Ch.11.4 Helpdesk: Business Databases Flashcards

Study Notes

Data Warehouses

Organized by subject, focusing on product types sold by retailers.
Individual product data (revenue, costs, warranty details) is consolidated into summary data for managerial reports.
Sources of data for warehouses include:
- Internal sources: Sales, billing, inventory, customer databases, and ad hoc tools.
- External sources: Data from vendors and suppliers, including product specs and shipment information.
- Clickstream data: Captured from website user interactions, providing insights into user behavior, preferred pages, and demographics.

Data Marts

Small components of data warehouses, allowing focused analysis on related data sets.
Tailored to specific business segments, facilitating easier access to relevant data.
Example: A data mart for sales-related information isolates data from unrelated customer service or shipping data.

Data Mining

Techniques used for analyzing customer behavior to improve marketing strategies.
Enables businesses to identify customer types and purchasing motivations.
Different techniques yield various informational outputs for decision-making.

Information Systems

Perform essential functions: acquiring data, processing it, storing, and providing outputs for user interpretation.
Types of information produced: operational, managerial, and strategic, tailored to organizational needs.
Systems vary based on the specific information required for management.

Transaction-Processing System (TPS)

Operational-level systems that track daily business transactions (e.g., order tracking, payroll).
Supports real-time or batch processing:
- Real-time processing: Captures data instantly as transactions occur.
- Batch processing: Accumulates transactions for processing at a later point, suitable for non-time-sensitive activities.

Management Information System (MIS)

An evolution of TPS, enhancing data organization and output utility.
Generates three report types:
- Detail Report: Lists all transactions over a specific period.
- Summary Report: Consolidates detailed data with visual aids like charts.
- Exception Report: Highlights unusual conditions or items requiring attention.

Description

Explore how businesses utilize databases through the concept of data warehouses in this informative flashcard quiz. Learn about the organization of data by subject, and how individual product details are consolidated to provide valuable insights for management decision-making.