Quantitative methods in the real world: a consultant's view of practice

As data become more readily available, it is agreed that the applications of quantitative methods will become increasingly important. However, the speed of this take-up is unclear at present; it is sufficient to say that it will be slow if current practices are not changed. Consequently, it is timely to discuss some of the practical issues. Among the issues addressed in this paper are software requirements, staffing implications, data availability, and the use of management consultants.