Data Visualization

Technologies supporting visualization and interpretation

• Digital imaging, GIS, GUI, tables, multidimensions, graphs, VR, 3D, animation
• Identify relationships and trends

Data manipulation allows real time look at performance data

Knowledge Discovery in Databases

Data mining used to find patterns in data

• Identification of data
• Preprocessing
• Transformation to common format
• Data mining through algorithms
• Evaluation

Tools and Techniques

Data mining

• Statistical methods
• Decision trees
• Case based reasoning
• Neural computing
• Intelligent agents
• Genetic algorithms

Text Mining

• Hidden content
• Group by themes
• Determine relationships

Data Mining

• Organizes and employs information and knowledge from databases
• Statistical, mathematical, artificial intelligence, and machine-learning techniques
• Automatic and fast
• Tools look for patterns

1. Simple models
2. Intermediate models
3. Complex Models

OLAP - Online analytical processing

Activities performed by end users in online systems

• Specific, open-ended query generation

1. SQL

• Ad hoc reports
• Statistical analysis
• Building DSS applications

Modeling and visualization capabilities

Special class of tools

• DSS/BI/BA front ends
• Data access front ends
• Database front ends
• Visual information access systems

Business Analytics

Business Analytics focuses on effective use of data and information to drive positive business actions. The body of knowledge for this area includes both business and technical topics, including concepts of performance management, definition and delivery of business metrics, data visualization, and deployment and use of technology solutions such as OLAP, dashboards, scorecards, analytic applications, and data mining.

Business Intelligence: pg 24

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

Its major objective is to enable interactive access (sometimes in real time) to data, to enable manipulation of data, and to give business managers and analysts the ability to conduct appropriate analysis.

By analysing current, historical data and situations, performance - decisionmakers get valuable insight that enable them to make more informed and better decisions.

The process of BI is transformation of data to inormation, then to decisions and finally to actions.

4 major components:

Data warehouse
Conerstone of any medium to large BI system. Includes current and historical data.

Business analytics

• Reports and queries: static and dynamic reporting, queries, discovery, multi-dimensional view, drill-down to details.
• Advanced analytics: statistical, mathematical, financial
• Data, text, web mining: Data mining is a process of searching for unknown relationships or information in large databases or data warehouses, using inteligent tools such as neural computing, predictive analysis techniques or advacne statistical methods.

Business performance management (BPM)
extends the monitoring, measuring and comparing of sales, profit, cost, profitability and other performance indicators by introducing the concept of management and feedback. Embraces processes such as planning and forecasting.

User interface / dashboard
Comprehensive visual view or corporate perofrmance measures (KPI), trends and exceptions. Integrate infor from multiple business areas. Present graphs that show actual performance compared to desired metrics. At a glance view of the health of the organisation.