Data Management - Analytics

Summary

Lesson six of the 'Introduction to Data Management' course delves into analytics capabilities, teaching how data is delivered to business users and the processes involved in reporting and analysis. The lesson distinguishes between reporting, which organizes data into summaries, and analysis, which extracts insights using advanced tools. It covers different types of reports, including out-of-the-box, custom, dashboards, and alerts, and emphasizes the roles of data analysts and developers. The course also highlights the importance of analytics in the system development lifecycle and the need for specialized tools to support decision-making processes.

Takeaways

• 📊 Analytics is the process of using data to monitor, understand, and improve business performance.
• 📈 It encompasses two broad categories: reporting and analysis, with reporting focusing on organizing data into summaries and analysis on extracting insights.
• 📋 Out-of-the-box reports are pre-formatted and predefined, allowing users to filter specific datasets, while custom reports offer more flexibility in data manipulation.
• 📊 Dashboards provide a comprehensive view of business performance by combining KPIs, reports, and data visualizations.
• 🚨 Alerts are conditional reports triggered when data meets certain criteria, prompting users to take action.
• 🔍 In-depth analysis is required for complex business questions, resulting in formal deliverables with key findings and recommendations.
• 👨‍💼 The key roles in analytics are data analysts, who provide insights, and developers, who deliver reporting and analysis tools.
• 🔧 Analytics processes should be integrated into the System Development Lifecycle (SDLC) to ensure they are well-structured and efficient.
• 🛠️ Analytics tools should be capable of pulling data from various sources, providing analytical features like data mining and statistical analysis, and offering data visualization capabilities.
• 💡 The course emphasizes the importance of analytics in decision-making, highlighting its role in turning raw data into actionable information.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the sixth lesson in the data management course?

The main focus of the sixth lesson is to understand analytics capabilities, including how data is delivered to business users and the various kinds of reporting and analysis, as well as the people, process, and technology aspects of analytics.

What are the two broad categories that analytics usually includes?

Analytics usually includes two broad categories: reporting and analysis.

What is the purpose of reporting in analytics?

Reporting in analytics refers to organizing data into informational summaries to monitor how different areas of a business are performing, and it can also be related to regulatory reporting for compliance with laws.

How does analysis differ from reporting in analytics?

Analysis in analytics involves exploring data to extract meaningful insights that can be used to better understand and improve business performance, often using advanced statistical and data mining tools.

What is the role of data in analytics?

Data in analytics serves as the raw material that is organized, summarized, and explored to provide information and insights for business decision-making.

What are out-of-the-box reports and how do they differ from custom reports?

Out-of-the-box reports are pre-formatted and predefined, allowing users to change only data parameters to filter specific datasets. Custom reports, on the other hand, expose reporting building components, enabling users to create their own reports based on existing datasets.

What is a dashboard in the context of analytics?

A dashboard in analytics combines different key performance indicators (KPIs) and reports to provide a comprehensive, high-level view of business performance for specific audiences, usually built with intensive data visualizations.

What are alerts in analytics and how do they function?

Alerts are conditional reports that are triggered when data falls outside of expected ranges or predefined criteria are met, notifying people so they can take appropriate action as necessary.

What are the key roles involved in analytics capability?

The key roles in analytics capability are data analysts, who are responsible for analyzing data to provide insights, and data developers, who are responsible for delivering reporting and analysis tools for business use.

How does the analytics process relate to the System Development Lifecycle (SDLC)?

Analytics, like data integration, should be part of the SDLC to ensure that it is systematically developed, implemented, and maintained alongside other system capabilities.

What are the key features that analytics tools should have?

Analytics tools should be able to pull data from various sources, work with large datasets, provide various analytical features like data mining and statistical analysis, offer various data visualization features, and provide business users with analytical capabilities to produce information.