The IAF is a complete lifecycle structure for successful analytics work. Its seven domains help individuals, teams, and organizations frame the right business or mission questions, coordinate work across stakeholders, select and use appropriate methods, deploy solutions effectively, and sustain value over time.
The seven domains are connected and iterative, not sequential. Work in a later domain often reveals the need to revisit an earlier one. Click any segment to learn what happens in that part of the lifecycle.
Click any segment to explore that domain
Select a domain on the wheel to see its description, key tasks, and who does this work.
Each domain represents a distinct phase of analytics work. Together they form a connected, iterative system. Uncovering issues in a later domain often requires circling back to refine an earlier one.
This is not a one-way process. Work often loops back.
Free download with your email address. Includes all seven domains with detailed task guidance.
Any application of analytics must begin with a clear, concise statement describing the business problem, question, or opportunity, not a technical one. The goal is to ensure that analytics is being applied to solve the right challenge for the organization. Not every analytics initiative is sparked by a problem to fix or a question to answer, and many begin with an opportunity to explore. This domain is where many analytics initiatives fail before they begin: teams that skip problem framing often invest significant resources solving the wrong challenge with great precision. It is also the first structured communication checkpoint of the IAF, where stakeholders reach explicit agreement on the scope and direction before any analytics work begins.
"Who does this work: Management analysts, strategy consultants, operations research analysts, VP and Director of Analytics, Chief Data Officers
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