In our 2011 report on analytics use in the federal government, "From Data to Decisions: The Power of Analytics," we wrote about the tremendous budget pressures federal agencies face at a time when there is great public demand for government to be more effective and efficient. This report’s release sparked an overwhelmingly positive response from agency leaders and federal performance management practitioners who asked, “Where do we go from here?

In our last post, we introduced the first principle government agencies should adopt in effort to dramatically cut costs while simultaneously driving improved performance; the importance of government agencies to understand their current environment. Today we will wrap up the two other principles to predict future outcomes and learn how changes impact those outcomes. Principle 2: Predict Future Outcomes

Welcome back and happy new year. In our last post in 2011, we wrapped up our discussion on how one commercial organization, Wal-Mart, has effectively used analytics to improve its operational performance. We also provided some examples of government departments and agencies that have implemented analytics and explained how they are using analytics to improve their service to citizens.

“It’s like peeling back an onion.  You cry a bit, then peel another layer and cry some more.”  That’s how Michelle Snyder, deputy chief operating officer of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), metaphorically describes the use of powerful data analytic tools.

Noted business author Tom Davenport has an article, “Make Better Decisions,” in the November issue of Harvard Business Review .  He describes the prevalence, in the business world, of what he calls “decision-making disorder,” but this also has real applicability to government.