A very interesting article by Sonia Johnson from back in 2004.  

Reduce the marketing 'fact gap' to improve performance

Talking about the stumbling blocks faced by Senior Marketing Executives to get quick, easily read information about their campaign. Most intriguing of all, is the fact that even 5 years latter many marketers still struggle to “close the gap” and have access to readily available information that provides actionable insights into their campaigns.