Data science and analytics are essential to understanding and visualizing everything from “Big Data” to the “Big Bang,” and is even used to predict the outcome of the “Big Game.”
In all cases, the learning starts with collecting data. This is followed by analyzing the data to answer a series of questions:
- What happened and what is the current condition/situation?
- What is going to happen?
- What to do about it?
With these questions answered, an effective action can be performed, whether it’s streamlining a business process to maximize profits, or implementing vehicle health management to minimize vehicle downtime.
Though the terminology varies across different industries, the underlying tools and techniques used to answer the questions overlap. The table below lists just a few industries and the corresponding terminology, but there are many more (financial, weather, sports, etc.).
| Vehicle Health Management | Business Analytics | Combat Operations (OODA Loop) | Medical Care | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collect data | Sensor and usage data | Historical performance data | Observe | Vital signs, blood work, x-rays, etc. |
| What happened and what is the current condition/situation? | Diagnostics | Descriptive Analytics | Orient | Diagnosis |
| What is going to happen? | Prognostics | Predictive Analytics | Prognosis | |
| What to do about it? | Modify operational parameters and/or perform maintenance | Prescriptive Analytics | Decide | Prescription |
| Perform action | Action | Treatment |
Heureka is combining different disciplines of mathematical sciences, statistical methods, machine learning, and other prognostic techniques to:
- Discover patterns and relationships in disparate data
- Elucidate past and present conditions
- Predict future outcomes
- Recommend decision options
- Classify the potential risk/reward of each decision