L2.3 Data Mining Types

Question 1

What are the four main types of analytics?

Answer 1

Descriptive, Diagnostic, Predictive, Prescriptive.

Question 2

What descriptive does?

Answer 2

Summarises historical data.

Question 3

Uses of descriptive

Answer 3

Reporting sales, website traffic, performance dashboards.

Question 4

Benefits of descriptive

Answer 4

• Easy to understand
• Identifies trends and patterns

Question 5

Limitations of descriptive

Answer 5

• Does not explain causes
• Cannot predict future outcomes

Question 6

What diagnostic does?

Answer 6

Explains why something happened.

Question 7

Uses of diagnostic

Answer 7

Investigating a drop in sales or system failure.

Question 8

Benefits of diagnostic

Answer 8

• Identifies root causes
• Supports problem solving

Question 9

Limitations of diagnostic

Answer 9

• Depends on data quality
• Multiple possible causes may exist

Question 10

What predictive does?

Answer 10

Uses historical data to forecast future outcomes.

Question 11

Uses of predictive

Answer 11

Demand forecasting, fraud detection, risk assessment.

Question 12

Benefits of predictive

Answer 12

• Supports proactive decisions
• Identifies future risks and opportunities

Question 13

Limitations of predictive

Answer 13

• Predictions may be inaccurate
• Requires large high-quality datasets

Question 14

What prescriptive does?

Answer 14

Recommends actions based on predictions.

Question 15

Benefits of prescriptive

Answer 15

• Improves efficiency
• Supports decision automation

Question 15

Uses of prescriptive

Answer 15

Optimising delivery routes, pricing strategies, resource allocation.

Question 16

Limitations of prescriptive

Answer 16

• Complex and expensive
• Relies on accurate predictive models