Delivering Business Analytics
Practical Guidelines for Best Practice
SAS Institute Inc
1. Edition April 2013
368 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
AVOID THE MISTAKES THAT OTHERS MAKE - LEARN WHAT LEADS TO BEST PRACTICE AND KICKSTART SUCCESS
This groundbreaking resource provides comprehensive coverage across all aspects of business analytics, presenting proven management guidelines to drive sustainable differentiation. Through a rich set of case studies, author Evan Stubbs reviews solutions and examples to over twenty common problems spanning managing analytics assets and information, leveraging technology, nurturing skills, and defining processes.
Delivering Business Analytics also outlines the Data Scientist's Code, fifteen principles that when followed ensure constant movement towards effective practice. Practical advice is offered for addressing various analytics issues; the advantages and disadvantages of each issue's solution; and how these solutions can optimally create organizational value.
With an emphasis on real-world examples and pragmatic advice throughout, Delivering Business Analytics provides a reference guide on:
* The economic principles behind how business analytics leads to competitive differentiation
* The elements which define best practice
* The Data Scientist's Code, fifteen management principles that when followed help teams move towards best practice
* Practical solutions and frequent missteps to twenty-four common problems across people and process, systems and assets, and data and decision-making
Drawing on the successes and failures of countless organizations, author Evan Stubbs provides a densely packed practical reference on how to increase the odds of success in designing business analytics systems and managing teams of data scientists.
Uncover what constitutes best practice in business analytics and start achieving it with Delivering Business Analytics.
Acknowledgments xix
Part One Business Analytics Best Practices 1
Chapter 1 Business Analytics: A Definition 5
What Is Business Analytics? 5
Core Concepts and Definitions 7
Chapter 2 The Competitive Advantage of Business Analytics 11
Advantages of Business Analytics 14
Challenges of Business Analytics 23
Establishing Best Practices 27
Part Two The Data Scientist's Code 29
Chapter 3 Designing the Approach 31
Think about Competencies, Not Functions 31
Drive Outcomes, Not Insight 36
Automate Everything Non-Value-Added 38
Start Flexible, Become Structured 40
Eliminate Bottlenecks 43
Chapter 4 Creating Assets 47
Design Your Platform for Use, Not Purity 47
Always Have a Plan B 52
Know What You Are Worth 54
Own Your Intellectual Property 57
Minimize Custom Development 60
Chapter 5 Managing Information and Making Decisions 65
Understand Your Data 65
It's Better to Have Too Much Data Than Too Little 69
Keep Things Simple 74
Function Should Dictate Form 77
Watch the Dynamic, Not Just the Static 79
Part Three Practical Solutions: People and Process 85
Chapter 6 Driving Operational Outcomes 87
Augmenting Operational Systems 88
Breaking Bottlenecks 98
Optimizing Monitoring Processes 106
Encouraging Innovation 113
Chapter 7 Analytical Process Management 127
Coping with Information Overload 128
Keeping Everyone Aligned 137
Allocating Responsibilities 144
Opening the Platform 151
Part Four Practical Solutions: Systems and Assets 159
Chapter 8 Computational Architectures 161
Moving Beyond the Spreadsheet 162
Scaling Past the PC 173
Staying Mobile and Connected 180
Smoothing Growth with the Cloud 183
Chapter 9 Asset Management 191
Moving to Operational Analytics 192
Measuring Value 202
Measuring Performance 210
Measuring Effort 220
Part Five Practical Solutions: Data and Decision Making 231
Chapter 10 Information Management 233
Creating the Data Architecture 234
Understanding the Data Value Chain 242
Creating Data-Management Processes 249
Capturing the Right Data 256
Chapter 11 Decision-Making Structures 263
Linking Analytics to Value 264
Reducing Time to Recommendation 269
Enabling Real-Time Scoring 277
Blending Rules with Models 284
Appendix The Cheat Sheets 291
Glossary 313
Further Reading 331
About the Author 333
Index 335
