What did the Ford GT40, allied planes in WW2, and the Cholera outbreak of 1854 have in common? They all solved a problem by focusing on the right metrics. As professional analysts, we are tasked with tracking numbers and showing how our businesses and organizations are succeeding at their goals. While spreadsheets can help us count records and reporting tools can aid in analyzing data sets, are we focusing on the right metrics? The goals of this presentation are to discuss what metrics are, why they are useful, and alternative methods to reviewing data. Specifically, this presentation will review innovative concepts from the business world, and best practices with state/local government.

Learning Objectives:

• What are good metrics versus bad metric?
• What is good data versus bad data?
• What are useful findings from data analysis?