Delivering Business Analytics: Practical Guidelines for Best Practice

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part One: Business Analytics Best Practices

Chapter 1: Business Analytics: A Definition

What Is Business Analytics?

Core Concepts and Definitions

Note

Chapter 2: The Competitive Advantage of Business Analytics

Advantages of Business Analytics

Challenges of Business Analytics

Establishing Best Practices

Notes

Part Two: The Data Scientist’s Code

Chapter 3: Designing the Approach

Think about Competencies, Not Functions

Drive Outcomes, Not Insight

Automate Everything Non-Value-Added

Start Flexible, Become Structured

Eliminate Bottlenecks

Notes

Chapter 4: Creating Assets

Design Your Platform for Use, Not Purity

Always Have a Plan B

Know What You Are Worth

Own Your Intellectual Property

Minimize Custom Development

Chapter 5: Managing Information and Making Decisions

Understand Your Data

It’s Better to Have Too Much Data Than Too Little

Keep Things Simple

Function Should Dictate Form

Watch the Dynamic, Not Just the Static

Note

Part Three: Practical Solutions: People and Process

Chapter 6: Driving Operational Outcomes

Augmenting Operational Systems

Breaking Bottlenecks

Optimizing Monitoring Processes

Encouraging Innovation

Notes

Chapter 7: Analytical Process Management

Coping with Information Overload

Keeping Everyone Aligned

Allocating Responsibilities

Opening the Platform

Part Four: Practical Solutions: Systems and Assets

Chapter 8: Computational Architectures

Moving Beyond the Spreadsheet

Scaling Past the PC

Staying Mobile and Connected

Smoothing Growth ...