Analytics: The Agile Way (Wiley and SAS Business Series) - Hardcover

Simon, Phil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1119423473 ISBN 13: 9781119423478

Publisher: Wiley, 2017

Synopsis

For decades now, companies big and small have embraced Agile software development methods. The rationale here is straightforward:

• Why take one or two years to fully deploy a system, app, or website when so many things can and do go wrong?
• Why try to cook one big batch and boil the ocean?
• Why not cook many smaller batches?

Double that when the world changes faster than ever. Brass tacks: It's no coincidence that methods such as Scrum have exploded with no end in sight.
 
Yet, when developing and using analytics, many organizations paradoxically continue to think in terms of traditional, phase-gate IT projects. That is, they optimistically plan for six-month or year-long projects to launch dashboards, key performance indicators (KPIs), data-visualization tools, predictive models, and their ilk. Antiquated techniques abound. In so doing, these organizations bet—often incorrectly—that they will diligently gather every requirement and data source. In their conceit, they assume perfect conception, planning, and execution. Even if they pull off these enormous feats, it's usually a fool's errand because the world is moving faster than ever. 
  
This is insanity.
  
In Analytics: The Agile Way award-winning author Phil Simon shows how intelligent organizations such as Google, Nextdoor, and others are approaching contemporary analytics.
 
At a high level, the text will demonstrate how organizations are applying the same Agile techniques that software engineers and developers have successfully used for years, but in a different area: analytics. In so doing, individuals at these smart companies can understand—and, most importantly, act upon—nascent opportunities far faster than their more traditional counterparts do. Using a combination of case studies, examples, and exercises, Analytics: The Agile Way demonstrates how this new mindset affords tremendous opportunity for organizations willing to embrace uncertainty and move fast.

About this title

About the Author

Phil Simon is the award-winning author of eleven business books, most recently Reimagining Collaboration: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and the Post-COVID World of Work. He is a recognized technology and collaboration authority, Slack trainer, dynamic public speaker, college professor-for-hire, and longtime Slack power user. He hosts the podcast Conversations About Collaboration.

From the Back Cover

For years, organizations have struggled to make sense out of their data. IT projects designed to provide employees with dashboards, KPIs, and business-intelligence tools often take a year or more to reach the finish line … if they get there at all.

This has always been a problem. Today, though, it’s downright unacceptable. The world changes faster than ever. Speed has never been more important. By adhering to antiquated methods, firms lose the ability to see nascent trends―and act upon them―until it’s too late.

But what if the process of turning raw data into meaningful insights didn’t have to be so painful, time-consuming, and frustrating?

What if there were a better way to do analytics?

Fortunately, you’re in luck.

Analytics: The Agile Way is the eighth book from award-winning author and Arizona State University lecturer Phil Simon.

In this book, you’ll learn how progressive organizations such as Google, Nextdoor, and others approach analytics in a fundamentally different way. They are applying the same Agile techniques that software developers have employed for years, replacing large batches in favor of smaller ones … and their results will astonish you.

Through a series of case studies and examples, Analytics: The Agile Way demonstrates the benefits of this new analytics mind-set: superior access to information, quicker insights, and the ability to spot trends far ahead of your competitors.

From the Inside Flap

For years, organizations have struggled to make sense out of their data. IT projects designed to provide employees with dashboards, KPIs, and business-intelligence tools often take a year or more to reach the finish line … if they get there at all.

This has always been a problem. Today, though, it's downright unacceptable. The world changes faster than ever. Speed has never been more important. By adhering to antiquated methods, firms lose the ability to see nascent trends and act upon them until it's too late.

But what if the process of turning raw data into meaningful insights didn't have to be so painful, time-consuming, and frustrating?

What if there were a better way to do analytics?

Fortunately, you're in luck.

Analytics: The Agile Way is the eighth book from award-winning author and Arizona State University lecturer Phil Simon.

In this book, you'll learn how progressive organizations such as Google, Nextdoor, and others approach analytics in a fundamentally different way. They are applying the same Agile techniques that software developers have employed for years, replacing large batches in favor of smaller ones … and their results will astonish you.

Through a series of case studies and examples, Analytics: The Agile Way demonstrates the benefits of this new analytics mind-set: superior access to information, quicker insights, and the ability to spot trends far ahead of your competitors.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1119423473
• ISBN 13: 9781119423478
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304