Foundations of strategic business analytics from Coursera

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for students, business analysts, and data scientists who want to apply statistical knowledge and techniques to business contexts. For example, it may be suited to experienced statisticians, analysts, engineers who want to move more into a business role.

You will find this course exciting and rewarding if you already have a background in statistics, can use R or another programming language and are familiar with databases and data analysis techniques such as regression, classification, and clustering.

However, it contains a number of recitals and R Studio tutorials which will consolidate your competences, enable you to play more freely with data and explore new features and statistical functions in R.

With this course, you’ll have a first overview on Strategic Business Analytics topics. We’ll discuss a wide variety of applications of Business Analytics. From Marketing to Supply Chain or Credit Scoring and HR Analytics, etc. We’ll cover many different data analytics techniques, each time explaining how to be relevant for your business.

We’ll pay special attention to how you can produce convincing, actionable, and efficient insights. We'll also present you with different data analytics tools to be applied to different types of issues.

By doing so, we’ll help you develop four sets of skills needed to leverage value from data: Analytics, IT, Business and Communication.

By the end of this MOOC, you should be able to approach a business issue using Analytics by (1) qualifying the issue at hand in quantitative terms, (2) conducting relevant data analyses, and (3) presenting your conclusions and recommendations in a business-oriented, actionable and efficient way.

Prerequisites : 1/ Be able to use R or to program 2/ To know the fundamentals of databases, data analysis (regression, classification, clustering)

We give credit to Pauline Glikman, Albane Gaubert, Elias Abou Khalil-Lanvin (Students at ESSEC BUSINESS SCHOOL) for their contribution to this course design.

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction to Strategic Business Analytics

In this module, we will introduce you to the course and instructional approach. You will learn that Strategic Business Analytics relies on four distinct skills: IT, Analytics, Business and Communication.

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Suitable for experienced statisticians, analysts, engineers who want to move into a business role

Provides an overview of Strategic Business Analytics topics

Covers a wide variety of applications of Business Analytics

Teaches how to produce convincing, actionable, and efficient insights

Pays special attention to how you can present your conclusions and recommendations effectively

Reviews summary

Strategic business analytics foundations

According to learners, this course offers a solid foundation in applying analytical techniques to real-world business problems. Students particularly appreciate the practical examples drawn from areas like credit scoring and HR analytics, finding them highly relevant. While the course provides a good theoretical overview and introduces various applications across industries, some students note that meeting the stated prerequisites (R and statistics) is crucial for success. Others found certain R code examples potentially outdated or challenging. The module on communicating findings is viewed as a helpful addition, rounding out the analytical skills with necessary business presentation aspects.

Might lack depth for advanced practitioners.

"While it gives a good overview, it doesn't go into significant depth on any single technique."

"Provides breadth across applications but might leave advanced users wanting more technical detail."

"Good for foundations, but you'll need other resources for deeper dives into specific methods."

Mixed opinions on the provided R tutorials and code.

"The R tutorials (recitals) were helpful for reinforcing concepts with code."

"Some of the R code examples felt a bit outdated or required troubleshooting with package versions."

"I appreciated the hands-on aspect with R, even if I had to adjust some scripts to run on my machine."

"The R demonstrations were useful for visualizing how the methods work."

Module on presenting findings is a valuable addition.

"The final module on communicating analytical results to a business audience was a very helpful addition."

"Learning how to 'tell a story' with data was a practical skill covered in the last module."

"I found the tips on structuring presentations and visualizations quite useful for my job."

Provides a good introduction to strategic business analytics.

"Provides a solid foundation and broad overview of strategic business analytics topics and applications."

"Great introduction to how different analytical techniques fit into a business strategy framework."

"This course is perfect for getting a handle on the breadth of strategic business analytics."

Excellent focus on applying analytics to real business cases.

"Applying analytics to real business cases like credit scoring was very helpful and made the concepts concrete."

"I loved the examples provided in HR analytics and supply chain, directly relevant to my work."

"This course helped me bridge the gap between analytical techniques and their practical application in different business contexts."

"Seeing how clustering and regression were used in credit scoring and HR was very insightful."

Requires solid prior knowledge in R and statistics.

"You really need to have a solid background in R programming and basic statistics before starting this course."

"I struggled with some concepts because my statistics background wasn't as strong as needed."

"If you meet the prerequisites, the course is manageable and a good refresher; otherwise, it can be difficult."

"The course assumes a level of familiarity with R and data analysis techniques that beginners won't have."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Foundations of strategic business analytics with these activities:

R Programming Tutorial

Show steps

Review R programming fundamentals to solidify necessary foundational skills.

Show steps

Enroll in an online R programming tutorial or course.
Complete the tutorial or course, practicing the exercises and examples provided.

Data Analysis Project

Show steps

Apply statistical knowledge and techniques to a real-world business problem.

Show steps

Identify a business problem that can be solved using data analysis.
Gather and clean the necessary data.
Analyze the data using R or another programming language.
Present your findings and recommendations in a clear and concise way.

Show all two activities

Career center

Learners who complete Foundations of strategic business analytics will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Data Scientist

A Data Scientist is responsible for developing and applying statistical models to data to solve business problems. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Data Scientist. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to develop statistical models to solve business problems.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Scientist

Statistician

A Statistician is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Statistician. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to make informed decisions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Statistician

Machine Learning Engineer

A Machine Learning Engineer is responsible for developing and deploying machine learning models to solve business problems. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Machine Learning Engineer. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to develop and deploy machine learning models to solve business problems.

See salaries and explore the career path for Machine Learning Engineer

Business Analyst

A Business Analyst is responsible for understanding the business needs of an organization and translating those needs into technical requirements. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Business Analyst. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to improve decision-making.

See salaries and explore the career path for Business Analyst

Data Analyst

A Data Analyst uses data to tell a story, to make a decision or forecast future events. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Data Analyst. You will learn how to collect, clean, and analyze data. You will also learn how to visualize data and communicate your findings to others. This course may also be helpful for those who wish to work in a related field, such as Business Analyst.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Analyst

Marketing Analyst

A Marketing Analyst is responsible for understanding the marketing needs of an organization and developing marketing campaigns to meet those needs. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Marketing Analyst. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to improve marketing decision-making.

See salaries and explore the career path for Marketing Analyst

Risk Analyst

A Risk Analyst is responsible for identifying and assessing risks to an organization. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Risk Analyst. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to identify and assess risks, and how to develop strategies to mitigate those risks.

See salaries and explore the career path for Risk Analyst

Operations Research Analyst

An Operations Research Analyst is responsible for using mathematical and statistical models to improve the efficiency of business operations. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Operations Research Analyst. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to develop mathematical and statistical models to improve business operations.

See salaries and explore the career path for Operations Research Analyst

Quantitative Analyst

A Quantitative Analyst is responsible for using mathematical and statistical models to analyze financial data. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Quantitative Analyst. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to develop mathematical and statistical models to analyze financial data.

See salaries and explore the career path for Quantitative Analyst

Data Engineer

A Data Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and maintaining data pipelines. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Data Engineer. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to design, build, and maintain data pipelines.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Engineer

Business Intelligence Analyst

A Business Intelligence Analyst is responsible for gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data to help businesses make better decisions. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Business Intelligence Analyst. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to help businesses make better decisions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Business Intelligence Analyst

Financial Analyst

A Financial Analyst is responsible for analyzing financial data to make investment recommendations. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Financial Analyst. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to make investment decisions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Financial Analyst

Data Visualization Analyst

A Data Visualization Analyst is responsible for creating visualizations that help people understand data. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Data Visualization Analyst. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to create visualizations that help people understand data.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Visualization Analyst

User Experience Researcher

A User Experience Researcher is responsible for understanding the user needs and designing user experiences that meet those needs. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful User Experience Researcher. You will learn how to gather and analyze data, and how to communicate your findings to others. You will also learn how to use data to understand the user needs and design user experiences that meet those needs.

See salaries and explore the career path for User Experience Researcher

Management Consultant

A Management Consultant helps organizations to improve their performance. This course will help you to develop the skills needed to be a successful Management Consultant. You will learn how to analyze data, identify problems, and develop solutions. You will also learn how to communicate your findings to others and how to help organizations to implement change.

See salaries and explore the career path for Management Consultant