INFORMS Open Forum

In today’s data-rich world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of analysis paralysis. Where the sheer volume of information slows down decision-making instead of speeding it up.

Have you ever felt stuck in a cycle of endless reporting, analyzing and re-analyzing data?
Do you think your team might be suffering from data fatigue—where more data leads to less clarity?

Let’s talk about it:
 How do you know when you’ve analyzed “enough”?
 What strategies help you move from insight to action?

Drop your thoughts below and check out the article, Data Fatigue: Overcoming the Overload in a Data-Driven World for more insights on this topic.

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Garrett Johnston
Membership Engagement Coordinator
gjohnston@informs.org
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Thanks for sharing Garrett~! 

This is a very interesting topic by Olamide Jolaoso that I never really spent time thinking about until I read this article. 

We deal with so much data and at the end of the day, how we make it into action is what makes data meaningful. 

Love the concept of "Data Fatigue".

 

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Xiaonan Shang
Manager, Data Analytics
Global Holdings LLC
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Nice phrase: Data Fatigue!

If you're worried about "over-analyzing", the questions to ask are: (1) What's the objective/intention. (2) What are the options (is there a decision to be made)? Then you can determine whether the analysis is leading up to enabling the decision or not. And you can assess when you have enough analysis to decide.

If you find that the analysis is directed towards enabling/supporting a preconceived view or to waste time, you know you're not in the analysis game, you are in a management farce. Play your role as you see fit ... always helps to read satire.

If you're starting out in life and you feel oppressed by "additional analysis" by "older members", they may be trying to teach you some things. (1) When you find "clear signals" and "striking insights" ask yourself how this gravy could have been missed by your predecessors... most often that golden nugget is an analytics error, you have to train yourself to interrogate/criticize your analysis. (2) The bottom of all analysis is muddy, shallow analysts miss the mud, thoughtful analysts know where the muddiness lies and how to deal with it... your cross-questioner may be helping you to figure out those muddy areas.

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Rahul Saxena
RevInsight.com
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Dear Garrett Johnston,

First of all, thank you very much for your question. As a manager and business consultant, I see this issue in a particular way. Much depends on the judgment of the decision-maker. A thoughtful leader understands that spending too much time analyzing every detail can be counterproductive. The art of business lies in focus, prioritizing what truly matters and setting aside what is less important. It is like building a mathematical model: we identify the criteria that are truly significant and leave aside what has little impact.

The same principle applies in management. Focus means dedicating time and energy to what is necessary and avoiding distractions. We analyze the data that matters most while gently setting aside information that is less relevant. Dr. Goldratt's Theory of Constraints teaches this at the business level, and at the level of scientific reasoning, we often refer to Occam's Razor. Both remind us that simplicity and clarity are essential for effective decision-making.

With warm regards,

Jacek Dominic Sledzinski*

Faculty of Engineering Management, Poznan University of Technology
📧jacek.dominic@gmail.com

İsmail Özcan  

PhD
📧 ismailozcanmath@gmail.com

Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber
Faculty of Engineering Management, Poznan University of Technology
📧 gerhard.weber@put.poznan.pl

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Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber
Professor
Poznan University of Technology
Poznan
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