Data analysis is a function that many business and organization professionals perform on either a formal or informal
basis regularly. It is represented by a variety of activities ranging from simple use of Microsoft Excel to the
leveraging of complex On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP systems). In some cases rudimentary analysis can be performed
using basic online reporting systems, but in most cases the ability to dynamically manipulate one's view of the data is
necessary to answer key questions.
It's best to think of data analysis from three separate perspectives. The first two represent the third
Pillar of
Business Intelligence known as the "Analyze" pillar. The last perspective represents activities that are usually
associated with the "Discovery" pillar. Ideally you should try not to think of data analysis and data discovery
(sometimes called data mining) as the same set of activities. Data analysis represents the need to get answers to
questions that already exist. Data discovery, on the other hand, uncovers patterns and trends in the data which often
lead to new questions that have not already been asked. Data analysis tends to be represented by two basic activities:
- Ad Hoc Analysis: This represents the need to "slice and dice" data. This means that the user will have a variety
of categories of information (dimensions) with which she will summarize one or more numeric values (measures). The
result is usually a table or cross tabular view of the data and sometimes includes charts to help the user visualize the
summaries.
- Ad Hoc Query: This represents the need to collect various elements of data for a review on a temporarly basis.
Often ad hoc query users export data sets into Microsoft Excel for further manipulation or may simply wish to see list of
items that help with day-to-day tasks. The difference between ad hoc queries and reports is that ad hoc queries are
designed and executed by the end user. There is not a predefined structure to them, which makes them adaptable to many
business situations without the assistance of data technicians.
Contact us for a FREE consultation about your data analysis needs. Our team works with the leading
technologies in these areas.