#086: Avoiding Analytics Rabbit Holes

Have you ever walked out of a meeting with a clear idea of the analysis that you're going to conduct, only to find yourself three days later staring at an endless ocean of crunched data and wondering in which direction you're supposed to be paddling your analysis boat? That might not be an ocean. It might be an analytics rabbit hole. In this episode, the gang explores the Analysis of Competing Hypotheses approach developed by Richards Heuer as part of his work with the CIA, inductive versus deductive reasoning, and engaging stakeholders as a mechanism for focusing an analysis. Ironically, our intrepid hosts had a really hard time avoiding topical rabbit holes during the episode. But, acknowledging the problem is the first part of the solution! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this show and a transcript of the discussion, visit the show page.