Data Driven Decisions

Expand your enterprise into new regions using systems engineering and data analysis

In Data Driven Decisions: Systems Engineering to Understand Corporate Valuation and Intangible Assets, investment banker, systems engineer, and Cornell University lecturer Joshua Michael Jahani delivers an incisive and unique unveiling of how to use the tools of systems engineering to value your organization, its intangible assets, and how to gauge or prepare its readiness for an overseas or cross-border expansion.

In the book, you’ll learn to implement a wide range of systems engineering tools, including context diagrams, decision matrices, Goal-Question-Metric analyses, and more. You’ll also discover the following:

• How to communicate corporate value measurements and their impact to owners, executives, and investors.
• Explorations of the relevant topics when considering an international expansion, including macroeconomics, joint ventures, market entry, corporate valuations, mergers and acquisitions, and company culture.
• A comprehensive framework and methodology for examining available global regions in your search for the perfect expansion target.
• A deep understanding of specific sectors in which intangible assets have a particular impact, including branded consumer products, ad-tech, and healthcare.

A must-have resource for business owners, managers, executives, directors, and other corporate leaders, Data-Driven Decisions will also prove invaluable to consultants and other professionals who serve companies considering expansion or growth into new regions.

Table of Contents

Part I Intangible Assets

Chapter 1 When Intangibles Matter Most Defining Intangible Assets

Chapter 2 Examples of Intangible Assets

Chapter 3 The Rise of Intangible Economies

Chapter 4 Defining Intangibles

Chapter 5 Valuing Intangible Assets

Chapter 6 EBITDA Is Not the Best Way to Value Intangible-Heavy Companies

Chapter 7 Separability, Measurability, and Predictability

Chapter 8 Why Systems Engineering Is Relevant for Corporate Valuations and Intangible Assets

Chapter 9 What Intangibles Matter Most for Corporate Valuation

Chapter 1 0 What Intangibles Matter Most for Corporate Expansion

Chapter 11 Buy-Side Intangibles

Chapter 12 PE Ratios

Chapter 13 The Business Moat as an Intangible Asset

Chapter 14 How Investors Think About Intangibles

Chapter 15 Intangible Assets in Branded Consumer Products

Chapter 16 Intangible Assets in Healthcare

Part II Systems Engineering Tools and Examples

Chapter 17 Systems Engineering Tools

Chapter 18 Customer Affinity and Context Diagrams

Chapter 19 Context Diagrams and Context Matrices

Chapter 20 Use Cases and Behavioral Diagrams

Chapter 21 Originating Requirements

Chapter 22 Decision Matrix

Chapter 23 GQM – Goal Question Metric Analysis

Chapter 24 Analytical Hierarchy

Chapter 25 Precedence Matrix

Chapter 26 Failure Mode and Effect Analysis

Chapter 27 Interface Matrix

Chapter 28 House of Quality

Chapter 29 Operations Description Template

Chapter 30 Interface Tracking

Chapter 31 Conclusion to Tools

Chapter 32 GQM, Decision Matrix, and Analytical Hierarchy for Ad-Tech Industries

Chapter 33 GQM, Decision Matrix, and Analytical Hierarchy for Logistics Industries

Chapter 34 GQM, Decision Matrix, and Analytical Hierarchy for Manufacturing Industries

Part Ill Geographical Application

Chapter 35 Introduction

Chapter 36 The MENA Region

Chapter 37 The ASEAN Region

Chapter 38 The Latin American Region

Chapter 39 Case Studies: Bringing It All Together

Chapter 40 Case Studies: LATAM Expanding to the United States

Chapter 41 Case Studies: MENA Medical Devices

Chapter 42 Case Studies: ASEAN Aerospace Schema – Context Diagram

Chapter 43 Case Studies: In Conclusion

Chapter 44 Summary

Joshua Jahani presents a powerful set of tools driven by a pragmatic engineering approach. I appreciate the definitiveness of this work and

believe it can be a valuable tool for people seeking to understand corporate value and intangible assets.

—Turk Al Joaib, Managing Partner, Rua Growth Fund, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Data Driven Decisions captures the missing part of corporate valuations, driven by the opacity of intangible assets. All financial professionals would benefit from this book.

—Andrei Ugarov, Former PwC Corporate Finance and Valuations Partner, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Data Driven Decisions shows a commitment to the Systems Engineering tools and principles that have helped the field become more popular than ever before. I am particularly impressed with how the methodologies of this book build on an existing body of systems material taught across

the world.

—Wesley A Hewett, INCOSE Chapter President, New York, USA

The organization of Data Driven Decisions serves Joshua’s purpose to identify better ways to measure intangibles in the global economy. I believe capital markets benefit from this kind of organization.

—Andrew Hulsh, Partner and member of the private equity practice at Mintz Levin, a leading international law firm, New York, USA

About the Author

Joshua Jahani is the Managing Director of Jahani and Associates (J&A), a middle market investment bank focused on cross-border transactions between North America, the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. The firm has offices in New York City, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. J&A was started in 2018 to provide value in the underserved middle market cross-border transaction sector, specifically focused on emerging markets. J&A is industry agnostic.

The firm has served over 200 clients and built deep investor and commercial networks within North America, the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Joshua Jahani oversees the firm’s business operations including client services, investment banking, and thought leadership. Joshua is the author of Data Driven Decisions: Systems Engineering to Understand Corporate Value and Intangible Assets (Wiley, 2023) and is a regular contributor to news outlets such as the BBC, Newsweek, and The Independent. Joshua writes about topics related to cross-border capital markets, investment banking, and global economics. He is a visiting lecturer at Cornell’s College of Engineering, Department of Systems Engineering.

Joshua Jahani earned his Master of Engineering at Cornell University and teaches courses on strategy, finance, and entrepreneurship at NYU. Joshua began his career at Deloitte in 2012 as a strategy advisor. He specialized in transaction advisory for some of the world’s largest companies. This gave him exposure and expertise in the complex world of global capital markets.