Excel01 – Descriptive Statistics in MIS

Vocabulary flashcards covering key descriptive statistics concepts, their definitions, and related business benefits from the Excel01 MIS lecture.

Descriptive Statistics

The practice of summarizing and describing a dataset to gain insight, improve decision-making, and lay groundwork for further analysis.

Mean (Average)

The sum of all sales values divided by the number of months; sets the benchmark for average monthly sales.

Median

The middle sales value when data are ordered; useful when outliers distort the mean.

Mode

The sales figure that occurs most frequently; helps identify typical performance.

Range

Difference between the highest and lowest monthly sales; reveals volatility between best and worst months.

Standard Deviation

Measures the dispersion of sales around the mean; tracks performance consistency or volatility.

Variance

The square of the standard deviation; quantifies how spread out the sales data are and aids forecasting models.

Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Standard deviation divided by the mean; normalizes variability to compare risk across different datasets or departments.

90th Percentile

The sales value below which 90 % of months fall; highlights top-performing months for bonus targets.

Quartiles (Q1, Q2, Q3)

Values that split the data into four equal parts; categorize sales into performance segments.

Interquartile Range (IQR)

Q3 minus Q1; focuses on the stable, central 50 % of sales data and filters out extremes.

Skewness

Statistical measure indicating whether sales data lean toward higher or lower values; shows bias or imbalance.

Kurtosis

Describes the ‘tailedness’ of the distribution; assesses the likelihood of extreme sales outcomes.

Frequency Table

Tabulates how often each sales value or range occurs; useful for grouping and segmentation analysis.

Contingency Table

Cross-tabulation that explores relationships between two variables, such as region vs. sales, when applicable.

Combined Measures

Pairing statistics (e.g., Mean + Std. Dev., Skewness + Median) to gain deeper insights like reliability of averages or impact of outliers.