Milestone 2

Introduction

As we continue to build on the complexity of the data pipelines over the course of the semester, they should always be governed by the business questions we are interested in answering. To this end, these business decisions will compound over the course of the semester, and future milestones should still meet all previous milestone’s business decisions. This may be as simple as not touching what was done before, and everything still works. But if you need to make architectural changes, it may require revisiting older milestones to ensure they still operate correctly. In general, you should plan on each business decision mapping to a single dashboard. You could reuse components of existing dashboards, but it should be clear in Grafana what business decision each dashboard maps to. Keep in mind that for these assessments, what matters is the accuracy and degree to which the provided dashboard helps inform the business decision. The technical means by which you compiled and created that dashboard is not considered here, but should be included in your documentation.

The Business Question

For this second milestone, you will have a single business questionsthat you are trying to answer and provide insight to:

Decision 1

As Prague’s metro system expands efforts to serve a broader and more diverse ridership, city planners want to better understand how different fare groups actually use the system. Are tourists clustering around key stations or moving across wider areas of the city? Are students contributing to congestion in certain regions? Do these trends vary across days of the week? By analyzing how each fare type moves through the system—which stations they frequent, what hours they are active, and what days they travel—planners can begin to identify usage patterns that align with demographic needs. This insight will help inform not just pricing strategies, but station improvements, targeted communications, and service optimization for each group.

Dimensions Can Shift!

Starting this week and with the new data source, you should expect that dimensions might start shifting. Riders might change their fare type. Rider names may change. New riders may start trickling into the system. Ensure your pipeline is handling these changese properly!

Assessment

You will be assessed on the following for each dashboard/business decision:

Category	4 – Exemplary	3 – Proficient	2 – Developing	1 – Insufficient
Relevance to Business Question	Dashboard clearly and directly answers the question; all content is purposeful.	Dashboard mostly answers the question; minor gaps or tangents present.	Partially answers the question; some visuals are only loosely related.	Does not address the business question meaningfully.
Analytical Insight and Context	Provides thoughtful analysis and useful context; insights go beyond surface-level.	Provides some interpretation or context; insight is basic but present.	Interpretation is minimal; context is unclear or overly simplistic.	No analysis or meaningful interpretation provided.
Accuracy and Reproducibility	Data is accurate and internally consistent; results could be closely replicated.	Minor inaccuracies or unclear methods; mostly consistent and plausible.	Not clearly reproducible; errors or inconsistencies raise concerns.	Major inaccuracies or contradictions; cannot be trusted.
Design and Aesthetics	Visually appealing and easy to interpret; layout, labels, and colors enhance clarity.	Clear design with minor layout or labeling issues.	Layout or chart choices hinder interpretation; lacks polish.	Poorly designed; unclear or disorganized layout and labels.
Communication and Presentation	Titles, captions, and text are clear, professional, and aid interpretation.	Generally well-communicated; minor missing or unclear text elements.	Explanations are vague, sparse, or unhelpful.	No explanations or guiding text; confusing to the intended audience.