Designing Business Analytics Solutions

Abstract

The design and development of data analytics systems, as a new type of information systems, has proven to be complicated and challenging. Model based approaches from information systems engineering can potentially provide methods, techniques, and tools for facilitating and supporting such processes. The contribution of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it introduces a conceptual modeling framework for the design and development of advanced analytics systems. It illustrates the framework through a case and provides a sample methodological approach for using the framework. The paper demonstrates potential benefits of the framework for requirements elicitation, clarification, and design of analytical solutions. Secondly, the paper presents some observations and lessons learned from an application of the framework by an experienced practitioner not involved in the original development of the framework. The findings were then used to develop a set of guidelines for enhancing the understandability and effective usage of the framework.