We’ve heard about shortage of data-analysis help, and about senior execs who pooh-pooh the influence of analysis in decision-making, and about the “dead” self-service analysis. So when a vendor tells me about a direct-to-exec service, featuring a sort of concierge of analytics, I pull up a chair to listen.… Read more...
books
Data managers should emulate good librarians
Haul away the hardware, peel off the software, rinse off the mystique and you see what the people who manage data really are: They’re librarians. That’s the role IT workers should model themselves on.
I’m not talking about technology. I don’t care what tools anyone uses.… Read more...
Wayne Eckerson, BI explainer, jumps to TechTarget
One of the business intelligence industry’s best explainers, Wayne Eckerson, is leaving TDWI for TechTarget. For the everyday BI expert, it’s good gossip. — But for those still on the learning curve, it’s a cue to switch channels.
“It’s true,” he told me this morning about the rumors, “I’m departing the big TDWI in the sky for other pastures.” This week’s rumors were only the latest; I heard the first wave back in early 2009 that he was looking to jump the fence.… Read more...
How to analyze unfamiliar data: circle, dive, and riff
When you come face to face with unfamiliar data, how do you proceed? How do you avoid sending yourself and your shiny “speed of thought” tool slamming into a dead end? Dan Murray’s got a routine — and he’s also got certain music and right-brained books to go along.… Read more...
“Streetlights and Shadows”
Some of the books Stephen Few reviews may at first glance to have little to do with data analysis. On second glance, though, they have everything to do with it. He often goes into the essence of thinking, insight, and decision making — core knowledge for BI practitioners.… Read more...