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# Announcing My Eighth Book
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/announcing-eighth-book/
- Published: 2017-02-27T18:41:54.000Z
- Updated: 2025-07-02T16:53:32.000Z
- Description: Here's the skinny on my new one, Analytics: The Agile Way.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Analytics, Announcements, Project Management, ATAW, Capstone Projects, Why New Systems Fail

For decades now, companies big and small have embraced [Agile software development methods](https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/?ref=philsimon.com). The rationale here is straightforward:

- Why take one or two years to *fully* deploy a system, app, or website when so many things can and do go wrong?
- Why try to cook one big batch and boil the ocean?
- Why not cook many smaller batches?

Double that when the world changes faster than ever. Brass tacks: It's no coincidence that methods such as [Scrum](https://www.cprime.com/resources/what-is-agile-what-is-scrum/?ref=philsimon.com) have exploded with no end in sight.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2025/05/scrum-1.jpg)

## The Analytics Paradox

Yet, when developing and using analytics, many organizations paradoxically continue to think in terms of traditional, [phase-gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase%E2%80%93gate%5Fmodel?ref=philsimon.com) IT projects. (I've [argued against doing that very thing](https://www.philsimon.com/case-analytics-projects/).) That is, they optimistically plan for six-month or year-long projects to launch dashboards, key performance indicator (KPIs), data-visualization tools, predictive models, and their ilk. Antiquated techniques abound. In so doing, these organizations bet—[often incorrectly](https://www.zdnet.com/article/your-big-data-projects-will-probably-fail-and-heres-why/?ref=philsimon.com)—that they will diligently gather every requirement and data source. In their conceit, they assume perfect conception, planning, and [execution](https://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/2012/06/06/5-reasons-analytics-projects-can-fail/?ref=philsimon.com). Even if they pull off these enormous feats, it's usually a fool's errand for one simple fact: [the world is moving faster than ever](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0961463x04044577?ref=philsimon.com).

This is insanity.

## Where Motivation Meets Opportunity

In [my new role at ASU](https://www.philsimon.com/professor-simon/), I teach CIS450, a course on enterprise analytics. In a nutshell, I show my students how organizations can apply these Agile methods and techniques to further their analytics efforts.

> Many organizations continue to approach analytics in a manner that I can only describe as absurd.

To be sure, I enjoy teaching the course. (I find the capstone projects fascinating.) Still, there's a problem: Lamentably, the current books on the subject don't really fit the course material—at least as well as they can. ([*Lean Analytics*](https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Analytics-Better-Startup-Faster/dp/1449335675?ref=philsimon.com) is a good read but it's targeted towards startups.)

At the beginning of last semester, I started toying with the idea of writing a book specifically designed for this course, but not a textbook *per se*. Given [the growth of proper analytics degrees and programs](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2013/07/30/degrees-in-big-data-fad-or-fast-track-to-career-success/?ref=philsimon.com#1c1547fb6a93), such a book seems to make sense. The notion that organizations should apply the [Waterfall method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfall%5Fmodel?ref=philsimon.com) to analytics today seems increasingly dated.

## Book Title and Other Notes

My eighth book will be titled *Analytics: The Agile Way.* The book will show how intelligent organizations are approaching contemporary analytics. ([TLDR](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tl%3Bdr&ref=philsimon.com): It's vastly different from how their counterparts continue to do it.)

At a high level, the text will demonstrate how organizations are applying the same Agile techniques that software engineers and developers have successful used for years, but in a different area: analytics. In so doing, individuals at these smart companies can understand—and, most important, *act upon*—nascent opportunities far faster than their more traditional counterparts do. Using a combination of case studies, examples, and exercises, *Analytics: The Agile Way* will demonstrate how this new mind-set affords tremendous opportunity for organizations willing to embrace uncertainty and move fast.

Once again, [Wiley](https://wiley.com/?ref=philsimon.com) will be publishing the book and it will be part of the [SAS Business Series](https://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-405432.html?ref=philsimon.com). Expect it later this year.