BUSAN 304 : Business Analytics Capstone

Business and Economics

2022 Semester Two (1225) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Based on a real-life project and focuses on creating a competitive advantage through improving the overall decision-making process of the company hosting the project: from data through to decisions. By exploring the challenges surrounding decision-making students will utilise the skills gained in previous courses enabling the deployment of business analytics tools to find practical solutions to benefit the host company.

Course Overview

In today’s business landscape, competing companies have access to similar resources and technologies, and it is the quality of decision-making resulting from the evidence-based management that often becomes the only source of the competitive edge. The course presents to students an opportunity to practice performing the key stages of a business analytics process (descriptive, predictive, prescriptive), to identify and cover their gaps in skills and knowledge, to help student ensure they can deliver valuable end-to-end analytics,  from the raw data to actionable insights. 

Being a capstone, the course places a particular emphasis on creating an opportunity for students to further develop some of the most fundamental and the most transferrable  "soft" employability and career success factors: communication, self-learning, and ownership of one's own success. To this end, the course simulates critical features typical of workplace: the necessity to actively seek, process and organize information from different channels (e.g., Canvas, face-to-face communication, Piazza), the necessity for self-learning to keep up with the technology (making the most use of sometimes limited Internet resources to learn its peculiarities), teamwork, and resilience (no technology is without bugs, the information coming from different courses may be contradictory, etc.).

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: BUSAN 201 and 301 and 15 points from BUSAN 200, STATS 208, 255 Restriction: INFOMGMT 394

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Commerce

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Conduct ETL and create a simple data warehouse for analytics purposes (Capability 1, 2, 3 and 5.1)
  2. Identify business stakeholders, relevant KPIs and targets, and create an interactive dashboard. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4.2 and 5.1)
  3. Conduct data analysis, identify a business problem, propose and justify an actionable change. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4.2, 5.1 and 6)
  4. Create forecasts with consideration of the stakeholder requirements using commonly available tools, their limitations, and business implications of the situations when making reliable forecasts is not possible. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4.3 and 5.1)
  5. Interact and collaborate as a valuable member of a small group, applying teamwork strategies and tactics to performs tasks effectively, with appreciation that the group results depend on all members, and allowing for the group diversity. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2 and 6)
  6. Recognise their role and impact in creating a sustainable future and be able to consider the social, cultural, environmental and economic consequences. (Capability 4.1, 5.1, 5.2 and 6)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Quizzes 5% Individual Coursework
Practical 30% Individual Coursework
Practical 31% Group Coursework
Essay 4% Individual Coursework
Final Presentation 30% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6
Quizzes
Practical
Practical
Essay
Final Presentation

There is no requirement of scoring a certain amount of marks on the final exam in order to pass the course. However, sitting the final exam is required for passing the course.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 24 hours of lectures, a 12 hours of dedicated Q/A sessions held for the whole class, and 114 hours of reading, thinking and working on assignments and quizzes/exam preparation. 

NB: the 104 hours estimate assumes a student has been always using the advice provided in lectures, Q/A sessions, during the lab sessions, and on Piazza, on how to complete certain tasks most efficiently, how to avoid duplication of work, re-work, etc.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance of all schedule class meetings is expected.

Lectures that do not contain references to any sensitive data used in the course will be recorded. Other learning activities including seminars/tutorials/labs/guest lectures will not be recorded. 

If on-campus delivery is allowed, attendance on campus will be required for the quizzes/exam (as per the university advice).

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Links to the proprietary course pack(s) on external web sites will be provided on Canvas.
Links to key resources on the Internet will be provided on Canvas or during the class meetings.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Other Information

Some of the data used in the course belongs to the organization provided it. Moreover, despite certain measures had been taken to remove/disguise the information about third parties (for example, customer names) the data still contains sensitive information about the company provided it (for example, the overall performance, trends, etc.). Therefore, to access the data set and complete the related assignments students will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 08/08/2022 11:20 a.m.