences to date have contributed to my future practice and professional development. I have always placed gaining practical experience at the top of my to do list, especially with more employers now favouring experience over academic qualifications when assessing employability. I am not disregarding academic study, and I acknowledge a large proportion of my experience was undertaken alongside my study, where I developed sound theoretical underpinnings. Without entering a debate into ‘theory to practice or practice to theory’, I am purely highlighting that with practical experience playing such an important part in my development as a practitioner, how much consideration do we all put into selecting our WBL opportunities? When selecting any opportunity, you the individual must place yourself at the centre of the decision, and assess if the opportunity will provide you with new/additional experiences that will enhance your skill set. Excluding some of my earliest experiences, I have put a great deal of thought into selecting the opportunities I have undertaken, taking into consideration: 1) The learning environment it provided for me 2) The potential for a positive and progressive relationship with coaches 3) The level of support offered through mentorship and CPD opportunities I am fully aware that this can be difficult to assess at the outset, with some aspects being unknown entities without prior knowledge, however, some certainly are controllable and agreeable upfront with your selected WBL provider. Various opportunities are available for consideration, many will be accompanied with detailed job descriptions (some paid, many unpaid), rarely will these opportunities offer any detail on what a WBL provider will offer in return. Whereas in the Industry and Business professions it is noticeable that many companies have established programmes that outline expectations of both the student/recent graduate alongside that of the company as WBL provider. Ultimately, as an individual you make your own decisions, therefore, you shouldn't be afraid to pose questions of the environment you are about to enter. One thing I am a big believer of is immersing yourself into an experience to get the most from it. An opportunity viewed by two different pairs of eyes could well be received and assessed from differing viewpoints, where it may fit for one person, it will often be unsuitable for another. My intention was to provide further insights into my experiences through WBL, it would be great to hear from other practitioners about their experiences. Check back on VPA for more blog posts on WBL. Adam Cullinane Performance Analysis Officer Cardiff Metropolitan University (UWIC)

Work Based Learning Learn to work, or work to learn? What do you think helps the most? Qualifications/Experience