Automation and the use of technological tools have resulted in the accumulation of vast volumes of data by modern business organisations. Data warehouses have been set up as repositories to store this data and improved techniques now result in the speedy collection and integration of such data. OLAP technology has resulted in the faster generation of reports and more flexible analysis based on the data repositories. Business intelligence (BI) can be considered as the art of exploring and analysing this data, extracting relevant information and identifying patterns, and turning such information and patterns into knowledge upon which actions can be taken. This unit will explore the concepts of BI, including the emergence of BI and factors influencing BI, technology requirements for BI and will provide hands on experience on designing and building business intelligence systems.
2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk
Students will be expected to spend a total of 12 hours per week during semester on this unit as follows:
One of FIT1004, FIT2010, FIT1013, BUS1010, BUS3112, CSE2316, CSE3316
Damminda Alahakoon
Sumith Matharage
Consultation hours: To be advised
Hiran Ganegedera, Consultation hours: To be advised
Examination (2 hours): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 - SQL Server and Data Warehousing | 20% | Week 7 |
| Assignment 2 - Data Mining | 20% | Week 12 |
| Examination 1 | 60% | To be advised |
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through SETU, Student Evaluation of Teacher and Unit. The University's student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash's educational strategy, and on student evaluations, see:
http://www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/directions.html
http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
Prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library.
Brian Larson. (2009). Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2008. (2009) McGraw Hill.
Michael J. A. Berry and Gordon Linoff. (2011). Data Mining Techniques: For Marketing, Sales, and Customer Relationship Management. (2) John Wiley & Sons.
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 | |
| 1 | Introduction to Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing | |
| 2 | The Dimensional Data Warehouse | |
| 3 | Data Cubes and Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) | Assignment 1 available to students Week 3 |
| 4 | Guest Lecture | |
| 5 | Applying the Dimensional Model with Microsoft BI Tools | |
| 6 | MDX for Complex Analysis | |
| 7 | Introduction to Business Data Mining and the Customer Life Cycle | Assignment 1 due Week 7 |
| 8 | Data Mining Techniques 1 | |
| 9 | Data Mining Techniques 2 | Assignment 2 available to students Week 9 |
| 10 | Data Exploration and Mining with Microsoft Tools | |
| 11 | Delivering BI and Performance Management | |
| 12 | Revision | Assignment 2 due Week 12 |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your MUSO (Blackboard or Moodle) learning system.
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/unit-assessment-hurdles.html)
Correctness and understanding - as there may be more than one "right" answer in many cases we will look for answers that reflect understanding of the underlying principles and theories.
Completeness and presentation - that you have answered all parts of each question and presented your answers in a suitably formatted report style.
Use of evidence and argument - you are able to explain your position by using logical argument drawing on the theory presented in the unit.
Correctness and understanding - as there may be more than one "right" answer in many cases we will look for answers that reflect understanding of the underlying principles and theories.
Completeness and presentation - that you have answered all parts of each question and presented your answers in a suitably formatted report style.
Use of evidence and argument - you are able to explain your position by using logical argument drawing on the theory presented in the unit.
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an online quiz).
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/equity/special-consideration.html.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University's academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them.
You can find Monash's Education Policies at:
http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Key educational policies include:
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at www.monash.edu.au/students. For Sunway see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/
The Monash University Library provides a range of services and resources that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Sunway, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.
Academic support services may be available for students who have a disability or medical condition. Registration with the Disability Liaison Unit is required. Further information is available as follows: