In their headlong rush into advanced data science, big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, too many companies have ignored “small data.” This is a huge miss. The relative ease, ubiquity, and power of small data projects carry profound implications for all employees, managers, and leaders at all levels, in every department, in every organization.

Small data projects involve teams of a handful of employees, addressing issues in their local workplaces using small data sets — hundreds of data points, not the millions or more used in big data projects. They are tightly focused and utilize basic analytic methods that are accessible to all. They can be completed in a few months by people working part-time and yield financial benefits of $10,000 to $250,000 annually per project.

Source: hbr.org
Author: Thomas C. Redman and Roger W. Hoerl