Business and Administration

DO IT is a process for creativity. Techniques outlined earlier in this chapter focus on specific aspects of creative thinking. DO IT bundles them together, and introduces formal methods of problem definition and evaluation. These help you to get the best out of the creativity techniques. DO IT is an acronym that stands for: D  – Define problem O  – Open mind and apply creative techniques I  – Identify best solution T  – Transform These stages are explained in more detail below: 1. Define Problem This section concentrates on analyzing the problem to ensure that the correct question is being asked. The following steps will help you to do this: Check that you are tackling the problem, not the symptoms of the problem. To do this, ask yourself why the problem exists repeatedly until you get to the root of it. Lay out the bounds of the problem. Work out the objectives that you must achieve and the constraints that you are operat...

The Secrets to Managing Business Analytics Projects By Stijn Viaene and Annabel Van den Bunder September 21, 2011 Business analytics projects are often characterized by uncertain or changing requirements — and a high implementation risk. So it takes a special breed of project manager to execute and deliver them. Smart use of information technology can allow for frequent and faster iterations between the design and operating environments, improving experimentation efficiency. Managers have used business analytics to inform their decision making for years. Numerous studies have pointed to its growing importance, not only in analyzing past performance but also in identifying opportunities to improve future performance. As business environments become more complex and competitive, managers need to be able to detect or, even better, predict trends and respond to them early. Companies are giving business analytics increasingly high priority in...