“Keep Up with Your Quants” by Thomas H. Davenport.

 July 16, 2013 , Tuesday 

The Right Questions to Ask Your Data Analysts ! 

In today’s business world, you’ve got to be data literate to succeed. If you aren’t trained in analytics, don’t fret. As a non-expert, you can play a critical role by asking your “quants” the tough questions. Here are a few that almost always lead to more rigorous, defensible analyses: 

(1) Where did the data come from? 

(2) How well does the sample represent the population?

(3)  Does the data distribution include outliers? How did they affect the results?

(4)  What ASSUMPTIONS  are behind your analysis?

(5)  Might certain CONDITIONS  render your assumptions and your model invalid? 

(6) Why did you decide on that particular analytical APPROACH ? 

(7)  What alternatives did you consider? 

If you don’t understand a reply to any of these, ask for one that uses simpler language.

Adapted from “Keep Up with Your Quants” by Thomas H. Davenport.