Three stages of analysis

- [Instructor] There is a ton of hype and a ton of buzzwords surrounding data analysis. Big data, machine learning, predictive modeling, and optimization are a few that come to mind. But for the average layperson, I think these terms are more confusing than helpful. The truth is that 90% of businesses today are not in a position to even think about optimization or predictive modeling. For them, focusing on these buzzwords will just lead to frustration. For this reason, I like talking about the three stages of analytics. The first stage is called descriptive analytics. And this type of analytics is by far the most common. With this type of analysis, you look back at your historical trends to uncover useful insights. Now, this might sound simple, but your historical data sources are packed full of insights that you can use to take action. For example, you might notice that your sales data has a seasonal nature to it.…