Executive Summary
Why Understanding the Breadth of Analytics is Crucial
Using quantitative methods is rapidly becoming not an option for competitive advantage, but rather – at the very least – barely enough to keep up. Everyone needs to understand what’s involved in analytics, what your particular organization needs, and how to do it.
Few people are comfortable with the concepts of advanced analytic methods. In fact, most people cannot explain the difference between a mean, a median and a sample mean. The misapplication of statistics is widespread, but today’s explosion of data sources and intriguing technologies to deal with them have changed the calculus. Embedded quantitative methods may relieve analysts of the actual construction of predictive models, but applying those models correctly requires an understanding of the different analytical types, roles and skill.