How Analytics Differentiates Winners - Bain

Review by Bain & Co.

only 4% of companies are really good at analytics, an elite group that puts into play the right people, tools, data and intentional focus. These are the companies that are already using analytics insights to change the way they operate or to improve their products and services. And the difference is already visible. These companies are:

• Twice as likely to be in the top quartile of financial performance within their industries 

• Three times more likely to execute decisions as intended

• Five times more likely to make decisions faster

Chief Data Officer

Birst's blog discussions of the increasing centrality of Data

Analytical Process

Enrico Bertini recently posted about the role of data visualization as a data interaction tool.
Linking to a visual analytics research and development agenda by Thomas and Cook which includes consideration of the analytical process.

Taxonomy of User Activities

Links from Wikipedia including this as a "taxonomy" of user requirements.
The more interactive visualisation tools allow movement around this.

Stephen Few Suggests we visualise data for 4 key reasons

1. See the Big Picture
2. Easily & Rapidly Comparing values
3. Seeing patterns amongst values
4. Comparing patterns

To achieve 3 key goals

Stages of Analytics Maturity

At Spotfire's Blog
Measure - Diagnose - Predict & Optimise - Operationalise - Automate - Transform

Bogus Correlations

Article
Review Summary

Guide to Big Data analytics tools, trends and Best Practices

Wide Ranging paper at Tech Target

• • 1. - Real-world experiences with big data analytics tools
  • 2. - Opportunities and evolution in big data analytics processes
  • 3. - News and perspectives on big data analytics technologies
  • 4. - Best practices for implementing big data analytics projects
• • 5. - Big data analytics videos
  • 6. - Important terms related to big data analytics
  • 7. - Big data analytics quiz

Wayne Eckerson - Webinar

At Advisorsolutions - exploring a number of visualisations, the transitions from reporting to analysis

McKinsey - Three keys to building a data-driven strategy / Putting Big Data & Analytics to Work

Three Keys 
Putting to Work
Other Analytics Links at McKinsey

Big data and analytics have climbed to the top of the corporate agenda—with ample reason. Together, they promise to transform the way many companies do business, delivering performance improvements not seen since the redesign of core processes in the 1990s. As such, these tools and techniques will open new avenues of competitive advantage

 Focus on part of the decision and focus, therefore, where the greatest economic leverage is in the business.

The second is that you’ve got to make a decision support tool the frontline user understands and has confidence in. The moment you make it simple, understandable, then people start using it and you get better decisions 

Perception Science Should Drive Advanced Visualisation Designs

Article at IBM Blog

Steve Jobs popularized the saying "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." That dictum applies in spades to data visualization. The best visualizations leverage simple design principles to transmit useful intelligence to the human mind without delay and with maximum impact.

BARC - 2013 BI Vendor Survey

Linked to BARC 2013 vendor survey - Qlikview perspective - rankings of main BI providers on different assessments

Who's Afraid of Data Driven Management - HBR

At Harvard Business Review

Data-informed decision making, and the culture change inherent therein, doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Asking what do the data say before acting is a disruptive action, displacing prior norms. There will be employees like the low-highs who welcome this kind of change, and those like the high-lows who subvert it. Understanding the psychology underlying these behaviors is the necessary first step toward pushing past intuition and silencing the data skeptics.

Fostering a Data Driven Culture - Economist Intelligence

Economist Paper

Data Visualisation and Discovery for Better Business Decisions - TDWI - 2013-Q3

Business Visualisation Review by TDWI

2007 Review

Review of some of the pioneering visualisations

How Data Visualisation Can Boost BI

A Review at TechTarget

Including - Best Practices

How P&G Present Data to Decision Makers

HBR review work undertaken with Tibco-Spotfire at Procter & Gamble emphasising the importance of a common visual language in a global group.

Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence & Analytics

The full report can be obtained by registration at most of the software providers and is required reading
- for example HERE

Data Visualisation

This blog seeks to identify leading software and implementation in data visualisation and discovery. Alongside review of the software tools will be review of effective KPI measures and management tools seeking simple visual communication methods.

My focus will be on business applications in financial management, lean manufacturing, supply chain, sales performance and business strategy.

I seek to identify what makes great user applications, powerful business drivers.

While I fully appreciate the complexities for developers and the knowledge required to "know how" my interest is more centred on defining what businesses look at and the best ways to visualise the information from the data, driving decision making and controls.