How to measure anything: Finding Value of Intangibles in Business

From the Inside Flap

How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business

From market research to information technology to financial reporting, How to Measure Anything reveals the power of measurement to our understanding of business and the world at large. This insightful and eloquent book will show you how to measure those things in your own business that, until now, you may have considered "immeasurable," including customer satisfaction, organizational flexibility, technology risk, and technology ROI.

With examples ranging from how a marine biologist measures the population of fish in a large lake to how the United States Marine Corps found out what really matters in forecasting fuel requirements for the battlefield, you will discover a "universal approach" to measuring "intangibles," along with some interesting methods for particular problems.

Here, you will learn about:

• The Illusion of Intangibles: Why Immeasurables Aren't
• Calibrated Estimates: How Much Do You Know Now?
• Measuring Risk: Introduction to the Monte Carlo
• Sampling Reality: How Observing Some Things Tells Us about All
• Unconventional Measurement Instruments such as the internet, human judges, prediction markets, and more
• Measuring the Value of Information: What's It Worth to Measure?

Written by recognized expert Douglas Hubbard—creator of Applied Information Economics—How to Measure Anything illustrates how the author has used his approach across various industries and how any problem, no matter how difficult, ill defined, or uncertain can lend itself to measurement using proven methods. Direct and easy-to-follow, How to Measure Anything is a resource no manager or executive can afford to be without.

About Douglas W. Hubbard

Douglas W. Hubbard is the inventor of Applied Information Economics (AIE), a measurement methodology that has earned him critical praise from The Gartner Group, Giga Information Group, and Forrester Research. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of IT value and is a popular speaker at numerous conferences. He has written articles for Information Week, CIO Enterprise, and DBMS Magazine. Formerly with Coopers & Lybrand, he has over twenty years' experience in IT management consulting, including twelve years' experience specifically in teaching organizations to use his AIE method. Dozens of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies have applied his method to IT investments, military logistics, venture capital, aerospace, and environmental issues. Find out more at www.howtomeasureanything.com.

Reviews and Praise for the Book

"...the book for anyone who wants to know how to measure the value of information or any other intangible asset." (Computer Weekly, Tuesday 18th September 2007) "... allows [companies] to measure performance in such diverse areas as customer satisfaction, employee morale, quality and organisational flexibility."
(CPO Agenda, Autumn 2007)

"How many times have you been asked to quantify something that is nebulous or intangible? As a system engineer at Sun, this happens to me all the time. A colleague of mine referred me to How to Measure Anything…one of the best books I've seen in this area."
(blogs.sun.com; 1/28/08)

"After reading Hubbard's excellent book on 'How to Measure Anything', I was able to immediately solve several measurement challenges for my CEO and Business Owner colleagues. It should be on every manager's desk."
(Amazon.com; 10/07)

"…the book for anyone who wants to know how to measure the value of information or any other intangible asset."
(Computer Weekly, Tuesday 18th September 2007)

"Hubbard has made a career of finding ways to measure things that other folks thought were immeasurable. Quality? The value of telecommuting? The risk of IT project failure? the benefits of greater IT security? Public image? He says it can be done -- and without breaking the bank. Many IT steering committees won't approve projects that "can't be measured," so it behooves CIOs to figure this out! ...... If you'd like to fare better in the project-approval wars, take a look at this book."
(ComputerWorld, 8/07)

"… allows [companies] to measure performance in such diverse areas as customer satisfaction, employee morale, quality and organisational flexibility."
(CPO Agenda, Autumn 2007)

"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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