Three failed logins at 2am
At 2am somebody tries to sign in to an online shop as Leo three times and fails each time. Leo is asleep.
The log recorded every try. Because the shop reads its logs, it spots the problem and locks the account before anything is stolen. Data is only useful if somebody uses it.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern | Something that repeats in data. | Sales rise every Friday |
| Load | How much work a system is doing. | 400 shoppers at once |
| Outage | A time when a system is not working. | The website was down for 20 minutes |
| Throughput | How much data a system handles in a set time. | 50 orders an hour |
| Log | A record of events kept by a system. | A login log |
| Upselling | Offering a customer something extra or better. | A longer warranty |
| Compliance | Following the laws and rules that apply. | Keeping data for the right time |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can describe five ways an organisation uses data and say if the data suits the job.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsHave a go: your answers are marked here and then forgotten. Sign in if you would like your score kept, and to pick up where you left off.Sign in to keep your score
Your answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Five uses of data
An organisation uses its data and information in five main ways:
- Analysis to find patterns. Which products sell most?
- System performance. Load, outages, throughput and status.
- User monitoring. When people log in and out, and what they open.
- Targeted marketing. Discounts and upselling to the right people.
- Threat and opportunity checks. Competitors, security and compliance.
Each use with an analyst's example
| Use | Data | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Patterns | Sales by day over a term | Stock more on the busiest day |
| System performance | Website load and outage times | Add capacity before a sale |
| User monitoring | Login and logout times, pages opened | Lock an account that logs in at 2am |
| Targeted marketing | What each customer bought | Offer a longer warranty with a laptop |
| Threat and opportunity | Competitor prices, attack attempts, rule changes | Cut a price, patch a hole, update a policy |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check: which use is it?
Have a go
Check: which use is it?
3 questionsHave a go: your answers are marked here and then forgotten. Sign in if you would like your score kept, and to pick up where you left off.Sign in to keep your score
Your answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.