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ASSIGNMENT 1 FRONT SHEET

Qualification BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Computing

Unit number and title Unit 14: Business Intelligence

Submission date Date Received 1st submission

Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd submission

Student Name Phung Huu Minh Khanh Student ID GDD210033

Class GCD1102 Assessor name Nguyen Si Thin

Student declaration

I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the consequences of plagiarism. I understand
that making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.

Student’s signature Km

Grading grid

P1 P2 M1 M2 D1 D2
❒ Summative Feedback: ❒ Resubmission Feedback:

Grade: Assessor Signature: Date:


IV Signature:
Table of Contents
LO1: Discuss business processes and the mechanisms used to support business decision-making. ........................................................ 6
I. Examine, using examples, the terms ‘Business Process’ and ‘Supporting Processes’. (P1) .................................................................... 6
1. Scenario............................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
2. Business Intelligence ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6
a) Definition ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
b) How does the business intelligence process work? ..................................................................................................................... 6
c) Benefits of Business Intelligence .................................................................................................................................................. 7
3. Business Process .............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
a) Definition ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
b) Benefits of Business Process ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
c) Basic Steps of Business Process Implementation ........................................................................................................................ 9
d) Example of Business Process ...................................................................................................................................................... 10
e) Type of Business Process............................................................................................................................................................ 11
4. Support Process ............................................................................................................................................................................. 12
4.1. Definition .................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
4.2. Examples of Support Processes .................................................................................................................................................. 12
4.3. Steps of Support Process ............................................................................................................................................................ 13
II. Differentiate between unstructured and semi-structured data within an organization. (M1) ........................................................... 13
1. Structured Data .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14
2. Semi - Structured Data ................................................................................................................................................................... 15
3. Unstructured Data ......................................................................................................................................................................... 15
LO2: Compare the tools and technologies associated with business intelligence functionality. ............................................................ 16
III. Compare the types of support available for business decision-making at varying levels within an organization.(P2) ...................... 16
1. The tools and technologies associated with business intelligence functionality. ......................................................................... 16
a) Why use business intelligence tools?......................................................................................................................................... 16
b) The tools and technologies ........................................................................................................................................................ 16
2. Levels of Management Decision Making ....................................................................................................................................... 23
2.1. Definition .................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
2.2. 7 Steps of Effectives Decision Making ........................................................................................................................................ 23
2.3. Type of Decision Making............................................................................................................................................................. 25
3. Compare the various degrees of assistance provided for business decision making inside a company. ..................................... 27
3.1. Strategic Decision ....................................................................................................................................................................... 27
3.2. Tactical Decision ......................................................................................................................................................................... 27
3.3. Operational Decision .................................................................................................................................................................. 28
IV. Justify, with specific examples, the key features of business intelligence functionality. ................................................................... 28
1. Key Business Intelligence Features ................................................................................................................................................ 28
a) Executive dashboards................................................................................................................................................................. 28
b) Location intelligence .................................................................................................................................................................. 29
c) “What if” analysis ....................................................................................................................................................................... 29
d) Interactive reports...................................................................................................................................................................... 29
e) Ranking reports .......................................................................................................................................................................... 29
f) Cross-platform compatibility ..................................................................................................................................................... 30
2. Tools for applying for scenario. ..................................................................................................................................................... 31
2.1. Pandas and Numpy. .................................................................................................................................................................... 31
2.2. Matplotlib and Seaborn. ............................................................................................................................................................. 32
2.3. Scikit-learn. ................................................................................................................................................................................. 34
References ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 35

List of Figures

Figure 1: How BI process works. ................................................................................................................................................................. 7


Figure 2: Basic Step of Business Process Implementation........................................................................................................................ 10
Figure 3: 5 steps of Support Process......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 4: Type of Data. .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Figure 5: Example of Structured Data. ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
Figure 6: Semi-Structured Data. ............................................................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 7: Unstructured Data types............................................................................................................................................................ 16
Figure 8: Python Advantages and Disadvantages. .................................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 9: Process Flow of Power BI. .......................................................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 10: Tableau..................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Figure 11: 7- Steps to Effective Decision Making. .................................................................................................................................... 24
Figure 12: 3 Decision Making. ................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 13: Ranking Report......................................................................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 14: Numpy and Pandas. ................................................................................................................................................................. 31
Figure 15: Result run Pandas and Numpy................................................................................................................................................. 32
Figure 16: Matplotlib and Seaborn. .......................................................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 17: Applying Matplotlib into Company. ......................................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 18: Applying Scikit - Learn into Project. ......................................................................................................................................... 34
List of Tables

Table 1: Example of Business Process....................................................................................................................................................... 11


LO1: Discuss business processes and the mechanisms used to support business decision-making.
I. Examine, using examples, the terms ‘Business Process’ and ‘Supporting Processes’. (P1)
1. Scenario

KKC company is built by 3 members in group 5, this member is students at Greenwich's university. KKC company built with
purpose evaluate, analyze amount of salary of data science in recent years. We will analyze the salary of a staff based their
work experience, role worked in during the year, year start works for company, etc. Then we will guess their current salary,
compare it with dataset and evaluate if this salary is reasonable or not.

2. Business Intelligence
a) Definition

Business intelligence (BI) is a technology-driven process for analyzing data and delivering actionable information that helps
executives, managers and workers make informed business decisions. As part of the BI process, organizations collect data
from internal IT systems and external sources, prepare it for analysis, run queries against the data and create data
visualizations, BI dashboards, and reports to make the analytics results available to business users for operational decision-
making and strategic planning.

The goal of BI initiatives is to drive better business decisions that enable organizations to increase revenue, improve
operational efficiency and gain competitive advantages over business rivals. To achieve that goal, BI incorporates a
combination of analytics, data management and reporting tools, plus various methodologies for managing and analyzing
data.

b) How does the business intelligence process work?

Business intelligence architecture includes more than just BI software. Business intelligence data is typically stored in a data
warehouse built for an entire organization or in smaller data marts that hold subsets of business information for individual
departments and business units, often with ties to an enterprise data warehouse. In addition, data lakes based on Hadoop
clusters or other big data systems are increasingly used as repositories or landing pads for BI and analytics data, especially
for log files, sensor data, text, and other types of unstructured or semi structured data.
BI data can include historical information and real-time data gathered from source systems as it's generated, enabling BI
tools to support both strategic and tactical decision-making processes. Before it's used in BI applications, raw data from
different source systems generally must be integrated, consolidated, and cleansed using data integration and data quality
management tools to ensure that BI teams and business users are analyzing accurate and consistent information.

Figure 1: How BI process works.

c) Benefits of Business Intelligence


• Speed up and improve decision-making.
• optimize internal business processes.
• increase operational efficiency and productivity.
• spot business problems that need to be addressed.
• identify emerging business and market trends.
• develop stronger business strategies.
• drive higher sales and new revenues.
• gain a competitive edge over rival companies.

BI initiatives also provide narrower business benefits among them, making it easier for project managers to track the
status of business projects and for organizations to gather competitive intelligence on their rivals. In addition, BI, data
management and IT teams themselves benefit from business intelligence, using it to analyze various aspects of
technology and analytics operations.
3. Business Process
a) Definition

A business process is defined as a collection of business tasks and activities that, when performed by people or systems in a
structured course, produce an outcome that contributes to the business goals. A business process includes at least one of, but
not limited to, the following elements:

• Task/ Activity
• System
• Employee(s)
• Workflow
• Data
Business processes are invented to derive and contribute to organizational goals. The continuous and repeated execution of
business processes is pivotal to successful business operations and business growth.

Business process structures can be simple or complex, based on the elements involved in the process. Through every business
process, a business strives to achieve certain goals.

b) Benefits of Business Process


o Improved Business Agility Companies must have the ability to react to change. These changes may come from
advancements in technology, an upstart competitor or a new regulation affecting an aspect of the organization's
business activity. Whatever the source, changes demand a quick response for the company to remain competitive.
Adopting BPM can give companies the speed and ability to meet these demands. A well-integrated BPM allows a
company to pause its business processes at the first sign of a problem, adjust the process and then bring it back on
track quickly and with minimal lost time. BPM's flexible designs enable users to track these changes in business
processes and refine them to suit the company's needs. As the processes evolve, precise documentation gives managers
the ability to see and predict the effect of changes on the overall business process.
o Increased Efficiency All companies face the challenge of making their business processes function more smoothly and
efficiently. Inefficient processes waste valuable time and money but are often difficult to identify and hard to change.
BPM practices are designed to pinpoint these inefficiencies and to eliminate the slowdowns they create. BPM allows
managers and workers a greater understanding of each step of the business process. This enhanced knowledge can
lead to new process solutions that avoid the bottlenecking of workflow and other needless redundancies. Ideally, BPM
can help determine how the process might work under optimal conditions, allowing users to make alterations to the
process with that goal in mind. BPM can also automate manual tasks to increase productivity and cut down on the
chance of human error.
o More Complete Visibility BPM uses refined software to track and monitor business processes from initiation to
completion. BPM allows for an ongoing register of automated processes, gauging the effectiveness of each step in real
time. Automated monitoring reveals the performance of each business process without relying on labor-intensive
manual techniques. By studying the performance of each step in the process, management can gain a better
understanding of the overall business activity, further enabling them to adapt or modify the flow of each business
process.
o Ensured Compliance and Security Rules and regulations affecting business productivity can create unnecessary
complications and result in costly fines. A company using BPM has a greater ability to create a workplace that is
compliant with changing regulations and secure against the threats of fraud or theft. Because each phase of the process
is mapped out with a detailed workflow, managers and users can ensure that all necessary documentation is in place
to meet compliance standards. In addition to assisting with compliance, the thoroughly documented workflow can
provide a framework for greater security. The organizational structure inherent in BPM practices foregrounds the
importance of business assets, private information and physical resources, safeguarding these from theft or loss.
o Increased Opportunities for Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement initiatives operate on the assumption
that businesses can be more successful by making a series of small, ongoing improvements rather than a sudden, top-
to-bottom change. The information that BPM gives a company regarding its various business processes encourages
process refinement and adaptation. BPM can ensure that the decisions governing these incremental changes are
backed by the evidence and data needed to assure success.
c) Basic Steps of Business Process Implementation

Step 1: Define Your Goals - At this stage, you will first define the basic purpose of the process as well as the reasons for
creating it.

Step 2: Plan and Map Your Process - Here you ruminate on effective strategies you can adopt to achieve the set goals and
what resources you need for this.

Step 3: Set Actions and Assign - People that will handle it Who are the best individuals to handle the tasks? What are the
machines they will need to execute the plan? These and more are what you will make decisions about here.

Step 4: Test the Process - The goal here is to first scrutinize the process at a low-key level and see how it fared.
Step 5: Implement the Process - If you are convinced with the results you get after testing the process, then it is time to
run it on a global level. At this stage, present the process to all those who will be handling the tasks and train them for
better results.

Step 6: Monitor the Results - Try reviewing the process and checking for any threats it may later bring and find a way to
mitigate the risk.

Step 7: Repeat - If you were able to achieve the set goals with the process, continue to replicate it and always track its
effectiveness and progress along the line.

Figure 2: Basic Step of Business Process Implementation.

d) Example of Business Process

INDUSTRY/FIRM BUSINESS PROCESS EXAMPLE


Order processing, engineering change control, product assembly, product
Manufacturing
line process, quality assurance, maintenance
Invoicing process, expense management process, risk management
Finance
process, the billing process, CapEX management
Health Medical assessment process, drug approval process, financial process.
Customer onboarding process, credit check process, the risk assessment
Banking
process, claims management
Agent billing, trip booking, leave management process, business travel
Travel
management process.
Procurement Purchasing, invoice reconciliation, account receivable
Advertising Cost estimating, project approval, cost reviewing
Product delivery process, product development process, the marketing
Sales and Marketing
research process, marketing metrics estimation
Table 1: Example of Business Process.

e) Type of Business Process


i. Management Process

The processes that plan, organize, coordinate and control all the functions of the business fall under management
processes. These processes are goal oriented. It includes helping and motivating your team to achieve their targets.
These processes also help in forming a direction for the further growth of your business. Regulating day to day tasks,
teaching employees how to complete a task effectively, launching a new product, etc. are some of the processes under
this category.

ii. Operations Process

These are the main functions of the business. These processes are directly related to the fundamental values, vision,
and mission of the business. They are also known as primary processes. You need to give extra attention to these
processes as they are the primary revenue streams of the company. Filling the gaps and adding necessary improvements
in these processes is essential. Once you complete the evaluation of these processes, it will have a direct impact on the
growth of your business.

E.g., McDonald’s restaurant’s operating process would be taking orders, making food, and serving it to the customers.

iii. Supporting Process

These are the processes that are not directly related to the delivery of the service or product to the customer. But they
help the business create an environment where the primary processes can work better. That is where the name
“supporting process” comes from. These are the processes under the accounting department, human resource
management department, and any other department that supports the main functions of the business.
4. Support Process
4.1. Definition

Support processes provide essential backing to the core business processes. They may not directly contribute to the creation
or delivery of the organization's key products or services, but without them, the core operations could falter. Support processes
typically encompass functions that maintain the smooth running of the organization, enabling other processes to deliver
optimal results.

4.2. Examples of Support Processes

Information Technology (IT) and Human Resources (HR) processes are the quintessential examples of support processes. They
exist not to directly drive the primary purpose of the company, but to facilitate and enhance the performance of those core
processes that do. IT processes ensure the seamless operation of the technological infrastructure, while HR processes focus on
staff recruitment, retention, development, and wellbeing – all crucial elements in ensuring that the company has the right
people, in the right roles, performing at their best.
Other examples of support processes include:

• Financial processes: These processes ensure that the organization's finances are managed effectively, including
accounting, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Procurement processes: These processes ensure that the organization has the necessary goods and services at
the right time and price.
• Logistics processes: These processes ensure that goods and services are delivered to customers in a timely and
efficient manner.
• Customer service processes: These processes ensure that customers receive the highest possible level of service.
4.3. Steps of Support Process

Figure 3: 5 steps of Support Process.

II. Differentiate between unstructured and semi-structured data within an organization. (M1)

The process of assessing structured or unstructured data and categorizing it based on file type, contents, and other information is
known as data classification. Data categorization enables companies to answer critical questions about their data, which in turn
influences how they reduce risk and manage data governance regulations. It can inform you where your most essential data is stored
or what kind of sensitive data your users generate the most frequently. To comply with contemporary data privacy standards,
comprehensive data categorization is required (but not sufficient).
Figure 4: Type of Data.

1. Structured Data

Structured data is known as quantitative data and is objective facts and numbers that analytics software can collect -- this type
of data is easy to export, store, and organize in a database such as Excel or SQL. Structured data is valuable because you can
gain insights into overarching trends by running the data through data analysis methods, such as regression analysis and pivot
tables.

Figure 5: Example of Structured Data.


2. Semi - Structured Data

Alternatively, semi-structured data does not conform to relational databases such as Excel or SQL, but nonetheless contains
some level of organization through semantic elements like tags. For instance, consider HTML, which does not restrict the
amount of information you can collect in a document, but enforces a certain hierarchy:

Figure 6: Semi-Structured Data.

3. Unstructured Data

From 80% to 90% of data generated and collected by organizations is unstructured, and its volumes are growing rapidly —
many times faster than the rate of growth for structured databases. Unstructured data stores contain a wealth of information
that can be used to guide business decisions. With the help of AI and machine learning, new software tools are emerging that
can search through vast quantities of it to uncover beneficial and actionable business intelligence.
Figure 7: Unstructured Data types.

LO2: Compare the tools and technologies associated with business intelligence functionality.
III. Compare the types of support available for business decision-making at varying levels within an organization.(P2)
1. The tools and technologies associated with business intelligence functionality.
a) Why use business intelligence tools?

To begin with, data discovery, which was previously restricted to the skills of advanced analytics professionals, is now
something that anybody can perform using these tools. Not only that, but these technologies provide you with the
information you need to achieve things like growth, handle pressing concerns, collect all of your data in one place,
estimate future results, and much more.

b) The tools and technologies


i. Python

Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language with dynamic semantics. Its high-level
built in data structures, combined with dynamic typing and dynamic binding, make it very attractive for Rapid
Application Development, as well as for use as a scripting or glue language to connect existing components together.
Python's simple, easy to learn syntax emphasizes readability and therefore reduces the cost of program
maintenance. Python supports modules and packages, which encourages program modularity and code reuse. The
Python interpreter and the extensive standard library are available in source or binary form without charge for all
major platforms and can be freely distributed.

o Advantages
• Easy to Read, Learn and Write - Python is a high-level programming language that has English-like syntax. This makes
it easier to read and understand the code. Python is easy to pick up and learn, that is why a lot of people recommend
Python to beginners. You need less lines of code to perform the same task as compared to other major languages
like C/C++ and Java.
• Improved Productivity - Python is a very productive language. Due to the simplicity of Python, developers can focus
on solving the problem. They don’t need to spend too much time understanding the syntax or behavior of the
programming language. You write less code and get more things done.
• Interpreted Language - Python is an interpreted language which means that Python directly executes the code line
by line. In case of any error, it stops further execution and reports back the error which has occurred. Python shows
only one error even if the program has multiple errors. This makes debugging easier.
• Dynamically Typed - Python doesn’t know the type of variable until we run the code. It automatically assigns the
data type during execution. The programmer doesn’t need to worry about declaring variables and their data types.
• Free and Open-Source - Python comes under the OSI approved open-source license. This makes it free to use and
distribute. You can download the source code, modify it and even distribute your version of Python. This is useful
for organizations that want to modify some specific behavior and use their version for development.
• Vast Libraries Support - The standard library of Python is huge, you can find almost all the functions needed for your
task. So, you don’t have to depend on external libraries. But even if you do, a Python package manager (pip) makes
things easier to import other great packages from the Python package index (PyPi). It consists of over 200,000
packages.
• Portability - In many languages like C/C++, you need to change your code to run the program on different platforms.
That is not the same with Python. You only write once and run it anywhere. However, you should be careful not to
include any system-dependent features.
o Disadvantages:
• Slow Speed - We discussed above that Python is an interpreted language and dynamically typed language. The line-
by-line execution of code often leads to slow execution. The dynamic nature of Python is also responsible for the
slow speed of Python because it must do extra work while executing code. So, Python is not used for purposes
where speed is an important aspect of the project.
• Not Memory Efficient - To provide simplicity to the developer, Python has to do a little tradeoff. The Python
programming language uses a large amount of memory. This can be a disadvantage while building applications
when we prefer memory optimization.
• Weak in Mobile Computing - Python is generally used in server-side programming. We don’t get to see Python on
the client-side or mobile applications because of the following reasons. Python is not memory efficient, and it has
slow processing power as compared to other languages.
• Database Access - Programming in Python is easy and stress-free. But when we are interacting with the database,
it is behind. The Python’s database access layer is primitive and underdeveloped in comparison to the popular
technologies like JDBC and ODBC. Huge enterprises need smooth interaction of complex legacy data and Python is
thus rarely used in enterprises.
• Runtime Errors - As we know Python is a dynamically typed language so the data type of a variable can change
anytime. A variable containing integer number may hold a string in the future, which can lead to Runtime Errors.
Therefore, Python programmers need to perform thorough testing of the applications.

Figure 8: Python Advantages and Disadvantages.


ii. Power BI

Power BI is a collection of software services, apps, and connectors that work together to turn your unrelated sources
of data into coherent, visually immersive, and interactive insights. Your data might be an Excel spreadsheet, or a
collection of cloud-based and on-premises hybrid data warehouses. Power BI lets you easily connect to your data
sources, visualize and discover what's important, and share that with anyone or everyone you want.

Figure 9: Process Flow of Power BI.

o Pros of Power BI
• Affordability - A major advantage of using Power BI for data analysis and visualization is that it is affordable and
relatively inexpensive. The Power BI Desktop version is free of cost. You can download and start using it to make
reports and dashboards on your computer. However, if you want to use more Power BI services and publish your
reports on the cloud, you can take the Power BI Cloud service solution for $9.99 per user per month. Thus, Power
BI is offered at a fair price as compared to other BI tools.
• Custom Visualizations - Power BI offers a wide range of custom visualizations i.e. visualizations made by developers
for a specific use. Custom visuals are available on Microsoft marketplace. In addition to the general set of
visualizations available you can use Power BI custom visualizations in your reports and dashboards.
• Excel Integration - In Power BI, you also have the option to upload and view your data in Excel. You can
select/filter/slice data in a Power BI report or dashboard and put it on Excel. You can then open Excel and view the
same data in tabular form in an Excel spreadsheet.
• Data Connectivity - Another major advantage of using Power BI as your data analysis tool is that you can import
data from a wide range of data sources. It offers data connectivity to data files (such as XML, JSON), Microsoft Excel,
SQL Server databases, Azure sources, cloud-based sources, online services such as Google Analytics, Facebook, etc.
• Prompt Updates - Power BI gets upgrades from Microsoft every month. Microsoft has made a user community
where users can upload their suggestions and tweaks about Power BI. The suggestions that get the most rating by
other users have a good chance of getting included in the next update of Power BI.
o Cons of Power BI
• Table Relationships - Power BI is good with handling simple relationships between tables in a data model. But, if
there are complex relationships between tables, that is, if they have more than one links between tables, Power
BI might not handle them well.
• Configuration of Visuals - In most cases, you might not feel the need to configure and optimize visualizations in
Power BI. But even if you do, Power BI does not provide many options to configure your visualizations as per your
requirements. Thus, users have limited options for what they can change in visuals.
• Crowded User Interface - The user interface of Power BI is often found crowded and bulky by the users. It is in the
sense that there are many icons of options that block the view of dashboard or report.
• Handling Large Data Volumes - Power BI has a limit of ingesting data at a time which is approximately 2 GBs of
data. If you wish to import and use data of even greater volumes, you need to extend your free version to a paid
version of Power BI.
• Complex to Understand and Master - Usually, Power BI is the easiest to use BI tool if you are using it simply to
import data and create reports. But Power BI is an entire suite having a lot of other interrelated tools.
iii. Tableau

Tableau is the most powerful, secure, and flexible end-to-end analytics platform for your data. Elevate people with
the power of data. Designed for the individual, but scaled for the enterprise, Tableau is the only business intelligence
platform that turns your data into insights that drive action.

Figure 10: Tableau

o Advantages of Tableau
▪ Data visualization - Tableau is a data visualization tool first and foremost. Therefore, it’s
technology is there to support complex computations, data blending and dashboarding
for the purpose of creating beautiful visualizations that deliver insights that cannot easily
be derived from staring at a spreadsheet. It has climbed to the top of the data visualization
heap because of it’s dedication to this purpose
▪ Quickly Create Interactive visualizations: Using drag-n-drop functionalities of Tableau, the
user can create a very interactive visual within minutes. The interface can handle endless
variations while also limiting you from creating charts that are against data visualization
best practices.
▪ Ease of Implementation: There are many different types of visualization options available
in Tableau which enhance the user experience. Also, Tableau is very easy to learn
compared to Python, Business Objects and Domo, anyone without having knowledge of
coding can easily learn Tableau.
▪ Tableau can handle large amounts of data: Tableau can handle millions of rows of data
with ease. Different types of visualization can be created with a large amount of data
without impacting the performance of the dashboards.
▪ Use of other scripting languages in Tableau: To avoid the performance issues and to do
complex table calculations in Tableau, users can incorporate Python or R. Using Python
script can take the load off the software by performing data cleansing tasks with
packages.
▪ Mobile Support and Responsive Dashboard: Tableau Dashboard has a great reporting
feature that allows you to customize dashboard specifically for a certain device such as a
mobile phone or laptop.
o Disadvantages of Tableau
▪ Scheduling or notification of reports: Tableau does not provide the feature of automatic
refreshing of the reports with the help of scheduling. There is no option of scheduling in
Tableau. Therefore, there is always some manual effort required when users need to
update the data in the back end.
▪ No Custom Visual Imports - Tableau is not a completely open tool. Unlike other tools like
Power BI, developers can create custom visuals that can be easily imported from Tableau.
So, any new visuals need to be recreated instead of imported.
▪ Custom formatting in Tableau: Tableau’s conditional formatting and limited 16 column
table displays are pain points for users. Also, to implement the same formatting to
multiple fields there is no way a user can do that for all fields directly.
▪ Static and single value parameters: Tableau’s parameters are static and always single
value can be selected using a parameter. Whenever the data gets changed, these
parameters need to be updated manually every time.
▪ Screen Resolution on Tableau Dashboards: The layout of the dashboards gets disturbed if
the tableau developer’s screen resolution is different from end user’s screen resolution
for example if the dashboards have been created in a screen resolution of 1920X1080 and
are being viewed in 2560X1440 then the layout of the dashboards will get distorted a little
bit.
2. Levels of Management Decision Making
2.1. Definition

Decision making is the process of making choices by identifying a decision, gathering information, and assessing alternative
resolutions. Using a step-by- step decision-making process can help you make more deliberate, thoughtful decisions by
organizing relevant information and defining alternatives.

2.2. 7 Steps of Effectives Decision Making


• Step 1: Identify the decision - You realize that you need to decide. Try to clearly dene the nature of the decision you
must make. This first step is very important.
• Step 2: Gather relevant information - Collect some pertinent information before you make your decision: what
information is needed, the best sources of information, and how to get it. This step involves both internal and
external “work.” Some information is internal: you’ll seek it through a process of self-assessment. Other information
is external: you’ll find it online, in books, from other people, and from other sources.
• Step 3: Identify the alternatives - As you collect information, you will probably identify several possible paths of
action, or alternatives. You can also use your imagination and additional information to construct new alternatives.
In this step, you will list all possible and desirable alternatives.
• Step 4: Weigh the evidence - Draw on your information and emotions to imagine what it would be like if you carried
out each of the alternatives to the end. Evaluate whether the need identified in Step 1 would be met or resolved
using each alternative. As you go through this di-cult internal process, you’ll begin to favor certain alternatives:
those that seem to have a higher potential for reaching your goal. Finally, place the alternatives in a priority order,
based upon your own value system.
• Step 5: Choose among alternatives Once you have weighed all the evidence, you are ready to select the alternative
that seems to be the best one for you. You may even choose a combination of alternatives. Your choice in Step 5
may very likely be the same or similar to the alternative you placed at the top of your list at the end of Step 4.
• Step 6: Take action - You’re now ready to take some positive action by beginning to implement the alternative you
chose in Step 5.
• Step 7: Review your decision & its consequences - In this final step, consider the results of your decision and evaluate
whether or not it has resolved the need you identified in Step 1. If the decision has not met the identified need, you
may want to repeat certain steps of the process to make a new decision. For example, you might want to gather
more detailed or somewhat different information or explore additional alternatives.

Figure 11: 7- Steps to Effective Decision Making.


2.3. Type of Decision Making

Figure 12: 3 Decision Making.

2.3.1. Strategic decision making

Strategic decision-making refers to when a business bases its shorter-term decisions on the longer-term vision for the
direction of the organization. This method typically entails using small, quantifiable goals that contribute to its overall
mission. Managers typically make strategic decisions regarding high-level factors that are crucial to the success of an
organization, for instance, budget, structure, and potential risk. Successful strategic decision-making is usually a
collaborative process that involves a leadership team and even team members and company employees, depending on
the context.

Example of Strategic decision making: A dog food company's mission is to sell the healthiest dog food in the country.
The company director notices their customers prefer high-quality freshly prepared food instead of cheaper dog food
sold in larger amounts, although they're similar in terms of nutritional value. To guide the future of the company to suit
the evolving tastes of their customers, the director alters their product line to focus on high-quality, freshly prepared
dog food. While the products have a shorter shelf-life, they also result in an increased profit margin because dog owners
will pay a higher price for freshly prepared food.

➢ This is an example of a strategic decision. The director of the dog food company decided to alter the
company's product line to focus on higher-quality foods that cost more, considering the evolving needs
of its customers. If the company's mission was to be the top supplier of low-priced dog food, then it
wouldn't make strategic sense to prioritize fresh ingredients. Sourcing cheaper ingredients with a longer
shelf life would align more with the company mission.
2.3.2. Tactical decision making

Tactical decisions translate strategic decisions into action. Tactical decisions are more straightforward and less complex
than strategic-level decisions. They are decisions taken by middle level management that are usually semi-structured.
When they are in alignment with your company’s core values or its overall mission, tactical decisions add even more
value to the outcomes of the implementation. Conversely, if tactical decisions become detached from the company’s
direction, you and your employees end up expending a lot of effort on tasks that don’t help the company achieve its
goals or vision.

Example of Tactical decision making:

• Setting pricing and promotional strategies for products and services.

• Allocating resources (people, money, and time) to various projects.

• Developing new product or service offerings.

• Establishing performance objectives and standards.

2.3.3. Operational decision making

Operational decisions are short-term choices that are typically made on a weekly, daily, or hourly basis. They are
primarily concerned with operational details, daily resource allocation, inventory control, and delivery routing to
maximize product flow along biomass-based production chains. Due to the changing internal and external conditions
of supply chains and related activities, operational decisions might be changed and amended often.
Examples of Operational Decisions that Businesses make:

• Monthly and daily forecasts to determine the demand from end users.

• Determining the deadline for satisfying demand and analyzing the variances between lead time and deadline.

• Scheduling and planning for daily and weekly production.

• Assigning a cargo of biomass products or sources to a certain method of transportation and vehicle.

• Routes and timetables for daily and weekly deliveries, fleet management.

• Keeping track of supply shortfalls and backlogs, planning additional daily and weekly operations to address the
shortages.

• Control and replenishment of inventories every day and every week.

• Scheduling the work and keeping shifts.

3. Compare the various degrees of assistance provided for business decision making inside a company.
3.1. Strategic Decision

Strategic decision making requires determining the optimal path to achievement. For example, if you are starting a new
company, you must consider factors such as cost, time, and target market. How do you sort through decisions to find the
best solution? Strategic decision making will assist you in developing an action plan and aligning your short-term goals with
the big picture. Strategic decision making is different from day-to-day decisions from a management standpoint. As a
manager, you must allocate tasks, communicate goals to team members or external stakeholders, and account for
uncertainties. The judgments you make apply not only to you but also to the entire company. You should practice making
objective decisions, free from bias and prejudice.

3.2. Tactical Decision

According to Blue Collar University, tactical decision making is an approach to business in which decisions are made with
the aim of ensuring the success of the company. This implies that the company makes decisions that contribute to its long-
term viability, profitability, and continued progress in all areas of its operations. Tactical decision making involves the big
picture. the whole scene as well as the here and now. According to Chron.com Small Business, while making tactical
decisions, the entire company is involved. Tactical decision making allows a company to evaluate its infrastructure and
operations and make changes when necessary. A tactical decision is made when the board considers the facts presented
and selects an immediate course of action with the intention of accomplishing a specific objective that will provide direct
benefits. directly and immediately for most people. According to Business Case Studies, despite the fact that they involve
many individuals and departments, tactical options have limited impact in the event of failure because they can be
corrected, and fixed or modified relatively quickly.

3.3. Operational Decision

A form of short-term option exercised by a company instead of long-term plans while acquiring the company's assets. These
issues relate to the day-to-day operations of the company and therefore must be handled before any major strategic issues.
Activity options are often quite detailed and clear. Although individual operational decisions have little lasting or significant
impact on the organization, they direct the implementation of strategic and tactical strategies. The operations manager is
responsible for responding to the company's executives regarding the operational choices made by the operations
manager.

IV. Justify, with specific examples, the key features of business intelligence functionality.
1. Key Business Intelligence Features
a) Executive dashboards

A personalized business intelligence dashboard delivers relevant, easily understood real-time data to business leaders,
enabling faster and better decision-making whilst lowering response times to internal and external events. Executives need
access to personalized dashboards that deliver easy-to-understand KPIs and summary information on a regular, scheduled
basis. Why? Because personalized BI dashboards allow executives and business users alike to quickly and easily see the
data that is important to them, and make critical decisions based on that information. More importantly, they can
consistently stay up-to-date on their company's performance, all without having to sift through a pile of reports.
b) Location intelligence

Location intelligence is the ability to map and visualize data in geographical formats. It provides a real-time data stream
that tracks the geographic location of customers, which can be a powerful tool for businesses. With location intelligence,
BI users can understand the patterns and trends in customer behavior, which can help them make better decisions about
marketing and sales. Exploring and visualizing data sets based on spatial elements enables organizations to understand
their business operations from new perspectives, such as sales per region.

c) “What if” analysis

“What if” analysis allows businesses to assess the potential effects of critical business decisions before they’re actually
made. Using existing data, users can formulate strategies to achieve business targets and avoid the default “hit and miss”
approach. This helps management undertake accurate strategic planning. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to
simulate future scenarios and determine the potential effects of different actions. This type of analysis can help businesses
make informed decisions about their operations and future. Predictive analytics can also help businesses understand
customer behavior and predict future trends.

d) Interactive reports

Interactive reports help users convert data into knowledge. They allow users to better understand the analysis within
reports, and the underlying data those reports are based on, to support better decision-making. User should be able to:

• Drill down and through reports.


• Conduct slice and dice OLAP analysis.
• Apply analysis such as moving averages and regression to highlight trends in data.
• Use time-series zooming to scan large data sets to understand anomalies in their data.
• Use conditional formatting to set data alerts which highlight data exceptions.

e) Ranking reports

This feature allows you to create reports that order specific categories of information, from across multiple dimensions, by
selecting specific criteria. Ranking reports let you view the best and worst performing aspects of your business. For
example, you could create a report that ranks your top salaries. This is where ranking reports can allow businesses to
automatically rank different data sets in order of specific importance and enable their end-users to identify which data sets
need more attention quickly and easily.

Figure 13: Ranking Report.

f) Cross-platform compatibility

Not only should a BI solution be compatible with a variety of different platforms, but a key feature of BI solutions is the
ability to easily share data between different platforms. This allows businesses to more easily share data between different
departments and collaborate on projects.
2. Tools for applying for scenario.
 Applying Python for BI
2.1. Pandas and Numpy.

Pandas is a very popular library for working with data (its goal is to be the most powerful and flexible open-source tool, and in
our opinion, it has reached that goal). DataFrames are at the center of pandas. A DataFrame is structured like a table or
spreadsheet. The rows and the columns both have indexes, and you can perform operations on rows or columns separately. A
pandas DataFrame can be easily changed and manipulated. Pandas have helpful functions for handling missing data,
performing operations on columns and rows, and transforming data. If that wasn’t enough, a lot of SQL functions have
counterparts in pandas, such as join, merge, filter by, and group by. With all of these powerful tools, it should come as no
surprise that pandas are very popular among data scientists.

NumPy is an open-source Python library that facilitates efficient numerical operations on large quantities of data. There are a
few functions that exist in NumPy that we use on pandas DataFrames. For us, the most important part about NumPy is that
pandas is built on top of it. So, NumPy is a dependency of Pandas.

Figure 14: Numpy and Pandas.


Figure 15: Result run Pandas and Numpy.

2.2. Matplotlib and Seaborn.

Matplotlib is a Python library used for plotting graphs with the help of other libraries like Numpy and Pandas. It is a powerful
tool for visualizing data in Python. It is used for creating statical inferences and plotting 2D graphs of arrays. It was first
introduced by John D. Hunter in 2002. It uses Pyplot for providing MATLAB like interface free and open-source. It is capable of
dealing with various operating systems and their graphical backends.

Seaborn is also a Python library used for plotting graphs with the help of Matplotlib, Pandas, and Numpy. It is built on the roof
of Matplotlib and is considered as a superset of the Matplotlib library. It helps in visualizing univariate and bivariate data. It
uses beautiful themes for decorating Matplotlib graphics. It acts as an important tool in picturing Linear Regression Models. It
serves in making graphs of statical Time-Series data. It eliminates the overlapping of graphs and also aids in their beautification.
Figure 16: Matplotlib and Seaborn.

Figure 17: Applying Matplotlib into Company.


2.3. Scikit-learn.

Scikit-learn (Sklearn) is the most useful and robust library for machine learning in Python. It provides a selection of efficient
tools for machine learning and statistical modeling including classification, regression, clustering and dimensionality reduction
via a consistence interface in Python. This library, which is largely written in Python, is built upon NumPy, SciPy and Matplotlib.

Figure 18: Applying Scikit - Learn into Project.


References
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