Business Analytics- Chapter 1

Artificial Intelligence

The use of data and computers to make decisions that would have in the past required human intelligence

Advanced analytics

Predictive and prescriptive analytics

Big data

Any set of data that is too large or too complex to be handled by standard data-processing techniques and typical desktop software

Business analytics

The scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions

Data dashboard

A collection of tables, charts, and maps to help management monitor selected aspects of the company’s performance

Data mining

The use of analytical techniques for better understanding patterns and relationships that exist in large data sets

Data query

a request for information with certain characteristics from a database

Data scientists

Analysts trained in both computer science and statistics who know how to effectively process and analyze massive amounts of data

Data security

Protecting stored data from destructive forces or unauthorized users

Decision analysis

A technique used to develop an optimal strategy when a decision maker is faced with several decision alternatives and an uncertain set of future events

Descriptive analytics

Analytical tools that describe what has happened

Hadoop

An open-source programming environment that supports big data processing through distributed storage and distributed processing on clusters of computers

Internet of Things

Technology that allows data collected from sensors in all types of machines to be sent over the Internet to repositories where it can be stored and analyzed

MapReduce

Programming model used within Hadoop that performs the two major steps for which it is named:

map step: divides data into manageable subsets and distributes it to the computers in the cluster for storing and processing.

reduce step: collects answers from the nodes and combines them into an answer to the original problem

Operational decisions

A decision concerned with how the organization is run from day to day

Optimization models

A mathematical model that gives the best decision, subject to the situation’s constraints

Predictive analytics

Techniques that use models constructed from past data to predict the future or to ascertain the impact of one variable on another

Prescriptive analytics

Techniques that analyze input data and yield a best course of action

rule-based model

a prescriptive model that is based on a rule or set of rules

simulation

the use of probability and statistics to construct a computer model to study the impact of uncertainty on the decision at hand

simulation optimization

the use of probability and statistics to model uncertainty, combined with optimization techniques, to find good decisions in highly complex and highly uncertain settings

strategic decision

decision that involves high-level issues and that is concerned with the overall direction of the organization, defining the overall goals and aspirations for the organization’s future

tactical decision

decision concerned with how the organization should achieve the goals and objectives set by its strategy

utility theory

the study of the total worth or relative desirability of a particular outcome that reflects the decision maker’s attitude toward a collection of factors such as profit, loss, and risk