Business Intelligence Quizzes

List at least 3 difference between a Balanced Score Card and a Six Sigma Business Scorecard?

A balanced scorecard shows a longer-term view of the business, and the six sigma model shows a snapshot of the business at one point. The balanced scorecard is focused on creating a balanced set of measures, but the six sigma model is focused on a set of measures that impact profitability. A balanced scorecard emphasizes targets for each measurement on the scorecard, but six sigma emphasizes improvement for each measurement with no defined target.

What is the definition of a Data Mart?

A data mart is a storehouse of data designed to meet the needs of a specific group. These are either independent of or dependent on the main enterprise data warehouse.

Define the difference between a Dependent Data Mart and an Independent Data Mart?

A dependent data mart relies on the information in the data warehouse by pulling data from it. An independent data mart is separate from the data warehouse and gets its data from other sources, and it is used for one department or strategic area in the business.

Which type of question does visual analytics seeks to answer? A) Why is it happening? B) What happened yesterday? C) What is happening today? D) When did it happen?

A) Why is it happening?

In data mining, finding an affinity of two products to be commonly together in a shopping cart is known as A) association rule mining. B) cluster analysis. C) decision trees. D) artificial neural networks.

A) association rule mining.

The very design that makes an OLTP system efficient for transaction processing makes it inefficient for A) end-user ad hoc reports, queries, and analysis B) transaction processing systems that constantly update operational databases. C) the collection of reputable sources of intelligence. D) transactions such as ATM withdrawals, where we need to reduce a bank balance accordingly.

A) end-user ad hoc reports, queries, and analysis

Operational or transaction databases are product oriented, handling transactions that update the database. In contrast, data warehouses are A) subject-oriented and nonvolatile. B) product-oriented and nonvolatile. C) product-oriented and volatile. D) subject-oriented and volatile.

A) subject-oriented and nonvolatile.

Fundamental reasons for investing in BI must be ________ with the company's business strategy. A) Compared B) Aligned C) Contrasted D) Bought

B) Aligned

Which of the following is critical for readying the data for analytics ? A) Data regression Testing B) Data cleaning C) Data Abstraction D) Data proliferation

B) Data cleaning

How does the use of cloud computing affect the scalability of a data warehouse? A) Cloud computing vendors bring as much hardware as needed to users' offices. B) Hardware resources are dynamically allocated as use increases. C) Cloud vendors are mostly based overseas where the cost of labor is low. D) Cloud computing has little effect on a data warehouse's scalability.

B) Hardware resources are dynamically allocated as use increases.

Which of the following is a data mining tool? A) Mime B) Rapidminer C) Ready D) None of the Above

B) Rapidminer

The competitive imperatives for BI include all of the following EXCEPT? A) Right information B) Right User C) Right Time D) Right Place

B) Right User

Which of the three Scenario's is the most likely process in ETL A) Source system to staging area, Staging area to ODS, ODS to Data warehouse B) Source system to ODS, ODS to Staging area,, Staging Area to Data warehouse C) Source system to Data Mart , Data mart to ODS , ODS to Data warehouse D) ODS to Source System, Source System to Staging Area, Staging area to Data Mart

B) Source system to ODS, ODS to Staging area,, Staging Area to Data warehouse

What is Six Sigma? A) a letter in the Greek alphabet that statisticians use to measure process variability B) a methodology aimed at reducing the number of defects in a business process C) a methodology aimed at reducing the amount of variability in a business process D) a methodology aimed at measuring the amount of variability in a business process

B) a methodology aimed at reducing the number of defects in a business process

This technique makes no a priori assumption of whether one variable is dependent on the other(s) and is not concerned with the relationship between variables; instead it gives an estimate on the degree of association between the variables. A) regression B) correlation C) means test D) multiple regression

B) correlation

________ charts are useful in displaying nominal data or numerical data that splits nicely into different categories so you can quickly see comparative results and trends.

Bar

________ is an umbrella term that combines architectures, tools, databases, analytical tools, applications, and methodologies.

Business intelligence

Why is Market-basket-analysis important? A) Allows you to purchase the correct amount of product like diapers B) set the standard for all product development theories C) To maximize business profits D) predict sales volumes for products like beer

C) To maximize business profits

A(n) ________ is a major component of a Business Intelligence (BI) system that is often browser based and often presents a portal or dashboard. A) Database system B) ETL Tool C) User Interface D) Backup Strategy

C) User Interface

Online transaction processing (OLTP) systems handle a company's routine ongoing business. In contrast, a data warehouse is typically... A) the end result of BI processes and operations. B) a repository of actionable intelligence obtained from a data mart. C) a distinct system that provides storage for data that will be made use of in analysis. D) an integral subsystem of an online analytical processing (OLAP) system.

C) a distinct system that provides storage for data that will be made use of in analysis.

Understanding customers better has helped Amazon and others become more successful. The understanding comes primarily from A) collecting data about customers and transactions. B) developing a philosophy that is data analytics-centric. C) analyzing the vast data amounts routinely collected. D) asking the customers what they want

C) analyzing the vast data amounts routinely collected.

Which broad area of data mining applications analyzes data, forming rules to distinguish between defined classes? A) associations B) visualization C) classification D) clustering

C) classification

Which characteristic of data means that all the required data elements are included in the data set? A) data source reliability B) data accessibility C) data richness D) data granularity

C) data richness

Which kind of data warehouse is created separately from the enterprise data warehouse by a department and not reliant on it for updates? A) sectional data mart B) public data mart C) independent data mart D) volatile data mart

C) independent data mart

Which type of visualization tool can be very helpful when the intention is to show relative proportions of dollars per department allocated by a university administration? A) heat map B) bullet C) pie chart D) bubble chart

C) pie chart

What has caused the growth of the demand for instant, on-demand access to dispersed information? A) the increasing divide between users who focus on the strategic level and those who are more oriented to the tactical level B) the need to create a database infrastructure that is always online and contains all the information from the OLTP systems C) the more pressing need to close the gap between the operational data and strategic objectives D) the fact that BI cannot simply be a technical exercise for the information systems department

C) the more pressing need to close the gap between the operational data and strategic objectives

Big Data often involves a form of distributed storage and processing using Hadoop and MapReduce. One reason for this is A) centralized storage creates too many vulnerabilities. B) the "Big" in Big Data necessitates over 10,000 processing nodes. C) the processing power needed for the centralized model would overload a single computer. D) Big Data systems have to match the geographical spread of social media.

C) the processing power needed for the centralized model would overload a single computer.

A Web client that connects to a Web server, which is in turn connected to a BI application server, is reflective of a A) one-tier architecture. B) two-tier architecture. C) three-tier architecture. D) four-tier architecture

C) three-tier architecture.

How does CRISP_DM differ from SEMMA?

CRISP-DM is a sequence of 6 steps to carry out data mining, and the steps start with business and data understanding and end with deployment. SEMMA is a feedback loop unlike CRISP-DM. It is a cycle of sampling, exploring, modifying, modeling, and assessing the accuracy of the model. Then, the process repeats.

Describe categorical and nominal data.

Categorical data represents labels of multiple classes that sorts data into different groups. Nominal data is measurements broken down into simple codes, such as good, okay, or bad credit score.

What are the key differences between the major data mining tasks?

Classification seeks to find label new data points off of previously labeled data points. Cluster analysis seeks to group unlabeled data into categories. Association rule mining seeks to find relationships between variables in a database.

What is the key difference between Classification and Regression?

Classification seeks to predict what category or class a data point belongs in, but regression seeks to predict a numerical value based on the data point.

Which of the following is an umbrella term that combines architectures, tools, databases, analytical tools, applications, and methodologies? A) MIS B) ERP C) DSS D) BI

D) BI

Which kind of chart is described as an enhanced version of a scatter plot? A) heat map B) bullet C) Pie Chart D) Bubble Chart

D) Bubble Chart

Which of the following is a data mining tool? A) Ready B) Mime C) MineGear D) Rapidminer

D) Rapidminer

In the Opening Vignette on Sports Analytics, what was adjusted to drive one-time ticket sales? A) Player Selections B) Stadium Locations C) Bobble Head Giveaways D) Ticket Prices

D) Ticket Prices

Why is a performance management system superior to a performance measurement system? A) because performance measurement systems are only in their infancy B) because measurement automatically leads to problem solution C) because performance management systems cost more D) because measurement alone has little use without action

D) because measurement alone has little use without action

Which characteristic of data requires that the variables and data values be defined at the lowest (or as low as required) level of detail for the intended use of the data? A) data source reliability B) data accessibility C) data richness D) data granularity

D) data granularity

What is the fundamental challenge of dashboard design? A) ensuring that users across the organization have access to it B) ensuring that the organization has the appropriate hardware onsite to support it C) ensuring that the organization has access to the latest Web browsers D) ensuring that the required information is shown clearly on a single screen

D) ensuring that the required information is shown clearly on a single screen

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics typically used to measure A) database responsiveness. B) qualitative feedback. C) external results. D) internal results.

D) internal results.

What does the robustness of a data mining method refer to? A) its ability to predict the outcome of a previously unknown data set accurately B) its speed of computation and computational costs in using the mode C) its ability to construct a prediction model efficiently given a large amount of data D) its ability to overcome noisy data to make somewhat accurate predictions

D) its ability to overcome noisy data to make somewhat accurate predictions

Oper marts are created when operational data needs to be analyzed A) linearly. B) in a dashboard. C) unidimensionally. D) multidimensionally

D) multidimensionally

What's the main difference between data mining and statistics? A) Statistics start with a well defined problem and data mining ends with a well defined solution B) Data mining starts with a well defined problem and statistics starts with a loosely defined discovery statement C) There is no difference they both are types of mining D) statistics starts with a well defined problem and data mining starts with a loosely defined discovery statement

D) statistics starts with a well defined problem and data mining starts with a loosely defined discovery statement

_________ is the most critical ingredient for D M which may include soft/unstructured data.

Data

Performing extensive ________ to move data to the data warehouse may be a sign of poorly managed data and a fundamental lack of a coherent data management strategy.

ETL

(True/False) BI represents a bold new paradigm in which the company's business strategy must be aligned to its business intelligence analysis initiatives.

False

(True/False) Data mining can be very useful in detecting patterns such as credit card fraud, but is of little help in improving sales

False

(True/False) In the cancer research case study, data mining algorithms that predict cancer survivability with high predictive power are good replacements for medical professionals.

False

(True/False) Moving the data into a data warehouse is usually the easiest part of its creation.

False

(True/False) OLTP systems are designed to handle ad hoc analysis and complex queries that deal with many data items

False

(True/False) Ratio data is a type of categorical data.

False

(True/False) The data storage component of a business reporting system builds the various reports and hosts them for, or disseminates them to users. It also provides notification, annotation, collaboration, and other services.

False

List five types of specialized charts and graphs.

Five specialized charts are tree maps, heat maps, Gantt charts, geographic maps, and histograms.

The filing system developed by Google to handle Big Data storage challenges is known as the ________ Distributed File System.

Hadoop

List five types of specialized charts and graphs.

Histograms, Gantt charts, PERT charts, geographic maps, and heat maps

What are the main differences among line, bar, and Pie charts and when should you use each

Line charts show the relationship between two variables, and should be used when comparing two variables. It is often used for time-series data, where time is on the x-axis. Bar charts are used for comparing values of different categories against each other, and the height or width of each bar shows the value for that category. Pie charts show the relative proportions of values across categories, and it should be used when comparing relative proportions between categories. These should only be used when there are few categories.

Why is Market-Basket Analysis important?

Market-basket analysis is important because it allows businesses the ability to find relationships between different variables in data that they collect. From this, they are better able to predict customers' behaviors and increase their profits.

________ is described as data about data.

Metadata

Briefly describe four techniques (or algorithms) that are used for classification modeling.

Neural networks try to imitate the human brain using neurons to predict classes of datta. Statistical analysis include logistic regression and discriminant analysis, and they make assumptions about the data and how it is distributed. Decision trees have many branches that ask different questions about the data, eventually resulting in different categories at the bottom of the tree for the data. Bayesian classifiers use probability models to predict classes for data.

List 4 differences between an OLTP and an OLAP models...be sure to identify which type of application they normally support.

OLTP usually uses a transactional database, whereas an OLAP uses a data warehouse or a data mart. OLTP systems are usually faster at reading data than an OLAP is. OLTP systems have periodic and narrow reports, whereas OLAP systems have broader reports that are focused on multidimensional data. OLAP systems require specialized databases, whereas an OLTP requires only a relational database. The purpose of an OLTP is for handling day-to-day business, and the purpose of OLAP is to support analysis for decision making.

How can one avoid falling into common pitfalls of data mining?

One can avoid falling into the common pitfalls of data mining by understanding the limits of data mining and by managing expectations.

A common way of introducing data warehousing is to refer to its fundamental characteristics. Describe three characteristics of data warehousing.

One characteristic is that the warehouse is multidimensional, allowing analysis from many different viewpoints of the data. Another characteristic is that it is nonvolatile, meaning that the data will not change after the data is loaded. Another characteristic is that the data is time-variant, allowing the changes in the data to be seen over the course of time.

Briefly describe three major components of the data warehousing process

One major component is finding and sourcing data sources, which involves sourcing the data from legacy systems, external providers, or the OLTP. Another component is data extraction and transformation, which involves modifying the data to meet the needs of the data warehouse. Another component is data loading, which involves moving the data into a staging area and into the data warehouse.

Name one of the data methodologies and give a brief description?

One of the data methodologies is classification, which seeks to categorize new data points using existing data.

What are the ethical concerns with data mining and business intelligence?

One of the ethical concerns is the security of the data. Companies collect a vast amount of data on its users, and it is possible for someone to be able to steal that data. Another ethical concern comes from the privacy of the data that the businesses are collecting. It is possible for companies to predict and manipulate people's behaviors without their knowledge or consent.

List at least 3 best practices in Dashboard Design?

Pick the right visual constructs, have benchmark KPIs with industry standards, and present information at three different levels

________ analytics help managers make decisions to achieve the best performance in the future.

Prescriptive

List the five most common functions of business reports.

Provide information, provide analytical results, persuade others to act, ensure departmental functioning, and to create an organizational memory

________ plots are often used to explore the relationship between two or three variables (in 2-D or 2-D visuals).

Scatter

What's the main difference between data mining and statistics?

Statistics begins with a well-defined hypothesis about the data. Data mining instead does not start with a hypothesis and seeks to find novel patterns in the data.

List at least 4 Steps for the CRISP-DM Data mining process

Step 1: Business Understanding Step 2: Data Understanding Step 3: Data Preparation Step 4: Model Building Step 5: Testing and Evaluation Step 6: Deployment

List 3 Important criteria in selecting an E T L tool

The criteria are: having an easy to use interface for the developer and users, having the ability to read and write to any type of data source or architecture, and having an automatic capture and delivery of metadata.

List and define the main methods for data mining?

The data mining methods are classification, clustering, and association rule mining. Classification uses past data with labels to predict the classifications of new data. Clustering finds natural groupings of data points. Association rule mining finds relationships between variables in a data set.

What are the ethical concerns with data mining and business intelligence?

The ethical concerns of data mining and business intelligence comes from the use of data. This data comes from the people that the business interacts with, and those people may have privacy concerns about the data. This data can also be used to predict the behavior of customers and influence them to make certain decisions. Another ethical concern is that the data may not be secure well enough, so the data can be stolen and used for other purposes.

List the five most common functions of business reports.

The five most common functions of business reports are to provide information, to ensure that all departments are functioning properly, to provide the results of analyses, to persuade others to act, and to create an organizational memory.

What are the four major components of a Business Intelligence (BI) system?

The four major components are the Data Warehouse Environment, the Business Analytics Environment, the Performance and Strategy, and the User Interface.

What are the four major components of a Business Intelligence (BI) system?

The four major components of a BI system are the data warehouse, business analytics, BPM, and the user interface.

In the case about Sirius XM what were the results and benefits? Were they worth the effort/investment?

The results and benefits were that campaign results were gotten in near real-time instead of about 4 days, allowing for closed-loop visibility to increase campaign effectiveness, and allowing real-time modeling and scoring to increase the marketing department's effectiveness.

Name the steps in the Data Preparation phase?

The steps for data preparation are gather data, discover and assess data, cleanse and validate data, transform and enrich data, and store data.

Harrah's High Payoff from Customer Information reading described their creation of a system using data as the basis... What was that system called and described the successes and failures that they encountered during the project

The system that Harrah's created, WinNet, was designed to win new customers and retain them. One of the challenges that they had was that they had to integrate the system across all of their casinos and pool the data together into one source. They also had challenges with deciding what data to collect and at what granularity, and how that would be used to retain customers. Harrah's was successful in the creation of their system, and they were able to retain more customers and win new ones through the increased marketing capabilities using their new data warehouse.

List and describe three levels or categories of analytics that are most often viewed as sequential and independent, but also occasionally seen as overlapping.

The three levels are descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive. Descriptive analytics describe what has happened and what is happening right now. Predictive analytics describe what will happen and why. Prescriptive analytics describe what the business should do and why.

List and describe three levels or categories of analytics that are most often viewed as sequential and independent, but also occasionally seen as overlapping.

The three types of analytics are descriptive analytics, which answers the question of what already happened or is happening, predictive analytics, which answers the question of what will happen and why will it happen, and prescriptive analytics, which answers the question what should I do and why should I do it.

How many steps are there in the Data Preparation phase?

There are 4 steps in the data preparation phase: data consolidation, data cleaning, data transformation, and data reduction.

(True/False) Because of performance and data quality issues, most experts agree that the federated architecture should supplement data warehouses, not replace them.

True

(True/False) Computer applications have moved from transaction processing and monitoring activities to problem analysis and solution applications.

True

(True/False) Data is the main ingredient for any BI, data science, and business analytics initiative.

True

(True/False) Due to industry consolidation, the analytics ecosystem consists of only a handful of players across several functional areas

True

(True/False) The hub-and-spoke data warehouse model uses a centralized warehouse feeding dependent data marts.

True

(True/False) The use of statistics in baseball by the Oakland Athletics, as described in the Moneyball case study, is an example of the effectiveness of prescriptive analytics

True

(True/False) There are basic chart types and specialized chart types. A Gantt chart is a specialized chart type.

True

Data warehouses are intended to work with informational data used for online ________ processing systems.

analytical

The user interface of a BI system is often referred to as a(n) ________.

dashboard

What is a powerful analytical tool that enables business managers to advance from describing the nature of the past to predicting the future to better manage their business actions?

data mining

Visual analytics is widely regarded as the combination of visualization and ________ analytics

predictive

Most data warehouses are built using ________ database management systems to control and manage the data

relational

Given that the size of data warehouses is expanding at an exponential rate, ________ is an important issue.

scalability

A measure of asymmetry (sway) in a distribution of the data that portrays a unimodal structure that has only one peak is called _______________ .

skewness