GROUPING

Many people allow themselves to become swamped by details, thereby letting themselves make life more complex than it really is. Some people look for ways to simplify life. One way to achieve simplicity is through a process known as grouping.

The grouping process begins with a person looking at nonsensical data and deciding to make some logical sense of it. This person takes the datum and groups it into logical components, i.e., good versus bad data. Having grouped the data, he then tries to extrapolate the relationships between those groupings.

Grouping offers several benefits. It reduces complexity and avoids analysis paralysis. It also facilitates identification of patterns and creates an order out of the data.

for Grouping

• Determine the overall boundary of the data being analyzed.
• Develop some artificial criteria for categorizing the different elements of what falls within the boundary.
• Group the elements according to the criteria.
• Flag those elements that do not fit within a category.
• Develop a unique category for the anomalies, or remove them.