How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business |  | Author: Douglas W. Hubbard
Publisher: Wiley
List Price: $45.00
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Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 2307
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1
ISBN: 0470110120
Dewey Decimal Number: 657.7
EAN: 9780470110126
ASIN: 0470110120
Publication Date: August 3, 2007
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Product Description
Praise for How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business
"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. 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, PhD, M.D.
Chief Technology Officer at CyberTrust
and inventor of the first antivirus software
"Doug Hubbard has provided an easy-to-read, demystifying explanation of how managers can inform themselves to make less risky, more profitable business decisions. We encourage our clients to try his powerful, practical techniques."
-Peter Schay
EVP and COO of
The Advisory Council
"As a reader you soon realize that actually everything can be measured while learning how to measure only what matters. This book cuts through conventional clichés and business rhetoric and offers practical steps to using measurements as a tool for better decision making. Hubbard bridges the gaps to make college statistics relevant and valuable for business decisions."
-Ray Gilbert
EVP Lucent
"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 MetraMetrics, Inc.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
Extemely detailed, even several example spreadsheets November 22, 2009
Prof. Alan C.B. (Washington DC)
I noticed several respected leaders in the field of measurement highly recommended this book, so I got a copy. I wasn't dissapointed. When I finished this book and reviewed the several example spreadsheets on the book's website, I realized my whole concept of measurement completely changed forever.
Striking observations Hubbard makes include the "Measurement Inversion", which shows that when the value of information is computed (yes, there is a formula for that) we find most organizations have been wasint their time measuring things that are unlikely to affect decisions while ignoring measurements that are likely to have much larger impacts. We find the surprising power of small samples and how even variables in complicated systems can be isolated. The way that British intelligence in WWII estimaated the German tank production by analyzing the serial numbers of captured tanks blew my mind. And then Hubbard shows us how estimate do it with a simple chart!
Measurements in every field will be affected by this book (my calibrated estimated is 95%).
Depth and Breadth for Real Measurement Professionals. November 21, 2009
Nate Lewis
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I can see why this book was chosen as the primary reference for the MIT measurement course. This is simply the most comprehensive text on the biggest problem in management, period. Other books on measurement are too quick to dismiss some things as "intangible" whereas Hubbard charges on and explains why it is really quite measurable. Hubbard gets right into the detail for a wide variety of otherwise-obscure measurement methods including how to estimate the size of "invisible" populations (e.g. the amount of fish in a big lake, undetected computer hacks, and undiscovered errors in work). He covers practical applications of Bayesian analysis, simple controlled experiments, and methods to fine-tune human experts as measurement instruments.
As a web designer, I know there is a lot of fluff on measurement methods for the web, which this book finally breaks through. But whether you are measuring productivity, quality, risk, value or anything else, this is the book you've been waiting for.
 Over-rated and lacks detail November 21, 2009
Kyra
1 out of 9 found this review helpful
I am writing this review to balance the views of most reviewers who know little about measurement. This book lacks detail on how to measure despite its wild claim on being able to measure the value of anything. For instance, when discussing the use of utility theory, it goes little beyond saying that indifference curves involves trade-offs (in about half a page). To be fair, the author is not an economist or psychologist, so for those who are serious about measurement, this book is not for you. There is nothing in this book that tells you how to measure properly, such as productivity. For the author, measuring productivity means asking around where cost savings may occur (e.g. did you spend 2 hrs less with this new software?). It does not do what most decent books do, i.e. consider economies of scale, organizational changes, learning economies, aggregation problems, etc. Interestingly, the book rarely uses equations to simplify the exposition. So for example, Monte carlo simulation is poorly explained, as is many other methods. Get a proper book on measurement.
Just buy it. November 19, 2009
michael gordon-smith
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Anyone reading this page is likely to have some interest in management or decisions or measurement. That's enough data on which to make this recommendation with confidence:
Don't bother with any more reviews; just buy the book.
Put a copy in your hands as quickly as you can.
You can find a summary of the contents from Amazon's "Inside this book", or from other reviews, but it's unlikely you'll guess from the chapter headings the scale of the impact this book will have. In the preface Douglas Hubbard says that while writing he `imagined it would be a small "scientific" revolution of sorts for managers - a distant cousin of the methods of "scientific management" introduced a century ago by Frederick Taylor.'
That's not a small ambition; but it's realistic.
This is a book that will almost certainly change the way you think about measurement; about decisions and about the data you need for management. It's a threshold book. Once you've read it you're likely to sort decisions into two categories - the ones you made before reading, and those you'll make afterwards.
In short, Douglas Hubbard's work is a cross-disciplinary triumph. He has combined techniques, research and insights from psychology, mathematics and economics to produce a practical, coherent method for tackling problems and making decisions anywhere, especially where stakes are high and results uncertain. Mr Hubbard's depth of experience is in IT investments, but the method is equally relevant to other areas of management, and will make a profound difference when it is used in public policy decisions.
If you're still reading, stop. Order two copies. As soon as you finish the book you'll want to give it to a friend, but you need to keep one for yourself.
A Useful book and a great read November 18, 2009
Michael J. Hodgson (Chicago, IL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is not only a very useful one, but it is also written well. Coming from someone who is just getting ready to enter into the business world, I am still able to appreciate the quality of this book. The variety of examples used in this book really give it an eclectic feel, making the reading experience all the more enjoyable.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
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