This is the fourth course in the Data Warehouse for Business Intelligence specialization. Ideally, the courses should be taken in sequence. In this course, you will gain the knowledge and skills for using data warehouses for business intelligence purposes and for working as a business intelligence developer. You’ll have the opportunity to work with large data sets in a data warehouse environment and will learn the use of MicroStrategy's Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and Visualization capabilities to create visualizations and dashboards.
The course gives an overview of how business intelligence technologies can support decision making across any number of business sectors. These technologies have had a profound impact on corporate strategy, performance, and competitiveness and broadly encompass decision support systems, business intelligence systems, and visual analytics. Modules are organized around the business intelligence concepts, tools, and applications, and the use of data warehouse for business reporting and online analytical processing, for creating visualizations and dashboards, and for business performance management and descriptive analytics.
This course is part of the Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence Specialization
Business Intelligence Concepts, Tools, and Applications
Offered By
About this Course
4.4
366 ratings
Skills you will gain
Business IntelligenceData AnalysisData Visualization (DataViz)Microstrategy
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
1Decision Making and Decision Support Systems
Module 1 explains the role of computerized support for decision making and its importance. It starts by identifying the different types of decisions managers face, and the process through which they make decisions. It then focuses on decision-making styles, the four stages of Simon’s decision-making process, and common strategies and approaches of decision makers. In the next two lessons, you will learn the role of Decision Support Systems (DSS), understand its main components, the various DSS types and classification, and how DSS have changed over time. Finally, in lesson 4, we focus on how DSS supports each phase of decision making and summarize the evolution of DSS applications, and on how they have changed over time. I recommend that you go to Ready Made DSS sites and use some of DSS that are listed for various types of decisions. You will need to install MicroStrategy Desktop to analyze three stand-alone offline dashboards in a peer-evaluated exercise.
5 videos (Total 36 min), 19 readings, 2 quizzes
5 videos
Overview of Decision Making Video Lecture5m
Conceptual Foundations of Decision Making Video Lecture11m
Decision Support Systems Video Lecture8m
Decision Making Support in Practice Video Lecture8m
19 readings
Optional Text Book10m
Additional Resources - Course Overview10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 1.110m
Additional Resources Lesson 1.110m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 1.210m
Additional Resources Lesson 1.210m
Periodicals10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 1.310m
Additional Resources for Lesson 1.310m
Additional Web Resources10m
Vendors and Software Companies10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 1.410m
Additional Resources for Lesson 1.410m
Ready Made DSS Products and Services10m
MicroStrategy Desktop Software Download and Installations Steps for PC and MAC10m
MicroStrategy Desktop Connections to Oracle VM on PC and MAC10m
MicroStrategy Desktop Welcome Training Video10m
Dashboards Demonstration Videos10m
Q & A and Errors Knowledge base10m
1 practice exercise
Module 1 Practice Quiz10m
Week
2Business Intelligence Concepts and Platform Capabilities
Now that you understand the conceptual foundation of decision making and DSS, in module 2 we start by defining business intelligence (BI), BI architecture, and its components, and relate them to DSS. In lesson 2, you will learn the main components of BI platforms, their capabilities, and understand the competitive landscape of BI platforms. In lesson 3, you will learn the building blocks of business reports, the types of business reports, and the components and structure of business reporting systems. Finally, in lesson 4, you will learn different types of OLAP and their applications and comprehend the differences between OLAP and OLTP. You will need to use MicroStrategy Desktop to create effective and compelling data visualizations to analyze data and acquire insights into business practices in a peer-evaluated exercise.
5 videos (Total 52 min), 11 readings, 3 quizzes
5 videos
BI Platform Capabilities Video Lecture7m
Training Video for Microstrategy Desktop BI Capabilities23m
Business Reporting Video Lecture7m
BI OLAP Styles Video Lecture5m
11 readings
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 2.110m
Additional Resources for Lesson 2.110m
Training Video for Connecting Data in MicroStrategy Desktop10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 2.210m
Additional Resources for Lesson 2.210m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 2.310m
Additional Resources for Lesson 2.310m
Training Videos for Connecting to Spreadsheets, Joining Datasets, and Data Blending in MicroStrategy Desktop10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 2. 410m
Additional Resources for Lesson 2.410m
Training Video for Wrangling and Profiling Data in MicroStrategy10m
2 practice exercises
Module 2 Practice Quiz10m
Modules 1 and 2 Graded Quiz #130m
Week
3Data Visualization and Dashboard Design
This module continues on the top job responsibilities of BI analysts by focusing on creating data visualizations and dashboards. You will first learn the importance of data visualization and different types of data that can be visually represented. You will then learn about the types of basic and composite charts. This will help you to determine which visualization is most effective to display data for a given data set and to identify best practices for designing data visualizations. In lesson 3, you will learn the common characteristics of a dashboard, the types of dashboards, and the list attributes of metrics usually included in dashboards. Finally, in lesson 4, you will learn the guidelines for designing dashboard and the common pitfalls of dashboard design. You will need to use MicroStrategy Desktop Visual Insight to design a dashboard for a Financial Services company in a peer-evaluated exercise.
6 videos (Total 57 min), 12 readings, 2 quizzes
6 videos
Data Visualization Guidlines and Pitfalls Video Lecture6m
Comprehensive Training Video for Showing Data Visualization Steps6m
Performance Dashboards Video Lecture8m
Dashboard Design Guidelines and Pitfalls Video Lecture9m
Comprehensive Training Video for Creating Dashboard Using Advanced Visualization17m
12 readings
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 3.110m
Additional Resources for Lesson 3.110m
Training Video for Visual Insight in MicroStrategy Desktop10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 3.210m
Additional Resources for Lesson 3.210m
Training Video for Exploring Data in MicroStrategy Desktop10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 3.310m
Additional Resources for Lesson 3.310m
Training Videos for Creating Dashboard in MicroStrategy Desktop10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 3.410m
Additional Resources for Lesson 3.410m
Training Video for Sharing a Dashboard in MicroStrategy Desktop10m
1 practice exercise
Module 3 Practice Quiz10m
Week
4Business Performance Management Systems
This module focuses on how BI is used for Business Performance Management (BPM). You will learn the main components of BPM as well as the four phases of BPM cycle and how organizations typically deploy BPM. In lesson 2, you will learn the purpose of Performance Measurement System and how organizations need to define the key performance indicators (KPIs) for their performance management system. In lesson 3, you will learn the four balanced scorecards perspectives and the differences between dashboards and scorecards. You will also be able to compare and contrast the benefits of using balanced scorecard versus using Six Sigma in a performance measurement system. Finally, in lesson 4, you will learn the role of visual and business analytics (BA) in BI and how various forms of BA are supported in practice. At the end of the module, you will apply these concepts to create a dashboard, blend it with external datasets, and explore various visualization capabilities to find insights faster in a peer-evaluated exercise.
5 videos (Total 48 min), 11 readings, 2 quizzes
5 videos
Performance Measurement System Video Lecture6m
Balanced Scorecards Versus Six Sigma Video Lecture10m
Training Video for MicroStrategy Desktop Business Performance Analysis12m
Business Analytics Video Lecture9m
11 readings
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 4.110m
Additional Resources for Lesson 4.110m
Training Videos for Enriching and Modeling Data with MicroStrategy10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 4.210m
Additional Resources for Lesson 4.210m
Training Videos for Connecting to MDX and Excel Files and Creating a Mashups in MicroStrategy Desktop10m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 4.310m
Additional Resources for Lesson 4.310m
Powerpoint and Lecture Notes for Lesson 4.410m
Additional Resources for Lesson 4.410m
Training Video for Connecting to Social Media Sources in MicroStrategy Desktop10m
1 practice exercise
Module 4 Practice Quiz10m
4.4
71 Reviews25%
started a new career after completing these courses
11%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top Reviews
By NA•Mar 25th 2016
The Course is well laid out with plenty of assignments that allow you master the BI by using Microstrategy. Thanks to professor Karimi, it was by far the best BI course that I have ever taken.
By GL•Jul 22nd 2017
Very good course , with very explanatory and additional material. Deep diving with exercises and especially the last assignment where total understanding was required in order to fulfil it.
Instructor
Jahangir Karimi
ProfessorInformation Systems University of Colorado Denver
About University of Colorado System
The University of Colorado is a recognized leader in higher education on the national and global stage. We collaborate to meet the diverse needs of our students and communities. We promote innovation, encourage discovery and support the extension of knowledge in ways unique to the state of Colorado and beyond.
About the Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence Specialization
Evaluate business needs, design a data warehouse, and integrate and visualize data using dashboards and visual analytics.
This Specialization covers data architecture skills that are increasingly critical across a broad range of technology fields. You’ll learn the basics of structured data modeling, gain practical SQL coding experience, and develop an in-depth understanding of data warehouse design and data manipulation. You’ll have the opportunity to work with large data sets in a data warehouse environment to create dashboards and Visual Analytics. You will use of MicroStrategy, a leading BI tool, OLAP (online analytical processing) and Visual Insights capabilities to create dashboards and Visual Analytics. In the final Capstone Project, you’ll apply your skills to build a small, basic data warehouse, populate it with data, and create dashboards and other visualizations to analyze and communicate the data to a broad audience.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
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Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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