Behind Every Good Decision: How Anyone Can Use Business Analytics to Turn Data into Profitable Insight - Hardcover

Jain, Piyanka; Sharma, Puneet

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814449212 ISBN 13: 9780814449219

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education / Europe, Middle East & Africa, 2014

Synopsis

There is a costly misconception in business today - that the only data that matters is BIG data, and that complex tools and data scientists are required to extract any practical information. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In Behind Every Good Decision, authors and analytics experts Piyanka Jain and Puneet Sharma demonstrate how professionals at any level can take the information at their disposal and leverage it to make better decisions. The authors’ streamlined frame work demystifies the process of business analytics and helps anyone move from data to decisions in just five steps...using only Excel as a tool. Readers will learn how to:

• Clarify the business question
• Lay out a hypothesis-driven plan
• Pull relevant data
• Convert it to insights
• Make decisions that make an impact

Packed with examples and exercises, this refreshingly accessible book explains the four fundamental analytic techniques that can help solve a surprising 80% of all business problems. Business analytics isn’t rocket science - it’s a simple problem-solving tool that can help companies increase revenue, decrease costs, improve products, and delight customers. And who doesn’t want to do that?

About this title

Review:

"Jain and Sharma have found a way to make the analysis of data engaging and easy to understand, even for those of us who are not mathematically inclined." --Internal Auditing

"Jain and Sharma do a fantastic job of explaining how any reasonably intelligent person can make sense of data by starting with the problems they want to solve..." -- MindTools

"Jain and Sharma demystify big data by revealing how to use it as a highly effective business tool..." -- Baseline

..".takes a dauntingly huge subject - analytics - and reduces it to clear, usable chunks." --Blue Heron Journal

..".should be on the desk and in the hands of planners and decision-makers in organizations where good decisions matter. That's everybody." --Vancouver Business Journal

"Experienced data scientists Piyanka Jain and Puneet Sharma offer an exceptionally clear, illustrated guide to data analysis, including meaningful, real case studies and actionable best practices... getAbstract recommends this commonsense, practical approach to managers, executives, entrepreneurs and professionals who don't analyze for a living." --getAbstract

From the Back Cover:

"If you want to learn how to set up an analytics-driven organization and compete with analytics, then this book is for you." -- Steve Berkowitz, CEO, Move, Inc.

"Inundated with data? Over years of helping companies grow from cradle to star performers, I have seen that winners are those who best manage their data and leverage it to make the right decisions. Behind Every Good Decision hands over that secret with a special blend of analytics and Aryng's BADIR framework. Best of all, it is so simple and drives amazing results. This is a guide I would tell every entrepreneur and executive team to absorb and apply." -- Dana Stalder, venture capitalist at Matrix Partners; former executive at PayPal, eBay, and Netscape

"Behind Every Good Decision is the playbook business leaders need to cut their ocean of data into smaller pools of useful information. Piyanka and Puneet have developed a detailed yet simple framework that anyone can use to harness the power of data analytics." -- Barry F. Roach, President & Chief Executive Officer, SafeAmerica Credit Union

"A refreshing, solid framework to learn about and execute on analytics; a trustworthy guide to advanced techniques such as predictive analytics when required; and a simple do-it-yourself method--Behind Every Good Decision does the trick." -- Eric Siegel, Founder, Predictive Analytics World and author of Predictive Analytics

"With all the buzz of Big Data, we forget that most firms are still trying to master Small Data. While the panacea may seem to be complex statistics, Behind Every Good Decision simply solves business problems with smart Business Analytics, asking the right questions and using simple tools like Excel! With their BADIR framework, Piyanka and Puneet embody the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) to set up an analytics organization and drive impact. If you are a business professional or leader looking to move the needle with your data, read this book!" --Sameer Chopra, VP, Advanced Analytics, Orbitz Worldwide

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education / Europe, Middle East & Africa
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0814449212
• ISBN 13: 9780814449219
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256