1. Sports Analytics and Mount Kilimanjaro
The ‘Shining Mountain Challenge’, looking at Data Analytics, Integrity and Visualization with the Fitbit Surge
PREPARED BY: RICHARD ENGLISH | BUSINESS MANAGER – DATA SCIENCE & ANALYTICS
richard@talentforce.academy
0405278651| 0282787067
2. • Climb to 5,896 metres above sea level
• In 3 ½ days
• Adjust to extreme changes in temperature
and conditions
The Task…
3. • Altitude sickness
• Overcoming mental battles
• Good level of base fitness
Identifying Challenges…
4. Preparation…
What Why
Cardio interval training at Peak Altitude Centre Shock the body into a reaction from intense
training at altitude
Weights Training Prepare for carrying a 5-10 KG day pack
Hill Sprints and Circuit Training Have a strong core for endurance and strengthen
legs muscles for climbing
Weekly Hike (12-25 KM) Wear in hiking boots and be comfortable
covering long distances over an extended period
of time
5. Data Analytics and Visualisation
with Fitbit Surge…
• Calories consumed vs burned
• Daily Steps total
• Resting and changing Heartrate
• Distance covered
• Number of Active Minutes
• Sleeping pattern and restless nights
6. Sleep Visualisation…
Wed 02 Sep
• In bed for 7 hrs 15 mins
• Slept for a total 6 hrs 35 mins
• Woke up 4 times
• Restless 8 times
Over the past 2 weeks
• Only 2 really good nights sleep
• Been restless and awake multiple
times over the past 3 nights
7. Sleep on Thursday 3rd September…
• Went to bed at 11:15pm
• Instantly fell asleep
• Awake once
• Restless twice
• In bed for 7 hrs 5 mins
• Slept for 6 hrs 59 mins
8. Risk Mitigation…
Challenge Risk Mitigation Method
Altitude sickness Trained at an intense level in an altitude chamber
and monitored heartrate and oxygen saturation
levels over 5,000 metres above sea level
Overcoming mental battles Pushed myself to the brink and then some more to
shock my body and go through the pain in the
preparation phase rather than dealing with pain on
the mountain
Good level of base fitness Did enough physical exercise to be in the best
shape of my life
9. Data Integrity and Insights…
• Without data integrity, my
judgment of approaching the task
is blurred
• The insights I gained are only as
good as the data I entered
• I predict that Altitude Sickness
could be the only challenge and
would be brought on by either:
• Dehydration
• Sleep Deprivation
• Unbalanced Diet
12. The Challenge…
Challenge Cause Effects Solution
Altitude Sickness Dehydration (water
froze) & Sleep
Deprivation
Nausea, restricted
balance and
headache
Stop briefly at 5,400 metres
above sea level. Sit down, sip on
water handed to me by a guide,
breathe deep breaths slowly.
Continue without the weight of
my day pack. Mental toughness
will get me to the summit
13. Conclusion…
• Gathered requirements & scoped out needs
• Set timeframes for me to work to in the planning phase
• Identified challenges
• Tested & brought forward PAIN to reduce impact of PAIN
later in the project
• Introduced Data Analytics and inputted clean data to
record performance
• Monitored performance through Data Visualisation
• Identified valuable Insights from Visualisation
• Made key decisions on how to move forward and was
proactive in Mitigating Risk
• Went live, found solutions to overcome challenges &
executed delivery on time
• CELEBRATED MY SUCCESS!!!
