DSCI 4330 Exam 1 Study Guide | UPDATED Questions
with 100% Verified Answers
Q1: What are some of the drivers for the need for business
analytics?
A: a. Group communication/collaboration - versatility of members, share information, helps
one end see the other end thus react fast.
b. Improved data management - store/transmit data quicker, economically, securely, and
transparent.
c. Managing giant data warehouses and Big Data - parallel computing, Hadoop/Spark
apps help organize/search/mine the data; Big Data allows access to a heap of data and
see varied areas of performance.
d. Analytical support - technology allows for more alternatives, improved forecasting,
quicker risk analysis and expert views (sometimes through analytical systems).
e. Overcome cognitive limits in processing/storing information - computer systems let us
go beyond human cognitive limits to quickly assess/process lots of data.
f. Knowledge management - KMS like text analytics/IBM Watson streamline natural
language to depict patterns/trends and act accordingly
g. Anytime/anywhere support - wireless technology let everyone do anything anywhere!
Q2: What are Management Support Systems and where do they fit
in the evolution of computerized decision support?
A: Computer-based systems that are supposed to be used by, or at least to support,
managers and focus on managerial uses of information resources
A conceptual framework for a process of supporting managerial decision making, usually
by modeling problems and employing quantitative models for solution analysis
It is one of the first steps in the Evolution of Computerized Decision Support and took
place in the 1970s when AI first was created and routine reporting managers was
common for managers to do.
Q3: There were three pieces of the architecture for BI that we
looked at in class. The data warehouse environment (back
end), the business analytics environment (middle) and
performance/strategy (front end). What does each piece
contain?
A: Data Warehouse Environment (Back End)
Technical Staff
Build the data warehouse
Organizing - Summarizing - Standardizing
Both DWE and BAE are connected by the Data Warehouse. DWE builds and stores
information into the data warehouse and BAE extracts the information from it and
analyzes it for results.
Business Analytics Environment (Middle)
Business Users
Access, Manipulation, Results
, Performance and Strategy (Front End)
Managers/executives
BPM Strategies
User Interface
Browser - Portal - Dashboard
Q4: Briefly describe how the three pieces of the Architecture for
BI fit together.
A: The three pieces overlap with each other and the primary users of the data warehouse
environment get their direction from business analysts regarding what questions need to
be answered and the data needed to support it. Business analysts get their direction from
executive decision makers as to what are the most important questions that will drive the
business. They all interlock
Q5: What is Business Intelligence (the broad definition)?
A: An umbrella term that combines architectures, tools, databases, analytical tools,
applications, and methodologies
Q6: What is Business Analytics?
A: The process of developing actionable decisions or recommendations for actions based
on insights generated from historical data
Attempts to make connections between data so organization's can try to predict future
trends that may give them a competitive advantage.
the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions
The extensive use of data and quantitative analysis to support fact-based decision
making within organizations
Q7: What are the three types of Analytics and what do they each
tell us?
A: Descriptive
What is happening?
Business Reporting
Data Visualization (Dashboards & Scorecards)
Data Warehousing/OLAP
Descriptive Statistics
Well defined business problems and opportunities
Predictive
What will happen and why will it happen?
Data Mining
Text Mining
Web/Media Mining
Forecasting (i.e. time series)
Accurate projections of future events and outcomes
Prescriptive
What decision should I make and why should I make it?
with 100% Verified Answers
Q1: What are some of the drivers for the need for business
analytics?
A: a. Group communication/collaboration - versatility of members, share information, helps
one end see the other end thus react fast.
b. Improved data management - store/transmit data quicker, economically, securely, and
transparent.
c. Managing giant data warehouses and Big Data - parallel computing, Hadoop/Spark
apps help organize/search/mine the data; Big Data allows access to a heap of data and
see varied areas of performance.
d. Analytical support - technology allows for more alternatives, improved forecasting,
quicker risk analysis and expert views (sometimes through analytical systems).
e. Overcome cognitive limits in processing/storing information - computer systems let us
go beyond human cognitive limits to quickly assess/process lots of data.
f. Knowledge management - KMS like text analytics/IBM Watson streamline natural
language to depict patterns/trends and act accordingly
g. Anytime/anywhere support - wireless technology let everyone do anything anywhere!
Q2: What are Management Support Systems and where do they fit
in the evolution of computerized decision support?
A: Computer-based systems that are supposed to be used by, or at least to support,
managers and focus on managerial uses of information resources
A conceptual framework for a process of supporting managerial decision making, usually
by modeling problems and employing quantitative models for solution analysis
It is one of the first steps in the Evolution of Computerized Decision Support and took
place in the 1970s when AI first was created and routine reporting managers was
common for managers to do.
Q3: There were three pieces of the architecture for BI that we
looked at in class. The data warehouse environment (back
end), the business analytics environment (middle) and
performance/strategy (front end). What does each piece
contain?
A: Data Warehouse Environment (Back End)
Technical Staff
Build the data warehouse
Organizing - Summarizing - Standardizing
Both DWE and BAE are connected by the Data Warehouse. DWE builds and stores
information into the data warehouse and BAE extracts the information from it and
analyzes it for results.
Business Analytics Environment (Middle)
Business Users
Access, Manipulation, Results
, Performance and Strategy (Front End)
Managers/executives
BPM Strategies
User Interface
Browser - Portal - Dashboard
Q4: Briefly describe how the three pieces of the Architecture for
BI fit together.
A: The three pieces overlap with each other and the primary users of the data warehouse
environment get their direction from business analysts regarding what questions need to
be answered and the data needed to support it. Business analysts get their direction from
executive decision makers as to what are the most important questions that will drive the
business. They all interlock
Q5: What is Business Intelligence (the broad definition)?
A: An umbrella term that combines architectures, tools, databases, analytical tools,
applications, and methodologies
Q6: What is Business Analytics?
A: The process of developing actionable decisions or recommendations for actions based
on insights generated from historical data
Attempts to make connections between data so organization's can try to predict future
trends that may give them a competitive advantage.
the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions
The extensive use of data and quantitative analysis to support fact-based decision
making within organizations
Q7: What are the three types of Analytics and what do they each
tell us?
A: Descriptive
What is happening?
Business Reporting
Data Visualization (Dashboards & Scorecards)
Data Warehousing/OLAP
Descriptive Statistics
Well defined business problems and opportunities
Predictive
What will happen and why will it happen?
Data Mining
Text Mining
Web/Media Mining
Forecasting (i.e. time series)
Accurate projections of future events and outcomes
Prescriptive
What decision should I make and why should I make it?
