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BIMS Program Reflection

Business Intelligence Master of Science Degree, I am very proud of my accomplishment. December 19th, 2014 marks the day when my professional journey in the Business Intelligence Field has begun. In the beginning of the program I did not expect that upon completion of the program that not only would my knowledge be expanded but also my life would be completely different. I have transformed into a data-driven analyst that currently on contract at Universal Orlando Resort. As a graduate you can only dream of obtaining your degree in one hand and a job in the other and I would like to say to whomever is reading this post that it is truly a wonderful feeling.

While compiling my capstone project this year, I developed a passion for market research. Focusing my efforts on the retail grocer industry I was able to identify business problems for my selected company and provide a data driven solution designed to increase sales and customer satisfaction.  In addition to market research, I’ve also increased my leadership skills by conducting self-assessments that identify critical areas of professionalism such as emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Looking forward, I’ve enrolled myself in additional courses after graduation that teaches me how to formulate context-relevant questions and hypotheses to drive data scientific research, identify, obtain, and transform a data set to make it suitable for the production of statistical evidence communicated in written form and build models based on new data types, experimental design, and statistical inference. Also, I plan on learning R programming and content strategy to significantly improve my abilities to understand audiences and develop strategic words, pictures, graphics, and videos to convey my organization’s most important goals.

- Jonathan

  Lastly, I would like to leave a message for my readers. If you are considering pursuing higher education and the Business Intelligence Master of Science program at Full Sail University is something that your interested in please don’t hesitate to contact administration for assistance. The program is great and the instructors are very intelligent, they will challenge you to become a life long learning regardless of your current experience level. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post and I wish you the best in your personal journey to mastery.

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Business Intelligence Case Study

Case Study No. I

This month in the Business Intelligence Case Study course we were able to review several case studies that offered very detailed information. Beginning with Johnson & Johnson’s traumatic experience in 1982, several customers were poisoned due to tampering with Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol product. The product was laced with cyanide and it put the company in a compromising position. The fear of loosing their strong customer base over night was enormous. However, despite such terrible business problems, the company’s leadership was able to identify root causes to the issues and discovered that capsules type pharmaceutical drugs run the risk of being tampered and replaced them with branded tablets variations that reduce the ability to disguise and manipulate the original Tylenol product. Johnson & Johnson’s successful responses to malicious attack on their customers was swift and efficient, they manage to turn a problem into an innovative solution and seized the opportunity to introduce to the market a new product.

Case Study No. II

The next business case that we studied was Carnival Cruise Line and the travel industry. We learned techniques to identify business problems such as root cause analysis and GAP analysis. Carnival Cruise Lines is an industry leader that was experiencing problems with managing their costumers’ data. The problem was that Travel agencies accounted for 85% of customer bookings and was the first point of contact for data gathering on customers. This problem left Carnival with a database that was less than effective and limited their marketing and sales strategies. One of the key initiatives for Carnival was to leverage existing BI tools and restructuring their existing POS systems to collect additional information on customers during purchasing transitions. In order to reduce such a expensive cost associated with travel agency commissions, Carnival needed to gain back direct booking power.

Conclusion

Highlights from this month for me are gaining a solid foundation using Gap Analysis, Cost Benefits Analysis, and conducting in-depth research to develop my capstone project. I have learned a lot multiple BI tools to meet the demands of my company’s business needs and requirements. Moving forward in my career, I see myself going back to root cause analysis when identifying issues within a company whether it’s involving leadership, culture, or project based. I will keep the technique I’ve learned this month in mind to solve problems time and time again throughout my career. 

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Business Intelligence Leadership and Communication

Business intelligence Leadership and Communication

  This course successfully injected a deeper understanding of my professional image in so many ways. Inspired by the material, I decided to purchase the hard copy version of the book to read at my convenience in addition to the eBook provided. I found that there is also an application that one can use to put the concepts into practice. 

In the book by James Kouzes  “The Leadership Challenge’ It stated, Progress is not made in giant leaps; it’s made incrementally. Exemplary leaders move forward in small steps with little victories. They turn adversity into advantage, setbacks into successes. They persevere with grit and determination. (Kouzes 156) GRIT is simply the strength of character and the courage to resolve. During the Mastery: Leadership and Development course in the beginning of our program we conducted an initial GRIT assessment and I scored very high, however now I have the tools to structure a plan to get better at my weaknesses.

This month we had an overview of five exemplary practices of leadership. Model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart; these practices involves to a life long journey to mastery in that I am prepared to model.

Final Statements

Great news! I have been selected to work for a wonder company here in the local Orlando area. This course came into my life at the right moment; I now walk into my office with “super powers” knowing that I have the tools to exceed the expectations of my employer. I carry myself with a refreshed knowledge of self and how to inspire a shared vision. Fortunately for me, my colleagues also carry the spirit of the leadership challenge and conduct themselves almost as if they too were reading the book.

Looking ahead, I am very pleased with the BIMS program here at Full Sail University and will continue to finish the program strong knowing that I have made the best out of my investment in pursuing a graduate degree in Business Intelligence.

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Data Visualization & Creative Reporting

Data Visualization and Creative Reporting was an amazing course. This month I was able to take the time to focus on the impact of my visualizations. Everything that I had in mind about design creation was mostly accurate prior to the start of the course. However, the textbook provided enabled students to dive deeper in to aesthetics of visualization and design & development considerations such as, how to define your audience, data mapping, visualizing spatial relationships and more.

  Breath of Fresh Air: Acquired Skills

Conducting research to complete each assignment this month enabled me to get a concrete definition to regression analysis and correlations that can confidently articulate to my audience. Online courses can be very complex however, I was able to train myself on IBM’s SPSS software and the video tutorials provided by Lynda.com gave further explanation to the statistical analysis techniques that we’ve previously explored. Unfortunately, I was unable to submit an assignment using the software since it was a trail based subscription and I needed time to learn the program prior to applying my new skills, however I do plan on using it for my upcoming capstone project. In particular, I am anxious to discover information that was once unknown and now found, using scatter plot matrices. Scatter-plot Matrices was introduced to me during SPSS training and is a wonderful way to tackle large volumes of data and get a quick snapshot of relationships by adding regression lines. This skill has given me a starting point for story telling through visualization that will open up interesting discussions.

  Moving Forward

I am excited that my capstone experience is approaching. I spent countless hours learning mew skills and technologies throughout this program and I feel that I am going to submit a professional capstone project that my instructors will be proud of. Knowing my background, I have come a long way and every bit of my submission and future success stories is a testimony to the fact that the BIMS program here at Full Sail University is outstanding!

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Process Modeling and Analysis

We began this course by opening the Model & Simulation (MS) Theory/Toolbox. MS is a dynamic system the designs and develop a business process infrastructure in various domains. Our instructor selected a great book that was able to support beginner to intermediate knowledge on the subject matter. We developed knowledge on the four phases of the M&S development Model, Code, Execute, and Analyze to the application of Monte Carlo Simulation, Discrete-Event Simulations and Dynamic Systems.

The course offered foundational knowledge on technical terms utilized in the business that enabled students to structure our models given the appropriate fidelity, validity, resolution and process specific scalability requirements to optimize our models.

Course discussions along with independent research yielded interesting information on human behavior modeling. During the course I was able to acquire knowledge outside my industry of choice (retail) and find out how one can model human behaviors found in the medical industry. Medical case studies researched offered in-depth analysis of seasoned pediatric nurses versus newly hired nurses and their unique ability to respond to newborn babies symptoms.  After completion of this discussion, I quickly developed an additional source of inspiration for BI that will lead me towards the successful completion of the BIMS program here at Full Sail University.

We’ve also learned about Recognition-Primed Decision Model and how to incorporate risk averse criteria by way of utility functions. Next, I learned how to develop additional considerations to take into account such as subjective expected utility (SEU), which uses both subjective probabilities about the uncertainty of an outcome and a decision maker’s propensity for risk for that outcome. SEU will help me in my future analysis because it will always remind me to ask myself if there any additional variables to consider before final recommendations are made.

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PRT Course Reflection

  Introduction

This course was filled with valuable information. We covered topics such as evaluating a brand, online community network analysis, stock market terminology and more. Continuing on with the blueprint of this program, the Patterns & Recognition course contributed to our data collection skills by focusing on parsing data from HTML and flat files such as PDF’s. This method of collecting data struck a light bulb in my head and supported the design of my capstone project.

  Parsing Data

Although scraping data can reduce countless hours of data collection, data management could still be prolonged, as not all data is clean. This month we explored a real world scenario where we had to parse data from a magazine in effort to analyze data on the top 50 fast food chain restaurants and there were hours of clean up work required maintaining data integrity.

  Course Critique

Patterns & Recognition delivered structured assignments with additional resources to support each student. I was impressed with the knowledge my instructor provided and he was very helpful in regards to questions pertaining to further techniques for data collection that was valuable in the development of my capstone project. Moving further, I will forever view social media in a new light. I once was just like everyone else aimlessly posting on online communities my thoughts and life events however, I now see it from a data analyst prospective and that is that all online communities are vast repositories of data.

  Conclusion

While reviewing resources provided in week three, I stumbled upon John C. Maxwell video on YouTube that talked about leadership. I find it interesting how life guides you through events that correlate to each other. After viewing this video I immediately purchased his book named “21 irrefutable laws of leadership.” Part of becoming an expert in the field of BI, I believe is to possess a deep-rooted foundation in leadership and emotional intelligence. I plan on taking each step along the way as an opportunity for personal and professional growth and piece together my destiny.

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BIN Course Reflection

The Data Mining course was a breath of fresh air. This month I was able to display knowledge that I have accumulated throughout the program. Since day one I was eager to impress my instructor and to gain a deeper understanding of what data mining was all about. Prior to enrollment I did not fully understand the definition of data mining, but today I can say that I have a good understanding of data mining and the value it brings to knowledge discovery.

Our assignments were challenging and stressed the importance of authoritative resources and professional writing. Inspired by my instructors advanced knowledge in each subject; I decided to dig deeper into my strengths.  One assignment in particular that interest me involved business intelligence application in social networks and instantaneously I was excited to conduct research. Connecting with my passion, this assignment opened my eyes to a new interest in BI, which was data mining social network databases.

We learned more about commercial data mining product as well as free programs available that assist in data mining such as R programming. Each tool discovered this month lured me into a world of technology that was waiting for me upon graduation. Classification and regression data mining techniques where covered this month. There are two of the most popular data mining technique since they are they are easier to understand and business users appreciate when complex data can be simplified. I also got the chance to gain experience using Tableau Public, MicroStrategy desktop, and QlikView. Discovering that tableau was the right fit for my workflow, I decided to make it BI tool of choice.

This course ended with our summer break beginning and I am going to continue my education throughout the break by reviewing tutorials on Lynda.com and practicing programming by visiting a website provided our the program director Mr. Burrows.

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About me

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BIA Course Reflection

This month in Business Intelligence Analytic I learned a great deal of information. We covered the following topics

Frequency distributions

Quantitative and qualitative graphs

Probability

Sampling distributions

Descriptive & inferential statistics

Statistical quality control

Decision making under risk & uncertainty

  The knowledge gained through the topics covered in the textbook provided the tools and resources need to conduct weekly project consisting of data analysis, forecast and predictive modeling, decision making at CEO level and statistical quality control. Although challenging I personally motivated by the challenge of conducting research and discovering new concepts and technologies that will put me further ahead in knowledge of business intelligence. Designing reports on the various topics gave me the chance to dig deeper into the functionality of business owners and the dilemmas that they encounter. I also learn how important it is to develop strong arguments with advanced visualizations when presenting data in order to make your point stand out easier for the audience. Analytics is a area in BI that will take many years to achieve an expertise level since there is a vast amount of business statistics involved along with so many variables in each industry that we must consider. Since I am a visual learner, I found translating raw data in advanced visualizations exciting. I learned the value of higher-level data and how to communicate solutions for a given decision dilemma. Microsoft excel and Visio was my BI tools of choice this month and I developed a workflow that helped my get around data in tables almost 3Xs faster than I was able to when the course began. This speed will help me quickly analyze data and produce charts and diagrams efficiently in future course in the program. Lastly, I noticed an improvement in my peers’ quality of work produced in discussion board post and their contribution motivated my to look deeper into my contribution in the discussion board.

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Business Intelligence Technologies

              Business Intelligence Technology was and excellent course! Mr. Taylor was a straightforward instructor with high expectations and standards in regards to assignment submissions. This course provided me with another look at the in-depth research that will be expected on a BI Practitioner in the future. As the weeks past by, I began to enjoy the search for additional resources and I learned the value of time management and authoritative content.

            Data mining was a topic that interest me prior to enrolling in this program and this month we touched on the subject and I have finally clarified the definition of data mining and that is “ The process of automatically discovering useful information in large data repositories”.  With key words being automatically and large data repositories, I have now gained an understanding of what is data mining and what is not data mining. I am looking forward to our upcoming data-mining course to obtain further knowledge on the subject matter and add to my knowledge in Business Intelligence Technologies.

            This month we also looked into Pentaho BI Suite and analyzed the capabilities of the suite. During this assignment I also learned the value of Gartner Magic Quadrant reports in the Business Intelligence industry. Although a niche brand Pentaho is well on their way to becoming innovators due to their open source analytic capabilities which was discussed in the Gartner report as a key feature in the future of BI.

            In conclusion, this month’s Business Intelligence Course meet my expectations and was very helpful in setting the building blocks for success in the Business Intelligence Master of Science Program here at Full Sail University. As the months are passing by, I am beginning to translate BI terminology into simplified concepts that is easy for me to understand, which has made me more confident and creative when created reports.

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Enterprise Data Management

This month’s Enterprise Data Management course was a suspenseful journey. Structured with assignments geared to promote self-driven individual’s conceptual capabilities. However, more time needed so be spent on concepts in virtual classrooms to ensure that the design & development of an enterprise data warehouse solution was comprehensive enough through verbal interaction. Most of our time spend in this course was reading out of the textbooks. Unfortunately, online training environments are inevitably structured this way.  Distance learning will train some of the most promising students, due to the amount of competency that is expected of you prior to enrollment, whether as an undergraduate or graduate student, many challenges exist.

The number one thing that I learned about myself in this course is that, my intuition that influenced me to enroll in this degree program is coming to life and my strengths are beginning to align with a data driven career path. This month I must spend countless hours researching and putting together connections between the data, knowledge and information gained to provide businesses with better solutions. This is a skill set that I have been practicing in my normal life events throughout the years but never attached a technical or professional title to it.

In the beginning of this program I was approached by a friend who had questions about her business and I spoke to her and communicated my perceptions and suggestions. After about 30 minutes to an hour later, she asked, so what exactly do you do in your college program, so I begun to talk about BI and she looked at me and smiled and said… “So, what you are doing now, and I should be paying you”. We laughed and continued talking, meanwhile a light bulb went off in my head about the direction that this BI program is taking me and relating it to my life’s mission and instantly I was filled with joy.  In conclusion, I have recently been contacted by an employer for an internship program and looking forward to developing my skills further and applying what I have learned from school toward businesses global operations.

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Foundations of Business Intelligence Reflection

This course was excellent! Initially I viewed BI in a simplified manner, not knowing the amount of planning and preparation that was involved with the whole process. Intuition directed me to this field but now it is clear that I am in the right field that will allow me to provide a combination of structured information and unstructured information towards improving an organizations business. Completion of this the foundations of business intelligence course has set the tone for the rest of the program and in my opinion was perfectly delivered to the students. It was fair and conducive to learning. Basic understanding of business intelligence and its core processes was shared in our textbook by Rajiv Sabherwal. I learned many things from this book but the one piece of information that remains in my head is a better understanding of the reality that building a BI case for an organization will not be easy, I am excited about the many ways that I can deliver a presentation by use of Visio and other graphical tools in order to create diagrams to express how BI “can and will” lead an organization towards increased profits and enhance operational performance. In conclusion, I am looking forward to the following courses in this Business Intelligence MS program. Thanks to my instructor I have narrowed down my field of interest and that is retail. The knowledge and skills acquired in the next few months will put me on the right track towards working in a company directly after completion of my degree. After graduation I see myself working for a company that I am proud of and will continue to reflect upon my studies here at Full Sail University because these textbooks and mentors (Instructors) are my foundation and took me along the journey towards becoming a BI Practitioner.

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Today i decided to apply myself by creating a timeline for a friend. Hopefully my inspiration to practice my skills today has put a smile on her face and motivates her to respond to this timeline with a simple, thank you. As long as i know that this diagram caused a spark in someone elses imagination, my job is complete.

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Full Master Time Line Slide show

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Internship Lead

Hello everyone,

Today I am very excited to announce that I have been contacted for an internship as an IT analyst. I had hoped to gain an internship somewhere between 3-6 months from today but to receive feedback so quickly has motivated me. I hope that this news gives you hope as well. I can honestly say that I am a bit nervous about a follow up interview but I guess after a cup of coffee in the morning and selecting the perfect watch to wear with my suit, I will feel like a million bucks! Wish me luck people...

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"End on a positive note, do not give up your power" - Jonathan Griffith

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The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. – Emelia Earhart