Chapter 6. Business Intelligence and Analytics

business intelligence (BI)

A wide range of applications, practices, and technologies for the extraction, transformation, integration, visualization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data to support improved decision making.

conversion funnel

A graphical representation that summarizes the steps a consumer takes in making the decision to buy your product and become a customer.

Cross-Industry Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM)

A six-phase structured approach for the planning and execution of a data mining project.

dashboard

A presentation of a set of KPIs about the state of a process at a specific point in time.

data cube

A collection of data that contains numeric facts called measures, which are categorized by dimensions, such as time and geography.

data mining

A BI analytics tool used to explore large amounts of data for hidden patterns to predict future trends and behaviors for use in decision making.

data visualization

The presentation of data in a pictorial or graphical format.

drill-down analysis

The interactive examination of high-level summary data in increasing detail to gain insight into certain elements—sort of like slowly peeling off the layers of an onion.

key performance indicator (KPI)

A metric that tracks progress in executing chosen strategies to attain organizational objectives and goals and consists of a direction, measure, target, and time frame.

linear regression

A mathematical procedure to predict the value of a dependent variable based on a single independent variable and the linear relationship between the two.

online analytical processing (OLAP)

A method to analyze multidimensional data from many different perspectives, enabling users to identify issues and opportunities as well as perform trend analysis.

self-service analytics

Training, techniques, and processes that empower end users to work independently to access data from approved sources to perform their own analyses using an endorsed set of tools.

word cloud

A visual depiction of a set of words that have been grouped together because of the frequency of their occurrence.