Episode 80: Why Decision Scientists Succeed Where Data Scientists Fail

Most data scientists have never heard of decision science, yet this discipline - which dates back to WWII - may hold the key to solving one of data science's biggest problems: the 87% project failure rate. While data scientists excel at building models that predict outcomes, decision scientists focus on modelling the actual business decisions that need to be made - a subtle but crucial difference that dramatically improves success rates. In this episode, Prof Jeff Camm joins Dr. Genevieve Hayes to explore how decision science approaches problems differently from data science, why decision science approaches lead to higher success rates, and how data scientists can integrate these techniques into their own work. This episode reveals: The fundamental difference between modelling data and modelling decisions [04:12] Why decision science projects have historically had higher success rates than current data science efforts [10:42] How to avoid the "ill-defined problem" trap that kills most data science projects [21:12] The medical doctor approach to understanding what business problems really need solving [22:28] Guest Bio Prof Jeff Camm is a decision scientist and the Inmar Presidential Chair in Analytics at the Wake Forest University School of Business. His research has been featured in top-ranking academic journals and he is the co-author of ten books on business statistics, management science, data visualisation and business analytics. Links Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn Connect with Genevieve on LinkedIn Be among the first to hear about the release of each new podcast episode by signing up HERE