Jim Sterne, Co-Founder & Current Chairman of the Digital Analytics Association, recently asked Allaedin Ezzedin, Web Analytics Manager at E-Nor, a few questions about his work in digital analytics.
Jim Sterne: Where do you work and what do you do?
Allaedin Ezzedin: I am the Web Analytics Manager at E-Nor, an digital analytics and marketing optimization consulting firm. My role at E-Nor includes leading the Analytics team, which includes solution implementation, coordinating between our developers, account managers, and consultants to come up help our clients become more data-driven.
Jim Sterne: What made you decide that the CWA test would be a good thing to pursue?
Allaedin Ezzedin: I simply felt it would be very rewarding to test my analytics knowledge with a test that has taken by the thought leaders in our industry. Many friends such as Stephane, June and Feras successfully passed the exam and the competitive spirit in me pushed me to take it.
Jim Sterne: Were you nervous about taking a test that only had a 50% pass rate?
Allaedin Ezzedin: Very! For me it was not the 50% pass rate that scared me, but rather the 100% pass rate of all my friends who took it. Also, at E-Nor, two colleagues took the exam before me and I was very nervous to get a lower score than theirs! 🙂
Jim Sterne: How did you get over it? What/who encouraged you to do it?
Allaedin Ezzedin: Well, because of the nature of our work, it is very easy to get distracted from our own personal development plans. In my 2012 New Year’s resolutions I decided to go public with my plans and I promised the Analytics community to take the exam before the end of the year. I got a lot of encouraging messages at that time from people I always look up to including you (Jim) and Avinash as well as others. Even though I didn’t fulfill my promise as scheduled due to a tool that I was developing, I didn’t drop the ball completely and I finally took it 🙂
Jim Sterne: What did you find the most difficult about the test?
Allaedin Ezzedin: I guess just finding the time to take and study for the exam. It was a very big commitment for me.
Jim Sterne: Which parts of the CWA exam were the most relevant to the work you do on a daily basis?
Allaedin Ezzedin: All sections were very relevant! I get involved in the entire Analytics framework we architect for our clients and I feel the exam is comprehensive enough to cover to extent all aspects from marketing campaign tracking to data analysis. Last year I developed a campaign tracking tool, so that was especially relevant to that work. For this year, the case study section was most relevant as that is in many cases the complexity of our clients. There is many data sources, stakeholders, opinions, and I have to come up with effective solutions.
BIO
Allaedin Ezzedin is a Senior Web Analyst, an Online Marketing Consultant, a blogger and a Web Analytics advocate. He has a passion for bridging the gap between business requirements and technical capabilities and working with clients to develop strategies for successful digital marketing optimization. Allaedin loves to help the marketing community to get the most out of their Google Analytics experience and he is a strong advocate for Google Analytics as an enterprise analytics tool. As a long-time analyst in the GA community, Allaedin actively participates in industry conferences, beta testing of new features and functionality, and communicates customer feedback for future enhancements. Allaedin graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.
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