A Practitioner's Guide to Business Analytics: Using Data Analysis Tools to Improve Your Organization's Decision Making and Strategy

The Definitive Guide to Using Analytics for Better Business Decisions

"A must-read for anyone who is directly or indirectly leading or managing an analytics function--and anyone who wants to make better decisions based on analytics, not just intuition or an 'overemphasis on industry knowledge, which crowds out good analytics.'" -- Charlotte E. Sibley, President, Sibley Associates, a bioPharma consulting company

"Over the long term, those who show the greatest imagination, grow the right skills, build the deepest organizations, and follow rigorous statistical practice will reap the greatest rewards from their analytics efforts. A Practitioner's Guide to Business Analytics lights the way." -- Thomas C. Redman, PhD, the Data Doc, Navesink Consulting Group

"Executives beware. This is not your typical management book. This book contains real information from analytical professionals who are outside the executive bubble. . . . Hold on to your seat and be prepared to change the way you think about leaders, leadership qualities, and leadership skills needed for future success in the changing business landscape." -- Thomas J. Scott, Director/Advisor, Marketing Sciences Solutions, TGaS Advisors

"Randy Bartlett has written an important and useful book, filling at least some of the large void between books that exhort managers to think more analytically without explaining how, and overly technical books that only quantitative analysts would appreciate. Particular strengths are the recommendations about how to organize to integrate analytical expertise into decision-making and the guidance about how managers can assess whether they are getting good analytical advice." -- Douglas A. Samuelson, D.Sc., President and Chief Scientist, InfoLogix, Inc., Annandale, VA; quantitative analyst, inventor, entrepreneur and executive

About the Book:

The real tragedy of a company failing while using analytics is the fact that its leaders will have the data to explain the failure, but they won't have the capabilities in place to filter the data and convert it into actionable business insights. One implication of Big Data is that we need to adapt . . . quickly. A Practitioner's Guide to Business Analytics integrates powerful strategies for leveraging analytics inside a business with a how-to playbook of tactics to make it happen.

The case for competing based on analytics is clear, but until now, there hasn't been authoritative guidance for inciting a corporate community to evolve into a thriving, analytics-driven environment. This hands-on book gives you the tools, knowledge, and strategies to capture the level of organizational commitment you need to get business analytics up and running in your company. It helps you define what business analytics is, quantify the exponential value it brings to an organization, and show others how to harness its power to gain advantage over competitors.

Accomplished business information professional Randy Bartlett brings his comprehensive coverage to life with firsthand accounts of using business analytics at brand-name global companies. Through in-depth examinations of success stories and failures in analytics-based decision making and data analyses, he fully prepares you to:

• Assess your company's analytics needs and capabilities, and develop a strategic analytics plan
• Steward the three pillars of Best Statistical Practice and accurately measure the quality of analytics-based decisions and data analyses
• Build and organize a specialized Business Analytics Team to lead infrastructural changes
• Upgrade the foundation that supports business analytics--data collection, data software, and data management
• Create the essential synergy for success between the Business Analytics Team and IT

Effectively integrating analytics into everyday decision making, corporate culture, and business strategy is a multifront exercise in leadership, execution, and support. The specialized tools and skill sets required to succeed are finally in one resource--A Practitioner's Guide to Business Analytics.

Randy Bartlett, PhD, is a business analytics leader with more than 20 years of business experience and 9 years of training in statistics at Iowa State University and Texas A&M University. His experience includes performing analytics, reviewing analytics, leading analytics teams, and making analytics-based decisions. He has worked at Applied Research Associates, AHQR, AstraZeneca, Bell South, BMS, Fannie Mae, Infosys, Inspire/Merck, JDA Software, NHA, PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Associates/ Citigroup, UnitedHealthcare, Wells Fargo, and other companies. Recently he helped build a new Business Analytics practice and developed Big Data and CoE offerings.