Key
Statistics Used in Projects
Strictly speaking, statistics are data. The data need not be
a result of analysis. Statistics are any collection of data. We often hear,
"What are the statistics on that event?" In other words, what are the numbers
that are meaningful for understanding? Perhaps the most useful definition of
statistics is that statistics is the "methods and techniques whereby collections
of data are analyzed to obtain understanding and knowledge." [13] Statistical
methods are by and large methods of approximation and estimation. As such,
statistical methods fit very well with project management since the methods of
project management are often approximate and based only on estimates.
Informational data, of course, are quite useful to project
managers and to members of the project management team for estimating and
forecasting, measuring progress, assessing value earned, quantifying risk, and
calculating other numerical phenomena of importance to the project. Statistical
methods provide some of the tools for reducing such data to meaningful
information which the team uses to make decisions.
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