The document discusses how companies do not need big data to make good decisions, but rather should empower employees to use smaller, more accessible data. It recommends that companies (1) delegate responsibilities to employees and trust them to make decisions using various data sources close to their work, (2) agree on a single source of truth for uniform data presentation, (3) use regular scorecards to provide performance feedback, (4) explicitly manage business rules to understand their impact, and (5) coach employees to shift from instinct to evidence-based decision making using the data available to them. This gradual cultural shift can spread effective data use throughout most roles in an organization.

1. You may not need big data
after all
~ Jeanne W. Ross,
Cynthia M. Beath,
Anne Quaadgras

2. What’s the problem?
• Companies are not efficiently using Big data
for warehousing or for analyzing it.
• Turning insights from data analytics into
competitive advantage requires changes that
businesses may be incapable of making
• We are reluctant to make the change in our
organization that our insights might predict.

3. Empowering employees to make
good decisions

4. Delegate responsibilities
• There is a lot of little data.
• Employees should be aware of all the nuances
around them
• Solving all these small problems is much easier
than focusing on a very big problem using data
science.

5. Agree on Single Source of Truth

6. One source
• Universal acceptance of one source of truth is
the first step in adopting a culture of
evidence-based decision making.
• Bet on the ability of good people to use good
data to make good decisions.
• When you have a pre-agreed set of numbers
presented in a uniform way, you can train the
company how to think about problems. It
gives you the context for making choices.

7. Use Scorecards

8. Performance Data
• Regular scorecards clarify individual
accountability and provide consistent feedback
so that individuals know how they are doing.
• It’s important for scorecards to be based on
the right metric.
• Perhaps the best way to teach people how to
use data to create business benefits is to
provide them with data about their own
performance.

9. Explicitly manage your Business
Rules

10. • Little data can have a big effect on
performance when managers use the data
• Analyzing the impact of business rules doesn’t
involve the massive processing or the
statistical modeling associated with big data.
• Business Rules Are Running Your Company,
and You Don’t Even Know It

11. Use Coaching to Improve
Performance

12. Training
• Training your employees every now and then.
• Only coaching your employees will update
them on your latest decisions.
• You have to help them shift from basing their
decisions on instinct to basing them on data.
• Just make them look at the data.

13. A Gradual Shift

14. • In a culture of evidence-based decision
making, people who perform routine work
suddenly find themselves more responsible for
outcomes than for the number of hours they
put in
• Over time, the culture can spread to many,
maybe even most, roles.
• The opportunity presented by the information
economy is best tapped by getting all people
to use data more effectively

15. Thanks