Big data has reached a whole new level of complication now that the Internet of Things has started to amass more information than ever before. To save weeks or even months on meaningless analysis, significant metrics should be set before collecting data.

According to Harvard Business Review, there are a few tips that all organizations can use to ensure the metrics they are analyzing are the right ones:

1.              Metrics should be easy to understand and use. The simpler, the better.

2.              Metrics should be easily replicated. This allows it to be compared to future metrics.

3.              Metrics should provide useful, actionable information that impacts the business. See how these changes are connected to specific actions and behaviors among employees and customers.

These hints may seem obvious, but decisions about analytics tend to be rushed, leaving a mess of extra work on the back end. Use simple indicators to better understand your business but, more importantly, understand why the metrics you’re using are important.