Module 5 - Business Intelligence

What are the types of statistical methods used in business analytics?

1. Decisive analytics - Supports human decisions with visual analytics the user models to reflect reasoning 2. Descriptive analytics - Gain insight from historical data with reporting, scorecards, clustering 3. Predictive analytics - Predictive modelling used statistical and machine learning techniques and data mining 4. Prescriptive analytics - Using and synthesising big data, optimisation and simulation techniques to make predictions and suggesting decision options to take advantage of predictions

What are the capabilities of dashboards?

1. Drill down - the ability to go to details at several levels. 2. Critical success factors (CSFs) - the factors most critical for the success of business. 3. Key performance indicators (KPIs) - the specific measures of CSFs 4. Status access - the latest data available on KPIs or some other metric, often in real time 5. Trend analysis - short-term, medium-term and long-term trend of KPIs or metrics which are projected using forecasting methods 6. Exception reporting - reports that highlight deviations larger than certain thresholds. Reports may include only deviations.

What are the types of DSS analysis?

1. Sensitivity analysis - Study of the impact that changes in one (or more) parts of a model may have on other parts 2. What-if analysis - Studies the effect that a change to input data has on previous results/values of a model or outcome. 3. Goal-seeking analysis - • A study to find the input values necessary to achieve a desired level of output (backward solution)

What is a decision support system (DSS)?

A DSS are a variety of software that emphasise modelling, analytical and presentation aspects. Examples include Spreadsheet applications, SAS, IBM Cognos, Microstrategy.

What is a geographic information system?

A computer based system for capturing, integrating, manipulating and displaying data using digitised maps.

What are dashboards?

A dashboard provides easy access to timely information and direct access to management reports. They are user friendly and supported by graphics.

What is business analytics?

BA refers to the skills, technologies, practices for continuous iterative exploration and investigation of past business performance to gain insight and drive, business planning.

What is business intelligence?

Business intelligence is a broad category of applications, technologies and processes for gathering, storing, accessing and analysing data to help business users make better decisions. It is a tool for both gathering and analysing data and decision-making

What are decision support systems?

DSS are computer-based information systems that combine models and data in an attempt to analyse semi-structured and some unstructured problems with extensive user/organisation involvement.

What are data visualisation technologies?

Data visualisation refers to the process of presenting data to users in visual formats, making IT applications more attractive and understandable to users.

What is a decision?

Decision refers to a choice among two or more alternatives that individuals and groups make.

What are the business intelligence tools?

Discovery, communication and collaboration tools.

What is reality mining?

Method of data visualisation method that allows analysts to extract information from the usage patterns of mobile devices.

What is multidimensional analysis/Online analytical processing? (3)

Online analytical processing are a set of capabilities for 'slicing and dicing' data using dimensions and measures associated with the data.

What is data mining?

Refers to the process of searching for valuable business information in large databases, data warehouses, or data marts.

What is corporate performance management?

The area of business intelligence involved with monitoring and managing an organisation's performance, according to key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue, return on investment (ROI), overhead and operational costs.

What is productivity?

The ratio between the inputs to a process and the outputs from that process.