Modeling for Insight: A Master Class for Business Analysts

You looking to find the "Modeling for Insight: A Master Class for Business Analysts" Good news! You can purchase Modeling for Insight: A Master Class for Business Analysts with secure price and compare to view update price on this product. And deals on this product is available only for limited time.

   

Product Description

Praise for Modeling for Insight

"Most books on modeling are either too theoretical or too focused on the mechanics of programming. Powell and Batt's emphasis on using simple spreadsheet models to gain business insight (which is, after all, the name of the game) is what makes this book stand head and shoulders above the rest. This clear and practical book deserves a place on the shelf of every business analyst."
��Jonathan Koomey, PhD, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford University, author of Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving

Most business analysts are familiar with using spreadsheets to organize data and build routine models. However, analysts often struggle when faced with examining new and ill-structured problems. Modeling for Insight is a one-of-a-kind guide to building effective spreadsheet models and using them to generate insights. With its hands-on approach, this book provides readers with an effective modeling process and specific modeling tools to become a master modeler.

The authors provide a structured approach to problem-solving using four main steps: frame the problem, diagram the problem, build a model, and generate insights. Extensive examples, graduated in difficulty, help readers to internalize this modeling process, while also demonstrating the application of important modeling tools, including:

• Influence diagrams

• Spreadsheet engineering

• Parameterization

• Sensitivity analysis

• Strategy analysis

• Iterative modelingThe real-world examples found in the book are drawn from a wide range of fields such as financial planning, insurance, pharmaceuticals, advertising, and manufacturing. Each chapter concludes with a discussion on how to use the insights drawn from these models to create an effective business presentation. Microsoft Office Excel and PowerPoint are used throughout the book, along with the add-ins Premium Solver, Crystal Ball, and Sensitivity Toolkit. Detailed appendices guide readers through the use of these software packages, and the spreadsheet models discussed in the book are available to download via the book's related Web site. Modeling for Insight is an ideal book for courses in engineering, operations research, and management science at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable resource for consultants and business analysts who often use spreadsheets to better understand complex problems.

  Modeling for Insight: A Master Class for Business Analysts Review

  i am currently in the middle of the book and so far i can say i received my money's worth..
  
  while the book might not be teaching any new concept.. the book takes you - thru a simple methodology - into how to tackle a problem.. then how to solve it.. Well, the authors do not like the word "solve" since most of what we want here is insight and not a solution for a mathematical equation..
  
  an added benefit of the book is that you do not need to be a math or statistics guy to read - and then use - the whole book. the same goes for excel.. further, the website provides you with additional tools like the Tornado tool for quick results..
  
  I am a Business Intelligence and analytics consultant and being an advocate of structured thinking - without painting with numbers as I have seen many organization, i find the methodology in the book very well accepted when you take the customer into a real-life problem and how to better decide..
  
  when building Business Intelligence Competency Center's in financial sectors or telco, you find many of those armed with a data warehouse and many many database admin's who can link data to get you results.. however very few how have disciplined approaches in deriving insight from the many many reports that usually end in the dust-bin..
  
  if you are building decision or predictive models for clients and you need a way to demystify your approach.. this is definitely your book.. and a very good start for Quants (quantitative engineers or analysts)
  
  I am using the methodology already for our company's clients, my personal investments..
  
  [5-stars indeed]
  
  a book worth reading before this book is "How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business".
  
  Most of the consumer Reviews tell that the "Modeling for Insight: A Master Class for Business Analysts" are high quality item. You can read each testimony from consumers to find out cons and pros from Modeling for Insight: A Master Class for Business Analysts ...