I read Gary Angel's long post (they almost always long) about Finding a Home for Web Measurement, a subject I am not dispassionate about.

I'll say this, in my experience, where ever Web Measurement is housed in your organization - it's probably in the wrong place. 

Or….maybe not.

Seriously, you've got 3 choices Gary has put forth - he gives the pros and cons of each one - none being perfect and there being no "right" or "wrong" answer - it depends on the organization.

1. IT
2. Marketing
3. Strategy

That's it - your choices. 

If it's IT, you get stuff done on the Website level but often miss the marketing/branding message. 

If it's Marketing, you get to measure Campaigns well enough, but you can't often get the technical stuff done (and 80% of your issues are technical ones).

If it's Strategy, you get a nice blend except Strategists in organizations typically lose all the power struggles (most organizations all have departments that each see themselves as more important than all the others ..how typical - tribal, almost).

But one thing Gary Angel said I found most interesting … and yet debatable:

"….As an example, we work for one company (and a public company at that) where one very Senior Executive is so smart, powerful and hands-on that the entire web measurement effort is pretty much focused (rightly, I think) on providing answers to his questions. That isn’t a model I’d necessarily recommend. But it’s the right model for that company with that person and it insures that the web measurement is valuable and directive for the company as a whole."

Can you see the problem with a setup like this?  I can.  A group structured around an individual depends on that individual to function.

While there's always reorgs to fix things, re-tune the engine - so to speak - still, building a department around a person is  always a mistake in the long run - even if it works in the short term and intermediate term.  Why? 

Because people leave, people are expendable - it's much better to set up the right system - because  that super smart person will leave - a mess for someone else to figure out.

Yes, overall I think Strategy is the right place for Web Measurement - but let's be clear what we're calling "Strategy". … 

In some organizations I know of, "Strategy" is actually "Strategy and Enablement" yet in practice it's actually more Enablement and not Strategy as generally understood.  The real Strategy is done in a different department …..

So, if your going to put Web Measurement into  "Strategy" department ..make sure it's really the Strategy department in function.  Names don't mean much - look at the tasks and roles groups perform -  and you can figure out how the organization is really sliced up.

Gary's post are always good…and by the way…he's one of my Co-Sponsors for a seat on the Board of the Web Analytics Association.