The Analytics Lifecycle Toolkit

CHAPTER 1Analytics Overview

…what enables the wise commander to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge. Now, this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits…

The Art of War, Sun Tzu (as seen in Giles, 1994)

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

Peter Drucker first spoke of the “knowledge economy” in his book The Age of Discontinuity (Drucker, 1969). The knowledge economy refers to the use of knowledge “to generate tangible and intangible value.” Nearly 50 years later, organizations have virtually transformed themselves to meet this challenge, and data and analytics have become central to that transformation.

In this chapter, we highlight the “fundamentals” of analytics by hopefully creating a level playing field for those interested in the moving from the concept of analytics to the practice of analytics. The fundamentals include defining both data and analytics using terms that I hope resonate. In addition, I think it is important to consider analytics in the wider context of how it is used and the value derived from these efforts. Finally, in this chapter, I relate analytics to other widely used terms as a way to find both common ground and differentiation with often-confused terminologies.

Data

Data permeates just about every part of our lives, from the digital footprint we leave with our cell phones, to health records, purchase history, and utilization of resources such as energy. While not impossible, it would require dedication ...