Spotting what nobody asked for
A cafe chain studies a year of till records. Nobody asked a question. The computer finds that cake sells with tea far more than with coffee.
Now the chain puts cake next to the tea and emails customers a tea and cake offer. Finding the pattern, reporting it and acting on it are three different jobs.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Data mining | Searching large data for patterns nobody asked about. | Cake sells with tea |
| Reporting | Presenting the facts from data in a set form. | A monthly sales report |
| Business intelligence | Useful knowledge from data that helps run an organisation. | Put cake next to the tea |
| Financial planning and analysis | Using data to forecast costs and income and plan a budget. | Next year's budget |
| CRM | Customer relationship management: keeping and using data about customers. | A record of each customer's visits |
| Customer data analytics | Studying customer data to learn what they need. | Which customers have not visited for 90 days |
| Big Data | Data too large, fast or varied for ordinary tools. | Millions of till records |
| Scale | How big the data is and how fast it grows. | Ten rows or ten million |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can describe how mining and reporting turn data into useful knowledge.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Mining finds patterns, reporting presents facts
Data mining searches large amounts of data for patterns nobody asked about. It can spot a link no person would think to look for.
Reporting presents known facts in a fixed form, such as sales per month. Reports answer questions you already have. Mining finds new ones.
Business intelligence turns data into action
Business intelligence is useful knowledge from data that helps run an organisation.
In financial planning and analysis, past costs and income help forecast a budget.
In CRM, data about customers helps look after them. Customer data analytics studies it. Then the organisation uses the findings in its communications: reminders, offers and warnings.
Worked example: forecasting a year
| Step | Number | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Costs in three months | 100, 200, 300 | Pounds spent on supplies |
| Total | 600 | 100 plus 200 plus 300 |
| Average a month | 200 | 600 divided by 3 |
| Forecast for a year | 2,400 | 200 times 12 |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check: which tool?
Have a go
Check: which tool?
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.