Descriptive analytics

Descriptive analytics is a preliminary stage of data processing that creates a summary

of historical data to yield useful ​information​ and possibly prepare the data for further
analysis.Here’s a summary of the stages of data analysis:

● Descriptive analytics​: What happened?

● Diagnostic analytics​: Why did it happen?

● Predictive analytics​: What could happen in the future?

● Prescriptive analytics:​ How should we respond to those potential future events

Descriptive analytics ​exists to highlight the features and characteristics of a data set
by using a summary. It is typically used to convert a large amount data into a small
amount of information which is easier to understand.

Examples
For example, a business which sells cars may have a long list of all of the cars it has
sold in a year. That list is too hard for people to use for decision making, and so an
analyst would summarize the data using descriptive analytics.

The resulting report may include the number of cars sold each month, an average of
how many cars were sold per day, or simply the sum of cars sold in a year

The distinguishing features of descriptive analytics

Descriptive analytics should not include assumptions or derived data which cloud the
description
Descriptive analytics is also only about the past. Future estimates and predictions
belong to another type of analytics with different best practices.

When to use descriptive analytics

Descriptive analytics can be presented either as a real-time dashboard or a report

depending on the urgency of the data.

KPI reports are a particularly popular example of descriptive analytics as they include
real numbers from the past which require little or no further calculations to make sense.

How to do descriptive analytics

 1. Start by collecting relevant data
2. Do the analysis
3. Present data clearly
4. Aim for consistency

Best practices for descriptive analytics

1. If you can use a single number instead of a chart, do so

2. Only include what is necessary
3. Know your charts and when to use them