First Things Fast: A Handbook for Performance Analysis, Second Edition

5.1. Analysis-Paralysis

When teaching an analysis class at a global high-technology company, I asked each participant to share reasons for taking the class, especially reasons that related to a current project or priority. The sixteenth man in our class introduced himself as an engineer. This got everybody's attention, as this was a company that defined itself through its engineering, and he was the first in the room to identify as one. He said something along these lines: "I am responsible for the engineering needs assessment that you may have heard about. It's my job to figure out where we need to go with development for our large and varied engineering population." Everybody turned toward him. This was a very high-visibility task. (It's also ...