Process Management 2 mins read

Moneyball, process mining and on-field analytics

On-field data analysis is now the bedrock of every successful sports team – and business.

Dr. Helge Hess Dr. Helge Hess

In the 2003 book Moneyball, by Michael Lewis, the Oakland A’s American baseball team was struggling to buy the players it wanted due to a limited budget.

The team’s general manager, Billy Beane, theorized that the way they had been choosing players in the past – through scouts and statistics such as stolen bases and batting average – was flawed.

He began to use a method called “sabermetrics” to analyze statistics for previously under-sung talents to find cheaper, more promising players. His theory proved correct and the team went on to sign some stars, leading it to a consecutive 20-game winning streak in 2002.

Billy Beane was not the first to use data analysis in sports. The term sabermetrics – is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research, founded in 1971. Today, according to Dataconomy: “Data is at the heart of every professional sports decision – especially when it comes to player contracts.”

But how do you relate this success to your business? In business, operational excellence also depends on analytical capabilities, but it is fundamental to look at the right places and analyze the relevant KPIs. This means distinguishing between the processes that matter the most to your customers and really set you apart from the competition.

It’s important to understand that many relevant leading indicators can be analyzed only by monitoring the step-by-step execution of the processes – it’s not enough to look only at the final results of the process.

For more information about ARIS Process Mining please click below.

Read the original article in OPEX here