Notitia's newest Melbourne-based Senior Analytics Consultant, Ally Reade
Meet Ally Reade: Senior Analytics Consultant at Notitia
Notitia's newest Senior Analytics Consultant, Ally Reade, brings a strong mathematics background and experience across both the public and private sectors to the team.
Ally holds a Bachelor of Mathematics in Data Science from the University of South Australia, where she was recognised on the Chancellor’s Letters of Commendation List in each year of her degree, awarded to students in the top 5% of their division. She entered the degree as a recipient of the Hypatia Scholarship for Mathematically Talented Women, awarded on the basis of academic merit and high achievement in high school.
In her final year, she led a student team solving a real-world optimisation problem for the Defence Science and Technology Group.
As a graduate in Accenture Australia's Data & AI team, Ally was selected for the 2024 TechStar program, before moving to the ACCC as a Data Analyst. Along the way, Ally learned that great analytics starts with asking the right questions, and that the analysis itself is only half the job.
Now based in our Melbourne office, Ally works with clients from kickoff through to delivery, combining data, design and technology to build dashboards people actually use. We're stoked to have her on board!
What is your role at Notitia?
As a Senior Analytics Consultant, my role involves understanding what clients need from their data, building the data side behind the scenes and designing the dashboards they use to make decisions.
What I enjoy most is being involved in the whole project, from kickoff through to delivery, rather than just one component.
Tell us a little about your career journey
I've always enjoyed problem-solving. Maths was my favourite subject at school and I went on to study a Bachelor of Mathematics in Data Science at the University of South Australia. The degree showed me where those skills could be applied to real and messy problems.
For me, the interesting part has never really been the calculations. It's what you can do with the result and what it means.
In my final year, I was project manager for our Mathematics Clinic project with the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), working on Integrated Missile Defence Optimisation. We published a paper as undergraduates and presented it at the MODSIM conference.
After graduating, I joined Accenture's graduate program in the Data & AI team, then moved to the ACCC as a Data Analyst working on the Consumer Data Right. Joining the Notitia team felt like a natural progression and the next step in my career.
What attracted you to Notitia?
The combination of data, design and technology. I've always been interested in the design side of analytics, and Notitia brings it all together.
I was also drawn to working through the whole project delivery pipeline. In my previous roles I was only ever part of one component, and when you're just in one part, things can feel disjointed and details get lost. I like being involved from understanding the problem at the start, through the analysis and design, to seeing something delivered that people can actually use.
The size and culture of the team appealed to me too, along with the fact that Notitia values people who can bridge technical and business thinking.
What do you enjoy about working at Notitia?
The team. Everyone works closely together and helps each other. I'm also impressed by how well everyone juggles projects. People can pick up one project, remember what happened months ago on another and jump straight back in, while still giving 100% to the one in front of them.
I enjoy prioritising across different pieces of work too. It builds a different skill set and makes you focus on where the value is, not just on what you enjoy most.
What have you learned from working across consulting and government?
That adaptability matters more than almost anything. Each role has moved at a different pace and come with different expectations, and learning to adjust quickly has been one of the most valuable skills I’ve built.
Early in my career I worked with the same large client for more than two years, mostly on the service management side. I resolved issues once a new system went live and built dashboards for leadership on how the team was tracking. By the time I moved on, I’d closed a thousand tickets myself.
That taught me a lot, but I wanted to get closer to core data analytics work. Moving into government gave me that, and I could see the impact of my work much more clearly. I even ended up using one of the services I’d worked on myself.
What has your career taught you about building analysis?
That you need to understand the question you’re actually trying to answer.
Nobody wants to build a dashboard people stop using, or one they export to Excel to do their own analysis. That means getting the right details from the main users upfront about what the dashboard needs to achieve.
Leaders want a dashboard that quickly highlights what they need to know. When it becomes more complicated than that, people lose track of the question, and that’s usually when they stop using it.
What does user-centred thinking look like when you're building a dashboard?
It starts with the person, not the data. My process runs from the user to their problem, the decision they need to make, the data, the design and then feedback.
I've always been interested in UX and dashboard design, which isn't that common among data analysts and scientists. I'm quite crafty and artsy outside work, so dashboards are a nice mix of both. I get the visual side while doing the numbers behind the scenes.
The more I've worked with data, the more I've realised the analysis itself is only half the job. I might have one interpretation of what a client needs, and they might have a completely different one. The goal is to simplify things and make their lives easier, even if it makes my job a little harder.
What kinds of problems do you enjoy solving?
Problems where the data exists but the answer isn't immediately obvious. Often a client will say "we have all this data" and want to know how to use it to make better decisions.
Sometimes there's a lot of information and no obvious starting point. Other times someone has a clear question they want answered, which is a great place to start.
I enjoy them most when I can see the value for the people at the other end. At Notitia we work so closely with clients from start to finish that you can really see what they need and what you're delivering.
Has your academic background shaped your view on women in data?
Definitely. I’ve had someone backing me at almost every stage, and I’ve seen how much difference that makes. At school it was my maths teacher. She talked me out of dropping the hardest maths class in Year 11, encouraged me to apply for the Hypatia Scholarship and gave us a piece of advice I’ve never forgotten: Don’t be afraid to be the only girl or woman in the room.
I’ve often been the only woman in the room since, at uni and at work. I was more introverted back then, but it never deterred me. At uni the support came from having a community. I was part of the Women in STEM club and became its president in 2021. We ran career booths and networking sessions, and it’s ultimately where I found my first graduate role.
That kind of support matters most at the transitions. At school and uni there are teachers and clubs looking out for you. Once you start your career there can be even less of it, which is exactly why it helps to keep this discussion going.
What advice would you give someone considering a career in maths or data?
Maths leads to far more careers than you might first realise. Plenty of software engineers and IT developers end up in data roles, and you can get there through maths too. Stay curious and keep learning. And if there's a scholarship or opportunity you're unsure about, apply anyway.
Interested in learning more about Notitia's team and how we help organisations turn data into better decisions? Get in touch with Ally or the Notitia team.
