2026/2027 | Questions and Verified Answers | 100% Correct
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Part I: Foundations of Data-Driven Decision-Making & Analytics
Maturity
Q1: A retail company makes inventory decisions based on the CEO's "gut feeling" from
20 years of experience rather than analyzing sales data and demand patterns. This
represents:
A. Evidence-based management
B. Data-driven decision making
C. Intuition-based decision making [CORRECT]
D. Prescriptive analytics
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Intuition-based decisions rely on experience and judgment without
systematic data analysis. Data-driven (B) and evidence-based (A) use data. Prescriptive
analytics (D) is advanced optimization, not gut feeling.
Q2: According to Davenport's analytics maturity model, an organization that uses
analytics to gain competitive advantage, with analytics embedded in strategic planning
and automated decision-making, is at which stage?
,A. Analytical aspirants
B. Localized analytics
C. Analytical competitors [CORRECT]
D. Data-aware organizations
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Analytical competitors use analytics as strategic differentiator, with
enterprise-wide integration and automated decisions. Aspirants (A) recognize need but
lack capability. Localized (B) has siloed analytics. Data-aware (D) isn't a Davenport
stage.
Q3: A hospital analyzes historical patient admission data to understand seasonal
patterns and peak demand periods. This is an example of:
A. Prescriptive analytics
B. Predictive analytics
C. Descriptive analytics [CORRECT]
D. Diagnostic analytics
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Descriptive analytics summarizes what happened historically (patterns,
trends). Diagnostic (D) asks why. Predictive (B) forecasts future. Prescriptive (A)
recommends actions.
,Q4: A manufacturing company uses machine learning to forecast equipment failures
before they occur and schedules preventive maintenance. This represents:
A. Descriptive analytics
B. Predictive analytics [CORRECT]
C. Prescriptive analytics
D. Business intelligence reporting
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Predictive analytics forecasts future events (equipment failures) using
historical data and models. Descriptive (A) summarizes past. Prescriptive (C) would
recommend specific maintenance actions. BI reporting (D) is typically descriptive.
Q5: In the analytics continuum, which type answers the question "What should we do
about it?"
A. Descriptive analytics
B. Diagnostic analytics
C. Predictive analytics
D. Prescriptive analytics [CORRECT]
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Prescriptive analytics provides recommendations and optimal decisions.
Descriptive (A) = what happened. Diagnostic (B) = why happened. Predictive (C) = what
will happen. Prescriptive (D) = what to do.
, Q6: Customer reviews from social media, call center transcripts, and video content are
examples of:
A. Structured data
B. Unstructured data [CORRECT]
C. Quantitative data only
D. Time series data
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Unstructured data lacks predefined format—text, images, audio, video.
Structured (A) fits rows/columns (databases). These contain qualitative content, not
just quantitative (C). Not necessarily time-ordered (D).
Q7: A survey asking customers to rate satisfaction as "Very Dissatisfied, Dissatisfied,
Neutral, Satisfied, Very Satisfied" produces data at which measurement scale?
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal [CORRECT]
C. Interval
D. Ratio
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Ordinal data has ordered categories but unequal intervals between them.
Nominal (A) has no order. Interval (C) has equal intervals but no true zero. Ratio (D) has
equal intervals and true zero.