Gleanster's research methodology is simple and straightforward.

The content development cycle for each Gleansight begins with a carefully constructed survey that delves into a topic area related to a specific, technology-enabled business initiative.

Mind if we ask you a few questions?

Gleanster surveys are distributed on an opt-in basis to a large but select group of industry practitioners with relevant titles and industry experience. Live surveys are also accessible from the Gleanster website. A typical survey consists of 20 multiple-choice questions and takes an average of 10 minutes to complete. Respondents are automatically entered into a sweepstakes drawing and also receive early access to the published Gleansight.

A Gleanster survey captures multiple types of information. Some questions ask respondents to rank order their reasons for implementing the initiative and the business benefits they expect to achieve. Other questions seek to quantify the actual outcomes in terms of revenue growth, cost reduction and other financial metrics. Some questions aim to ascertain which enabling technologies, organizational resources, business processes and performance metrics are used by Top Performers. Other questions seek to understand why some companies fail to achieve their business objectives, what they have in common, and where, exactly, they're falling down.

Only survey responses that meet a specific set of predefined criteria are included in the data set that serves as the basis for the research. Gleanster uses both manual and automated processes, including third-party data quality tools, to scrub and authenticate survey responses. In the end, survey respondents that make the cut — called Qualified Survey Respondents (QSRs) — generally represent a small percentage of people who completed the survey.

Benchmarking best practices

Gleanster applies 2 to 3 key performance indicators (KPIs) to distinguish top performers from all other companies within a given data set and thereby establish a basis for determining best practices. These KPIs vary significantly from one Gleansight to another but invariably focus on performance metrics that speak to year-over-year improvement in relevant, measurable areas.

Gleanster defines Top Performers as companies represented by the top 25% of QSRs, based on the implementation of the selected KPIs. The actions, behaviors, strategies, tactics and decisions made by this "most successful" quartile of companies in the context of the business initiative at hand constitute best practices. The remaining 75% of QSRs are simply referred to as Everyone Else.

Making smarter decisions

Gleanster's research methodology removes analyst opinion, speculation and bias from the equation and instead puts the spotlight on the actual experiences of Top Performers. By benchmarking best practices across multiple dimensions, from technology implementation to performance measurement, Gleansights allow readers to gain valuable insights that they can apply in the context of their own business situations.

By learning from the actions, behaviors, strategies, tactics and decisions made by Top Performers, companies can make smarter decisions and increase the likelihood of success with respect to the technology-enabled business initiative they are currently considering, planning or already in the process of implementing.