Ch.11.4 Helpdesk: How Businesses Use Databases_sc

source data

identifies the primary location where data is collected

Transaction processing systems

operational support system to record and process data from business transactions

What is the difference between a data warehouse and a data mart?

A data warehouse is a large collection of data from multiple sources in an organization and a data mart is data extracted from a data warehouse that pertains to a single component of the business.

What kind of data is captured in a data warehouse?

Data warehouse data is time-variant, and it gets its data from sources inside and outside the business, as well as from clickstream data from websites.

model management system

Software that assists in building management models in decision support systems; an analysis tool that, through the use of internal and external data, provides a view of a particular business situation for the purposes of decision making.

What process does source data need to go through to be useable in a data warehouse?

Source data must go through a process called data staging and be extracted, reformatted, and then stored in a data warehouse.

Decision Support System (DSS)

There are several types of decision support systems. - Model management system. Software that assists in building management models. A management model is an analysis tool that is used in decision making. Model management systems typically contain financial and statistical analysis tools. - Knowledge-based system. Provides intelligence that supplements a user's intellect to make the DSS more effective. Knowledge-based systems include expert systems that try to replicate human decision- making processes (such as a doctor in a remote location). Another type of knowledge based system is a natural language processing (NLP) system that enables users to communicate with computer systems using a natural spoken or written language rather than computer programming. Amazon Alexa is an NLP system. - Artificial intelligence. A branch of computer science that deals with the attempt to create computers that think like humans.

Information Systems. All information systems perform similar functions, including acquiring data, processing that data into information, storing the data and information, and providing the user with several output options

There are several types of information systems. Each system responds to the needs of an organization, and is generally specific to the type of information required. Generally, the information can be categorized as operational, managerial, and strategic.

Which kind of business information system is used at an operational-level of an organization and helps to keep track of daily activities?

Transaction-processing systems are used to keep track of daily operational-level activities.

data mart

a data collection, smaller than the data warehouse, that addresses the needs of a particular department or functional area of the business

For instance, Data Marts

if you need accurate sales-related information and you don't want to wade through customer service data, accounts payable data, and product shipping data to get it, a data mart that contains information relevant only to the sales department can be created to make the task of finding this data easier. An overview of the data-warehousing process is illustrated:

Data Warehouses source two

2. External sources: Vendors and suppliers often provide data regarding product specifications, shipment methods and dates, billing information, and so on.

Data Mining. Data-mining techniques are used when businesses want to understand their customers better so they can learn the types of customers who buy their products and what motivates customers to make purchases. Using this type of information, businesses can tailor their marketing and promotional techniques so they are most effective.

Data mining enables managers to sift through data in several ways. Each technique produces different information on which managers can then base their decisions. The figure below describes the different data mining techniques:

Batch processing

is used to track transactions that are accumulated until a certain point is achieved and then several transactions are processed at once. Batch processing is used for activities that aren't time sensitive.

data warehouse

A logical collection of information - gathered from many different operational databases - that supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks a place where databases are stored so that they are available when needed

Management Information System -MIS) were a direct outgrowth of transaction-processing systems. Management information systems helped to organize and output information in more useful forms than TPS.

MISs generate three types of reports: - Detail Report. Lists transactions that occur during a certain period. - Summary Report. Consolidates detailed data and usually includes charts or graphs. - Exception Report. Lists unusual conditions or items that need attention by the system users.

Decision Support System (DSS)

Managers use decision support systems (DSSs) to develop solutions for specific problems. With a DSS, managers can make queries of data to evaluate the impact of a decision before it is implemented. A DSS not only uses data from databases and date warehouses but also enables users to add their own insights and experiences and apply them to the solution. Many data-related systems work together to provide the user of the DSS with a broad base of information. Decision support systems get their data from internal and external sources as well as demographic data purchased from third-party providers, mailing lists, or government-provided statistics (such as census data).

Decision Support System (DSS)

Models information to support managers and business professionals during the decision-making process

Data Marts Small slices of the data warehouse, each called a data mart, are often created so that companies can analyze a related set of data that is grouped together and separated out from the main body of data in the data warehouse.

Whereas data warehouses have an enterprise-wide depth, the information in data marts pertains to a single component of the business. Data can be extracted using powerful OLAP query tools, or it can be stored in specialized data marts for use by specific employee groups.

Data Warehouses source three 3. Clickstream data: Software used on company websites to capture information about each click that users make as they navigate through the site is referred to as clickstream data. Using clickstream data-capture tools

a company can determine which webpages users visit most often, how long users stay on each webpage, which sites directed users to the company site, and user demographics. Such data can provide valuable clues as to what a company needs to improve on its website to stimulate sales.

decision support system

a computer-based information system that provides a flexible tool for analysis and helps managers focus on the future

data staging

A three-step process: extracting data from source databases, transforming (reformatting) the data, and storing the data in a data warehouse.

OLAP -online analytical processing

Converting data into information for decision support Data cubes, drill-down / rollup, slice & dice Requesting ad hoc reports Conducting statistical and other analyses Developing multimedia-based applications

Transaction Processing System (TPS)

Basic business system that serves the operational level and assists in making structured decisions

Information systems literacy

Broad-based understanding of information systems that includes behavioral knowledge about organizations and individuals using information systems as well as technical knowledge about computers.

Business Intelligence (BI)

Business Intelligence (BI) is the ability to improve business decision making with databases and other fact-based support systems. A business intelligence system is another form of business informatino system and is used primarily at the executive level. It enables executives and senior managers to make informed decisions about how best to run an organization. Often business intelligence systems use informaiton from data warehouses and data marts and can enable managers to identify new opportunities and implement effective business strategies. An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system accumulates information from multiple departments that are relevant to running a business, such as human resources and accounting. Having such information in one database makes the management and compensation of employees more streamlined.

BI Applications for Data Analysis

Business intelligence software is a type of application software designed to retrieve, analyze, transform and report data for business intelligence. The applications generally reads data that has been previously stored, often, though not necessarily, in a data warehouse or data mart.

data mining tools use a variety of techniques to find patterns and relationships in large volumes of information.

Classification-The process of grouping things based on their similarities estimation-estimate a quantity by comparison to something else affinity grouping-determines which things go together clustering-organizing items into related groups during recall from long-term memory

What kind of processes are used to spot trends in large sets of data?

Data mining is used to analyze large amounts of data to help identify trends.

Data Warehouses

Data warehouses can get data from three sources: sources one 1. Internal sources: Sales, billing, inventory, and customer databases all provide a wealth of information. Spreadsheets and other ad hoc analysis tools may contain data that can be loaded into the data warehouse.

Decision Support System (DSS)

Databases and the models provided by model management systems tend to be analytical and mathematical. Knowledge-based systems and artificial intelligence provides opportunities to add experience by enabling the use of fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic incorporates experiential learning by considering probabilities, thus making the algorithms used in databases and other systems more flexible and to consider a wider range of possibilities than conventional algorithms.

Knowledge-based and model management systems are used in which type of business information system?

Decision support systems can be enhanced and made more effective by using knowledge-based and/or model management systems.

Data marts are used to __________________.

Develop few, related BI applications

Data Warehouses. Data in a data warehouse is organized by subject such as types of products sold by a retailer see below). Each product's data, such as revenue, costs, warranty details, and other features, is collected in an individual database.

Then the individual product data is consolidated in a data warehouse to provide summary data such as total revenue generated by all products. Managers then use the consolidated information to produce comprehensive reports.

Transaction-processing system - TPS is an operational-level system that keeps track of everyday business transactions or activities such as order tracking, order processing, payroll, and cash management.

Transactions can be entered in real time or through batch processing. Real-time processing is used to track activities as they happen.Online transaction processing (OLTP) ensures that data entered through a website or mobile app is processed and current.

data mining

the application of statistical techniques to find patterns and relationships among data for classification and prediction the process of analyzing data to extract information not offered by the raw data alone