MIS Module 6

What is the data lifecycle?

• Collect - internal, customer, and external sources

• Store - the right database model, on-prem or cloud

• Clean - prepare data with ETL

• Analyze - BI tools find the what and the why

• Act - evidence-based decisions

What does data allow business professionals to do?

• Make informed decisions

• Be an innovation driver

• Have scalable power

Where does data come from?

• Internal systems - software that runs core operations: sales, inventory, payroll

• Customer interactions - clicks, purchases, and feedback from websites, apps, and social media

• External sources - market trends, demographics, and public data from third parties

What is a database?

a database pairs software and hardware inside our larger infrastructure stack

What is a database software?

Coded systems that apply the logical structure we want to map our data to (database model)

What are database servers?

the physical hardware that runs the database software and stores all the data it organizes

What are the two main database models?

1. Relational

2. Non-relational (NoSQL)

What is the relational model?

• Tables with rows and columns and a predefined structure

• Consistency and integrity

• Uses SQL

What is the relational model best for?

best for finance, e-commerce, student record

What is the non-relational (NoSQL) model?

• Flexible formats: documents, key-value, graphs

• Unstructured or semi-structured data that changes fast

• “No fixed table schemas” (AWS)

What is the non-relational model best for?

Best for social feeds, IoT sensors, generative AI

What are the four query types?

• Create - add a new record

• Read - look up existing records

• Update - change an existing record

• Delete - remove a record

What is data preparation?

cleaning and structuring data so it is accurate and reliable

What are the 3 mistakes with data?

• Errors- typos and wrong values

• Duplicates - the same customer entered twice

• Inconsistencies - different labels for the same thing

What are the 3 steps for how to clean and combine data?

1. Extract

2. Transform

3. Load

How do you extract data?

Pull the data out of each system

• Example: Copy sales from the website AND the store registers

How do you transform data?

Clean it and make it match

• Example: “AL” and “Ala.” both become “Alabama”

How do you load data?

put it all in one place

• Example: save it to one central database (a data warehouse)

What do data pipelines do?

Data pipelines pulls data in by itself, every night or all day long. Cleans it automatically, with the same rules every time. And deliver it to the dashboard, ready to use

What is data analysis?

consuming data for insight and action

What is business intelligence (BI)?

using technology, tools, and processes to analyze data and present actionable information

What two questions does business intelligence (BI) answer?

1. What is happening

2. Why is it happening

What does BI find the WHY of?

• Root cause analysis - find the real cause of a problem so you can fix it, not just its symptoms

• Predicting future outcomes - understanding why something happened helps predict what happens next

• Competitive advantage - you can address threats before they happen and act on opportunities faster than competitors

What are 3 BI tools?

1. Data visualization

2. Analytic suites

3. Reporting solutions

What is an example of a BI tool?

EXCEL - formulas turn data into information, charts are visualization, and conditional formatting works like an alert

What are some examples of BI we use everyday without noticing?

• Streaming services - recommendations based on your viewing history

• Banking - fraud detection flags suspicious transactions in real time

• E-commerce - product suggestions and “you left something in your cart” reminders