In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, aliens devise an elaborate computer system to find the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything. After millions of years of computing, the ultimate answer is finally revealed: 42. This nonsensical answer made the aliens realize that they found an answer without really knowing what the question was (so inevitably they built an even more complex computer to determine the ultimate question).
Unfortunately this is not too different from how analytics works in some organizations. Those with the statistical knowledge and computing resources work very hard finding answers, but those answers might not match the questions that really matter to the business. When domain experts see such 42-like answers to their questions, they can become frustrated and turn away from analytics.
Asking the right questions can be as important as finding the right answers. An analytics process should reflect this reality. Domain experts should be able to ask good questions, and the good answers they receive should then spark even more good questions. PBA is one way to empower those with the right questions with the ability to receive good answers.
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