Data Analysis and Business Intelligence Flashcards
7 cards from real IKM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Data Analysis and Business Intelligence flashcards as text
Which type of data analysis focuses on understanding what happened in the past by examining historical data?
Answer: Descriptive analysis
Descriptive analysis summarizes historical data to answer 'what happened,' making it the foundational type of business intelligence reporting.
In a data warehouse, what is a 'fact table'?
Answer: A table that stores the measurable, quantitative data for analysis
A fact table contains the numeric, measurable metrics (facts) of a business process, such as sales amounts or quantities, and is the central table in a star schema.
What does ETL stand for in the context of data warehousing?
Answer: Extract, Transform, Load
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) is the process of pulling data from source systems, cleaning and reshaping it, then loading it into a target data warehouse.
A KPI dashboard shows sales are 15% below target. Which analytical step should be taken next to investigate further?
Answer: Diagnostic analysis to identify root causes of the shortfall
Diagnostic analysis answers 'why did it happen' by drilling down into data to uncover root causes of a deviation from targets.
What is a 'dimension table' in a star schema data model?
Answer: A table containing descriptive attributes used to filter or group facts
Dimension tables hold descriptive, qualitative attributes (e.g., customer name, product category, region) that provide context for the numeric facts stored in the fact table.
Which of the following best describes 'data normalization' in relational database design?
Answer: Organizing data to reduce redundancy and improve data integrity
Normalization is the process of structuring a relational database to eliminate redundant data and ensure data dependencies make logical sense, typically following normal forms (1NF, 2NF, 3NF).
In business intelligence, what is the purpose of OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)?
Answer: To enable fast, multi-dimensional analysis of large data sets from multiple perspectives
OLAP allows analysts to quickly query and analyze data across multiple dimensions (e.g., time, geography, product) to support complex business intelligence and decision-making tasks.