Big Data Analytics

by Kim H. Pries, Robert Dunnigan

With this book, managers and decision makers are given the tools to make more informed decisions about big data purchasing initiatives. Big Data A Practical Guide for Managers not only supplies descriptions of common tools, but also surveys the various products and vendors that supply the big data market.

Comparing and contrasting the different types of analysis commonly conducted with big data, this accessible reference presents clear-cut explanations of the general workings of big data tools. Instead of spending time on HOW to install specific packages, it focuses on the reasons WHY readers would install a given package.

The book provides authoritative guidance on a range of tools, including open source and proprietary systems. It details the strengths and weaknesses of incorporating big data analysis into decision-making and explains how to leverage the strengths while mitigating the weaknesses. The book further explores basic statistical concepts that, when misapplied, can be the source of errors. Time and again, big data is treated as an oracle that discovers results nobody would have imagined. While big data can serve this valuable function, all too often these results are incorrect, yet are still reported unquestioningly. The probability of having erroneous results increases as a larger number of variables are compared unless preventative measures are taken.

The approach taken by the authors is to explain these concepts so managers can ask better questions of their analysts and vendors as to the appropriateness of the methods used to arrive at a conclusion. Because the world of science and medicine has been grappling with similar issues in the publication of studies, the authors draw on their efforts and apply them to big data.

576 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2015

About the author

Mr. Jon Quigley works for Volvo 3P as the manager of the Electrical and Electronics Verification and Test group in North America. He is also a principal in Value Transformation, LLC--a consultancy providing value engineering, project management, test engineering, and training primarily in new product development.

Jon has experience as an embedded product developer (hardware and software) for industrial applications, as well for the heavy vehicle industry. He has had roles as a test engineer for projects, both for automotive and heavy vehicle applications. He is experienced in software engineering, software testing, embedded product engineering, test engineering (production and product testing), book writing, Product Development training, automotive quality, and real-time programming.

Jon is the coauthor, with Kim H. Pries, of Project Management of Complex and Embedded Systems (CRC Press, 2008), as well as more then a dozen magazine and e-magazine articles. These articles are in Automotive Design Line, EDN, Embedded Systems Design, Product Design & Development, Software Magazine, Software Development Times, Software Test and Performance, Quality Magazine, and Project Magazine on line. Additionally, Jon is co-authoring two other books with Kim Pries that are under contract. The books are tentatively titled: "Scrum Project Management" and "Testing of Complex and Embedded Systems" both will be available middle to late 2010.

Jon has a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and masters of business administration in marketing as well as a masters of science in project management from City University of Seattle. He has five US patents, with another three in various stages of the patent process. Additionally, he was part of the team that received the North American Volvo Technical award in 2005 going on to win the Volvo Global Technology Award in 2006. He is a member of SAE, SAVE, and PMI, and is the holder of Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. He lives in Lexington, North Carolina with his wife Nancy, and son Jackson a cat and a dog."