Students

MGMT320 – Advanced Analytics Techniques

2017 – S1 Evening

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer
Aschwin Beurskens
Contact via eMail
By appointment with 1 week's notice or via email
Aschwin Beurskens
Tutor
Jun Yao
E4A 653
Monday 3:00pm, or by appointment
Hume Winzar
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
STAT270 and MGMT220
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This is an advanced applied-skills unit which extends concepts and analytical techniques from earlier units. Students will access data from customer databases, security services, transport and social media to create graphical representations of data for analysis of locational maps, social networks, timelines and event flowcharts. Students will clean data in commonly-used spreadsheet formats and make extensive use of proprietary software from big-data orientated companies such as IBM, Google, Tableau and others. Students will develop skills in data visualisation that can be applied to competitive behaviour, target customer analysis, criminology and security intelligence problems.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Develop sound solutions to business problems
  • Demonstrate competence in relation to forecasting
  • Apply critical thinking to strategy in analysing firm behaviour
  • Understand contemporary challenges to business organisations

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Determe the predictor value 20% No Week #3
Social Network analysis 20% No Week #6
Geospatial Analysis 20% No Week #9
Group Project 40% No Week #13

Determe the predictor value

Due: Week #3
Weighting: 20%

Data extraction, and interactive visualisation

  • Apply critical thinking to strategy in analysing firm behaviour
  • Link business objecticves to predictor values

Submission

Submit documents through the link in iLearn.

Late Submission

  • No extensions or postponements will be granted. Students who have not completed the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the assessment task, except for cases in which an application for Disruption of Studies is made beforehand and approved.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply critical thinking to strategy in analysing firm behaviour

Social Network analysis

Due: Week #6
Weighting: 20%

Social Network analysis. Interactive visualisation and key node identification, with explanatory notes.

Submission

Submit documents through the link in iLearn.

Late Submission

  • No extensions or postponements will be granted. Students who have not completed the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the assessment task, except for cases in which an application for Disruption of Studies is made beforehand and approved.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Develop sound solutions to business problems
  • Demonstrate competence in relation to forecasting
  • Understand contemporary challenges to business organisations

Geospatial Analysis

Due: Week #9
Weighting: 20%

Predict the impact of future events and the ideal location for establishing a business.

Submission

Submit documents through the link in iLearn.

Late Submission

  • No extensions or postponements will be granted. Students who have not completed the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the assessment task, except for cases in which an application for Disruption of Studies is made beforehand and approved.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate competence in relation to forecasting
  • Apply critical thinking to strategy in analysing firm behaviour

Group Project

Due: Week #13
Weighting: 40%

Plan for a major public event, Written report and appropriate software design as appropriate for the task.

Issues of security, media engagement, transportation, and public safety may be involved that require information systems, tracking and reporting. Maximum 2000 words.

Submission

Submit documents through the link in iLearn.

Late Submission

  • No extensions or postponements will be granted. Students who have not completed the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the assessment task, except for cases in which an application for Disruption of Studies is made beforehand and approved.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Develop sound solutions to business problems
  • Apply critical thinking to strategy in analysing firm behaviour
  • Understand contemporary challenges to business organisations

Delivery and Resources

Classes 

Number and length of classes: 3 hours face-to-face teaching per week, consisting of 1 x 2 hour lecture and 1 x 1 hour tutorial. The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/

Textbook

Advanced Analytics Methodologies: Driving Business Value with Analytics’, Michele Chambers, Thomas W Dinsmore, Pearson ISBN-13: 978-0133498608, ISBN-10: 0133498603

Technology Used and Required

Students will learn to use spreadsheet (MS-Excel), Tableau, Gelphi, OpenRefine, Mapquest, API’s, SPSS Modeler and others.

Unit Web Page

The web page for this unit can be found at: iLearn http://ilearn.mq.edu.au

Teaching and Learning Strategy

This unit is lecture- and tutorial-based. Typically, the class-time structure will be like this:

  • Lectures: We will establish links between theory and your personal knowledge from your previous units during class discussions, and then integrate these with applied exercises.
  • Tutorials: students are required to work on some tasks using appropriate models and techniques. Student participation and meaningful contribution are essential to understand analytics concepts and techniques.

Lecture notes will be posted after each lecture on iLearn

Attendance

Studying in Australia whilst on a student visa means you are legally obligated to attend 80% of classes throughout the study period as per their student visa condition 8202 (see https://www.immi.gov.au/students/visa-conditions-students.htm).

Exemptions will be made in the case of serious illness or an unavoidable event where the minimum attendance cannot be made.

If your attendance is less than 90% during a study period of five weeks or fewer, or less than 85 per cent for a study period of more than five weeks, you will be required to attend an interview with Student Services regarding your absences.

If attendance drops to 80% and no substantial evidence has been provided, you will receive an Intention to Report notice. If your attendance then continues to drop below 70 per cent, you will be reported, regardless of any evidence provided.

Unit Schedule

Time spent on individual topics and exercises may change as we progress during the semester, so some topics may vary from this schedule.

Week #

Topic

Deadline

1

Introductions

Housekeeping

Why is analytics so important to business? (chapter 4)

Define Business needs (chapter 5/8)

Assignment #1 briefing: Linking business objectives to predictor value

2

Determine the analytic application/key audience (chapter 6)

Build the Analysis data set (chapter 8)

 

3

Build & Deploy the predictive model (chapter 8)

Assignment #1: Due 17 March 5pm

4

Assignment 1 presentations

 

Social Network Analysis

Assignment #2 briefing: Social Network Analysis

5

SNA continued

Overview Predictive Analytics Techniques (chapter 9)

Linear Models

 

6

Neural Networks & Automated learning (chapter 9 and Appendix A)

 ‘Watson’ & ‘Amelia’

Additive models (chapter 9)

 Assignment #2: Due 7 April 5pm

7

Assignment 2 presentations

Geospatial Analysis

 Assignment #3 briefing: Spatial Mapping

8

Reserve

 

9

Geospatial Analysis continued

Assignment #3: Due 12 May 5pm

10

Assignment 3 presentations

Use Cases in Insurance: Oliver Wyman presenting

 Assignment #4: Group Project briefing

11

Predictive Workforce: Mercer presenting

 

12

Group project consultation session

Assignment #4: Draft report Due 2 June 5pm

13

Assignment 4 presentations 

Assignment #4: Final report Due 9 June 5pm

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Develop sound solutions to business problems
  • Demonstrate competence in relation to forecasting
  • Understand contemporary challenges to business organisations

Assessment tasks

  • Determe the predictor value
  • Social Network analysis
  • Geospatial Analysis

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Develop sound solutions to business problems
  • Apply critical thinking to strategy in analysing firm behaviour
  • Understand contemporary challenges to business organisations

Assessment tasks

  • Determe the predictor value
  • Social Network analysis
  • Geospatial Analysis
  • Group Project

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Develop sound solutions to business problems
  • Demonstrate competence in relation to forecasting
  • Apply critical thinking to strategy in analysing firm behaviour

Assessment tasks

  • Social Network analysis
  • Geospatial Analysis
  • Group Project

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate competence in relation to forecasting
  • Apply critical thinking to strategy in analysing firm behaviour

Assessment tasks

  • Determe the predictor value
  • Group Project

Changes from Previous Offering

Minor improvements

Global Contexts and Sustainability

This unit teaches Analytics that can be applied in a global context.

Sustainability issues are embedded in our discussions of equity, privacy and ethics throughout the progress of this unit.

Research and Practice

  • This unit includes research by the unit lecturer and other Macquarie University researchers
  • This unit uses research from external sources. This unit gives you opportunities to learn how to critique current research at the frontiers of your discipline as a prelude to later conducting your own research. 

 

  • International Journal of Business Analytics (IJBAN)
  • International Journal of Business Analytics and Intelligence
  • Database Systems Journal
  • Business & Information Systems Engineering