Home >
How to Measure Anything

How to Measure Anything Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business, 2nd Edition

Author: Douglas W. Hubbard
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780470539392
Published In: April 2010
Format: Hardback , 320 pages
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

Out of stock

Description
Contents
Author

Details

Now updated with new research and even more intuitive explanations, a demystifying explanation of how managers can inform themselves 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 that, until now, you may have considered "immeasurable," including customer satisfaction, organizational flexibility, technology risk, and technology ROI.

l Adds even more intuitive explanations of powerful measurement methods and shows how they can be applied to areas such as risk management and customer satisfaction

l Continues to boldly assert that any perception of "immeasurability" is based on certain popular misconceptions about measurement and measurement methods

l Shows the common reasoning for calling something immeasurable, and sets out to correct those ideas

l Offers practical methods for measuring a variety of "intangibles"

l Adds recent research, especially in regards to methods that seem like measurement, but are in fact a kind of "placebo effect" for management – and explains how to tell effective methods from management mythology

Written by recognized expert Douglas Hubbard-creator of Applied Information Economics-How to Measure Anything, Second 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.

“How to Measure Anything was already my favorite book (just ahead of Hubbard’s second book, The Failure of Risk Management) and one I actively promote to my students and colleagues. But the Second Edition, improving on the already exquisite first edition, is and achievement of its own. As a physicist and economist, I applied these techniques in several fields for several years. For the first time, somebody wrote together all these concerns on one canvas that is at the same time accessible to a broad audience and applicable by specialists. This book is a must for students and experts in the field of analysis (in general) and decision-making.”

—Dr. Johan Braet. University of Antwerp. Faculty of Applied Economics, Risk Management and Innovation

“Now, performance measures can be defined for even the most difficult problems. Doug Hubbard’s book is a marvelous tutorial on how to define sound metrics to justify and manage complex programs. It is a must read for anyone concerned about mitigating the risks involved with Capital Planning, Investment Decisions and Program Management.” —Jim Flyzik, former Government CIO, White House Technology Advisor and CIO Magazine Hall of Fame Inductee

Praise from How to Measure Anything, First Edition

“I love this book. Douglas Hubbard helps us create a path to know the answer to almost any question, in business, in science or in life...Hubbard helps us by showing us that when we seek metrics to solve problems, we are really trying to know something ‘better than we know it now,’ to put something into context, to find insight to help us get our jobs done, to be more successful, to discover things, or to build things. How to Measure Anything provides just the tools most of us need to measure anything better, to gain that insight, to make progress, and to succeed.” —Peter Tippett, Ph.D., M.D., Chief Technology Officer at CyberTrust and inventor of the first antivirus software

“Interestingly written and full of case studies and rich examples, Hubbard’s book is a valuable resource for those who routinely make decisions involving uncertainty. This book is readable and quite entertaining, and even those who consider themselves averse to statistics may find it highly approachable.” —Strategic Finance

“Hubbard has made a career of finding ways to measure things that other folks thought were immeasurable. Quality? The value of telecommuting? The risk of IT project failure? the benefits of greater IT security? Public image? He says it can be done—and without breaking the bank…If you’d like to fare better in the project-approval wars, take a look at this book.” —ComputerWorld, August 2007

“I use this book as a primary reference for my measurement class at MIT. The students love it because it provides practical advice that can be applied to a variety of scenarios; from aerospace & defense, healthcare, politics, etc” —Ricardo Valerdi, PhD, Lecturer, MIT

This book is remarkable in its range of measurement applications and its clarity of style. A must-read for every professional who has ever exclaimed, ‘Sure, that concept is important, but can we measure it?” —Dr. Jack Stenner, Cofounder and CEO of MetaMetrics, Inc.

Foreword.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Section One: Measurement: The Solution Exists.

Chapter 1: Intangibles and the Challenge.

Yes, I Mean Anything.

The Proposal.

Chapter 2: An Intuitive Measurement Habit: Eratosthenes, Enrico, & Emily.

How an Ancient Greek Measured the Size of Earth.

Estimating: Be Like Fermi.

Experiments: Not Just for Adults.

Notes on What to Learn from Eratosthenes, Enrico, & Emily.

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

The Concept of Measurement.

The Object of Measurement.

The Methods of Measurement.

Economic Objections to Measurement.

The Broader Objection to the Usefulness of “Statistics”.

Ethical Objections to Measurement.

Toward a Universal Approach to Measurement.

Section Two:Before You Measure.

Chapter 4: Clarifying the Measurement Problem.

Getting the Language Right: What “Uncertainty” and “Risk” Really Mean.

Examples of Clarification: Lessons for Business from, of All Places, Government.

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

Calibration Exercise.

Further Improvements on Calibration.

Conceptual Obstacles to Calibration.

The Effects of Calibration.

Chapter 6: Measuring Risk through Modeling.

How Not to Measure Risk.

Real Risk Analysis: The Monte Carlo.

An Example of the Monte Carlo Method and Risk.

Tools and Other Resources for Monte Carlo Simulations.

The Risk Paradox and the Need for Better Risk Analysis.

Chapter 7: Measuring the Value of Information.

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

The Value of Information for Ranges.

The Imperfect World: The Value of Partial Uncertainty Reduction.

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

Summarizing Uncertainty, Risk, and Information Value: The First Measurements.

Section Three: Measurement Methods.

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

Tools of Observation: Introduction to the Instrument of Measurement

Decomposition.

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

The Basic Methods of Observation: If One Doesn't Work, Try the Next.

Measure Just Enough.

Consider the Error.

Choose and Design the Instrument.

Chapter 9: Sampling Reality: How Observing Some Things Tells Us about All Things.

Building an Intuition for Random Sampling: The Jelly Bean Example.

A Little about Little Samples: A Beer Brewer’s Approach.

Statistical Significance: A Matter of Degree.

When Outliers Matter Most.

The Easiest Sample Statistics Ever.

A Biased Sample of Sampling Methods.

Measure to the Threshold.

Experiment.

Seeing Relationships in the Data: An Introduction to Regression Modeling.

Chapter 10: Bayes: Adding to What You Know Now.

Simple Bayesian Statistics.

Using Your Natural Bayesian Instinct.

Heterogeneous Benchmarking: A “Brand Damage” Application.

Bayesian Inversion for Ranges: An Overview.

Bayesian Inversion for Ranges: The Details.

Section Four: Beyond the Basics.

Chapter 11: Preference and Attitudes: The Softer Side of Measurement.

Observing Opinions, Values, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

A Willingness to Pay: Measuring Value via Trade-offs.

Putting It All on the Line: Quantifying Risk Tolerance.

Quantifying Subjective Trade-offs: Dealing with Multiple Conflicting Preferences.

Keeping the Big Picture in Mind: Profit Maximization versus Subjective Trade-offs.

Chapter 12: The Ultimate Measurement Instrument: Human Judges.

Homo Absurdus: The Weird Reasons behind Our Decisions.

Getting Organized: A Performance Evaluation Example.

Surprisingly Simple Linear Models.

How to Standardize Any Evaluation: Rasch Models.

Removing Human Inconsistency: The Lens Model.

Panacea or Placebo?: Questionable Methods of Measurement.

Comparing the Methods.

Chapter 13: New Measurement Instruments for Management.

The Twenty-First-Century Tracker: Keeping Tabs with Technology.

Measuring the World: The Internet as an Instrument.

Prediction Markets: A Dynamic Aggregation of Opinions.

Chapter 14: A Universal Measurement Method: Applied Information Economics.

Bringing the Pieces Together.

Case: The Value of the System That Monitors Your Drinking Water.

Case: Forecasting Fuel for the Marine Corps.

Ideas for Getting Started: A Few Final Examples.

Summarizing the Philosophy.

Appendix: Calibration Tests (and their answers).

Answers to Calibration Questions in Chapter 5.

Additional Calibration Tests.

Index.

DOUGLAS W. HUBBARD is the inventor of Applied Information Economics (AIE), a measurement methodology that has been used in IT portfolios, entertainment media, military logistics, R&D portfolios, and many more areas where big decisions are based on factors that seem difficult or impossible to measure. He is an internationally recognized expert in metrics, decision analysis, and risk management, and is a popular speaker at numerous conferences. He has written articles for InformationWeek, CIO Enterprise, Architecture Boston, Analytics and OR/MS Today and is also the author of The Failure of Risk Management: Why It's Broken and How to Fix It.