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Final Blog Post: Reflections

  In the second half of this final module we did some very interesting network analysis with Gephi. Going through Assignment 4 I learned a lot about how to analyze a network and bring together both the visual aspect and the metrics. Gephi is a very powerful and user-friendly tool for those starting out with network analysis. Based on this experience I am eager to do more network analysis in the future. I can also now see the excitement that one feels when they uncover something unexpected in a network or can repurpose data to break down a different problem.  Reflecting on this course, I’m very happy that I shuffled my classes to make sure I could take it. I feel that I have learned so much and have a lot of great insights to take forward. Sometimes I have found that I learn a little bit of a topic or how to use a certain tool but then I don’t use it and I quickly forget. In this course, based on the assignments and the continual reflection I feel that I have retained more and ...
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Module 3 Part 1 - You've Got to Network to.....well.....lots of things

 Hi Everyone,  I feel that the class is getting more and more interesting. I really enjoyed the material this week about Networks and Network Properties. While I have looked at networks a little in my past experience this has been my formal introduction to the content.  We start with the basic concept of networks (vertices and nodes, weighted vs unweighted, directed vs undirected) and move into node characteristics such as centrality. I think that these principals are fundamental to understanding networks. Only when we understand the core concepts of networks can we use them to discover fresh insights.  It is very interesting to immediately start thinking of yourself as a node (as least I did) and how you fit in to a network.  The most interesting reading coming out of this week for me was the Easley and Kleinberg book, Chapter 3 on Strong and Weak ties. It’s very interesting to see how the structure of a network can so easily be changed by a bridge and the bene...
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Model 2 Post - Let's Get Analytical

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 Hi Everyone,  This has been hands down my favorite module of the course so far. I'm coming out of this week energized and excited to see what's next.  In this module we focused on Web Analytics, Google Analytics and Google Adwords. We looked at some of the important metics to use in Web Analytics in terms of both KPIs and Task Completion Rates. We then took a deeper look at Google Analytics and some of the main functionality it provides for users.  I think that I was better prepared for this assignment as it closer aligns with both my previous experience and my interests. I previously worked in Ecommerce, so going through this Assignment for the Google Merchandise Store was a fun throw-back experience for me. I never used Google Analytics before and it is extremely intuitive. It was very easy to follow and provided clear insights.  I had fun digging into the different areas and learning about customer segments, product sales, task completion rates and conversio...
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Module 1 Post -- Scorecards, Schemas and Dashboards. Oh my!

I've having one of those moments where I feel like we have covered so much in this module but at the same time it's all very synthesizable to a few major take-aways. I think that is what is making this course so enjoyable. It is easy to bring together the different concepts not only through the coursework but in examples, at least for me, at work.  In this module we began by examining the balanced scorecard and looked at ways that it could be applied to a business case such as Southwest. The balanced scorecard helps companies focus their attention on the things that will take them to the next level by breaking down KPIs in four categories.  We then moved on to data warehouse design and worked with a practice case for the star schema. What is the optimal way to store your data? How do you want to access it? And how is this structure likely to change in the future.  Finally we covered dashboards and how to create easy to understand visualizations that can be used to inform ...
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Blog 1: Introduction and Module 0

Hi Everyone,  My name is Julia and I’m very happy to be in the course with all of you. From my brief scanning of your posts I can tell that there is so much I can learn from you and your diverse backgrounds. This course is my last in the Master of MIS program. I have really enjoyed the MIS program overall and am happy to be closing it out with a Business Intelligence course. I also received my bachelor’s from the U of A, majoring in MIS and Marketing.  I am a Product Manager in the SaaS Human Capital Management (HCM) space. While I don’t work with Big Data on a regular basis, I am very interested in learning more about how it can be used in my role to inform product decisions and better serve customer needs. Our customers generate a lot of data within our system that we want to put to use in future projects in the realm of machine learning, predictive analytics and natural workspaces.  Big Data is a really interesting topic to me as I am drawn in by the nearly endless pos...
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