Now updated with new measurement methods and new examples, How to Measure Anything shows managers how to inform themselves in order to make less risky, more profitable business decisions

This insightful and eloquent book will show you how to measure those things in your own business, government agency or other organization that, until now, you may have considered "immeasurable," including customer satisfaction, organizational flexibility, technology risk, and technology ROI.

• Adds new measurement methods, showing how they can be applied to a variety of areas such as risk management and customer satisfaction
• Simplifies overall content while still making the more technical applications available to those readers who want to dig deeper
• Continues to boldly assert that any perception of "immeasurability" is based on certain popular misconceptions about measurement and measurement methods
• Shows the common reasoning for calling something immeasurable, and sets out to correct those ideas
• Offers practical methods for measuring a variety of "intangibles"
• Provides an online database (www.howtomeasureanything.com) of downloadable, practical examples worked out in detailed spreadsheets

Written by recognized expert Douglas Hubbard-creator of Applied Information Economics-How to Measure Anything, Third Edition illustrates how the author has used his approach across various industries and how any problem, no matter how difficult, ill defined, or uncertain can lend itself to measurement using proven methods.

DOUGLAS W. HUBBARD is the inventor of Applied Information Economics (AIE), a measurement methodology that has earned him critical praise from The Gartner Group, Giga Information Group, and Forrester Research. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of decision analysis and challenging measurements and is a popular speaker at numerous conferences. He has written articles for Information Week, CIO Enterprise, and DBMS Magazine. He is the author of The Failure of Risk Management: Why It's Broken and How to Fix It and Pulse: The New Science of Harnessing Internet Buzz to Track Threats and Opportunities.

Klappentext

Anything can be measured. This bold assertion is the key to solving many problems in business and life in general. The myth that certain things can't be measured is a significant drain on our nation's economy, public welfare, the environment, and even national security. In fact, the chances are good that some part of your life or your professional responsibilities is greatly harmed by a lack of measurement by you, your firm, or even your government. Regardless of your role in business, understanding the power of measurement will make you, those around you, and your organization more efficient and productive.

Using simple concepts to illustrate the hands-on application of advanced statistical techniques, How to Measure Anything, Third Edition reveals the power of measurement in our understanding of business and the world at large. This insightful and engaging book shows you how to measure those things in your business that you may have previously considered immeasurable, including: customer satisfaction, organizational flexibility, technology ROI, and technology risk. Offering examples that will get you to attempt measurementseven when it seems impossiblethis book provides you with the underlying knowledge and the necessary steps for measuring anything, especially uncertainty and risk. This revised third edition provides even deeper insights into the fascinating practice of measuring intangibles, with a special emphasis on risk management and customer satisfaction. New and updated chapters also include:

• A philosophical discussion of different approaches to probabilities, including what is known as the Bayesian vs. frequentist interpretations of probability
• Information compiled from other popular works and compelling articles from Douglas W. Hubbard
• Enlightening new examples of where seemingly impossible measurements were resolved with surprisingly simple methods
• More measurement myths and other perceived obstacles to measurement debunked

A complete and updated resource with real-world case studies and an easy-to-follow format, How to Measure Anything, Third Edition illustrates how author Douglas Hubbardcreator of Applied Information Economicshas successfully applied his approach across various industries. You'll learn how any problem, no matter how difficult, ill-defined, or uncertain, can lend itself to measurement using proven methods. Straightforward and accessible, this is the resource you'll turn to again and again to measure the seemingly immeasurable.

Inhalt

Preface to the Third Edition xiii

Acknowledgments xix

About the Author xxi

Part I The Measurement Solution Exists 1

Chapter 1 The Challenge of Intangibles 3

The Alleged Intangibles 4

Yes, I Mean Anything 5

The Proposal: It's about Decisions 7

A Power Tools Approach to Measurement 10

A Guide to the Rest of the Book 11

Chapter 2 An Intuitive Measurement Habit: Eratosthenes, Enrico, and Emily 15

How an Ancient Greek Measured the Size of Earth 16

Estimating: Be Like Fermi 17

Experiments: Not Just for Adults 20

Notes on What to Learn from Eratosthenes, Enrico, and Emily 25

Notes 27

Chapter 3 The Illusion of Intangibles: Why Immeasurables Aren't 29

The Concept of Measurement 30

The Object of Measurement 37

The Methods of Measurement 40

Economic Objections to Measurement 48

The Broader Objection to the Usefulness of Statistics 52

Ethical Objections to Measurement 55

Reversing Old Assumptions 58

Notes 65

Part II Before You Measure 69

Chapter 4 Clarifying the Measurement Problem 71

Toward a Universal Approach to Measurement 73

The Unexpected Challenge of Defining a Decision 74

If You Understand It, You Can Model It 80

Getting the Language Right: What Uncertainty and Risk Really Mean 83

An Example of a Clarified Decision 84

Notes 90

Chapter 5 Calibrated Estimates: How Much Do You Know Now? 93

Calibration Exercise 95

Calibration Trick: Bet Money (or Even Just Pretend To) 101

Further Improvements on Calibration 104

Conceptual Obstacles to Calibration 106

The Effects of Calibration Training 111

Notes 118

Chapter 6 Quantifying Risk through Modeling 123

How Not to Quantify Risk 123

Real Risk Analysis: The Monte Carlo 125

An Example of the Monte Carlo Method and Risk 127

Tools and Other Resources for Monte Carlo Simulations 136

The Risk Paradox and the Need for Better Risk Analysis 140

Notes 143

Chapter 7 Quantifying the Value of Information 145

The Chance of Being Wrong and the Cost of Being Wrong: Expected Opportunity Loss 146

The Value of Information for Ranges 149

Beyond Yes/No: Decisions on a Continuum 156

The Imperfect World: The Value of Partial Uncertainty Reduction 159

The Epiphany Equation: How the Value of Information Changes Everything 166

Summarizing Uncertainty, Risk, and Information Value: The Pre-Measurements 171

Notes 172

Part III Measurement Methods 173

Chapter 8 The Transition: From What to Measure to How to Measure 175

Tools of Observation: Introduction to the Instrument of Measurement 177

Decomposition 180

Secondary Research: Assuming You Weren't the First to Measure It 184

The Basic Methods of Obser…