---
title: On Sample Sizes for Magic Quadrants
date: 2006-07-04T20:56:43Z
modified: 2006-07-04T20:56:43Z
permalink: "https://redmonk.com/jgovernor/on-sample-sizes-for-magic-quadrants/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 652
categories:
  - Uncategorized
timestamp: 2006-07-04T20:56:43Z
tags:
  - Uncategorized
---

\[link redacted here at Gartner’s request\]

“To assist with the evaluation, Gartner analysts performed detailed interviews with 105 reference accounts to assess customer perceptions of each vendor’s strengths and weaknesses.”

I am a bit surprised by the sample size. 105 reference accounts across at least 16 vendors…. doesn’t seem to be as deep as one would expect, even with when overlaps are considered.

I always think of Gartner polling across thousands, not a hundred customers for this kind of study. You live and learn.