Chapter 1 Introduction to Analytics
What are the three developments that increased the use of data analytics? - ANS1.
Technological advances
2. Ongoing research has resulted in numerous methodological developments
3. Better computing hardware, parallel computing, and cloud computing have enabled
businesses to solve big problems faster and more accurately than ever before
Strategic decisions - ANS- Involve higher-level issues concerned with the overall direction of
the organization
- Define the organization's overall goals and aspirations for the future
Tactical decisions - ANS- Concern how the organization should achieve the goals and
objectives set by its strategy
- Are usually the responsibility of midlevel management
Operational decisions - ANS- Affect how the firm is run from day to day
- Are the domain of operations managers, who are the closest to the customer
Decision Making Process - ANS1. Identify and define the problem
2. Determine the criteria that will be used to evaluate alternative solutions
3. Determine the set of alternative solutions
4. Evaluate the alternatives
5. Choose an alternative
Business analytics - ANS- Scientific process of transforming data into insight for making
better decisions
- Used for data-driven or fact-based decision making, which is often seen as more objective
than other alternatives for decision making
Descriptive analytics - ANSEncompasses the set of techniques that describes what has
happened in the past
- examples
Data queries
Reports
Descriptive statistics
Data visualization (including data dashboards)
Data-mining techniques
Basic what-if spreadsheet models
Data query - ANSA request for information with certain characteristics from a database
Data dashboards - ANSCollections of tables, charts, maps, and summary statistics that are
updated as new data become available
What are the three developments that increased the use of data analytics? - ANS1.
Technological advances
2. Ongoing research has resulted in numerous methodological developments
3. Better computing hardware, parallel computing, and cloud computing have enabled
businesses to solve big problems faster and more accurately than ever before
Strategic decisions - ANS- Involve higher-level issues concerned with the overall direction of
the organization
- Define the organization's overall goals and aspirations for the future
Tactical decisions - ANS- Concern how the organization should achieve the goals and
objectives set by its strategy
- Are usually the responsibility of midlevel management
Operational decisions - ANS- Affect how the firm is run from day to day
- Are the domain of operations managers, who are the closest to the customer
Decision Making Process - ANS1. Identify and define the problem
2. Determine the criteria that will be used to evaluate alternative solutions
3. Determine the set of alternative solutions
4. Evaluate the alternatives
5. Choose an alternative
Business analytics - ANS- Scientific process of transforming data into insight for making
better decisions
- Used for data-driven or fact-based decision making, which is often seen as more objective
than other alternatives for decision making
Descriptive analytics - ANSEncompasses the set of techniques that describes what has
happened in the past
- examples
Data queries
Reports
Descriptive statistics
Data visualization (including data dashboards)
Data-mining techniques
Basic what-if spreadsheet models
Data query - ANSA request for information with certain characteristics from a database
Data dashboards - ANSCollections of tables, charts, maps, and summary statistics that are
updated as new data become available
