University of Houston – C.T.

Bauer College of Business

Department of Decision and Information Sciences

BZAN 6350 – Quantitative Foundation for Business Analytics

Course Information

Fall 2024 – Tues 6:00 to 9:00pm

Instructional Mode: Hybrid

Instructor: Dr. Norm Johnson Email: [email protected]

Office: 270C Melcher Office phone: 713-743-4164; Cell: 516-503-4127
Office hours: Tues - 5:00-6:00pm

Required Text: Data Mining for Business Analytics, Concepts, Techniques, and Applications with JMP PRO- by Galit
Shmueli; Peter C. Bruce, Mia L. Stephens, & Nitin R. Patel; Wiley Pub. (1st Edition)

Other Cross-referenced Text: Data Mining for Business Analytics: Concepts, Techniques, and Applications in R 1st
Edition by Galit Shmueli, Peter C. Bruce, Inbal Yahav, Nitin R. Patel, Jr. Lichtendahl, Kenneth C.; Wiley Pub. (1st Edition)

Prerequisite: BZAN 6351 Basic Programming for Business Analytics

Business Analytics refers to the uses of a variety of techniques to analyze data and make predictions about future events or to
discover meaningful patterns and rules. These techniques also relate to data mining, which one can think of as the process of
extracting useful information from large data sets. As such, Business Analytics also focus on developing new insights and
understanding of business performance based on data and statistical methods. Some common business questions that one
might address with Analytics are: (1) Given a large list of prospective customers, which are most likely to respond to ad
campaigns? (2) Which customers are most likely to default on payments? (3) Which customers are most likely to abandon a
subscription service? (4) What factors influence customers’ decisions to subscribe or default? This course covers a variety of
techniques, from simple to complex, that can make it possible to answer these and other similar kinds of questions. There is a
heavy emphasis throughout the course on the interpretation of results from analytical methods. The methods are taught by an
example-based approach. In this regard, emphasis is placed on realistic business problems. There is a set of software packages*
that will be used in this course – *JMP Pro from SAS and R. JMP Pro will be used predominantly for covering class
topics, and students will replicate select exercises using R on their own.

Summary Learning Objectives:

At the end of this course, students would have

1) developed the skills to organize and describe data that could be useful for analytics.
2) mastered the use of a variety of analytic techniques and the software packages in which they are packaged.
3) learned how to operationalize problems for the discovery of novel insights.
4) demonstrated the competency to communicate effectively results derived from the use of analytic techniques.

*Information on how to access to the JMP software application will be provided by the instructor.

Teaching Methods:

1. Lectures and Discussions: Important material from the text and outside sources will be covered in class. This coverage will
be mostly in the form of hands-on problem solving. Students will work together in teams. Students should also plan to take
careful notes on topics that are presented by the instructor.

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2. Assignments: Problems and readings might be periodically assigned to help support and supplement material found in the
text. In particular, end of chapter questions could be assigned and, in such event, must be turned in on time.

3. Exams: Exams/Quizzes will be partially open book/note and will test assigned readings and material discussed in class.
Review sheets will be provided prior to the exam day. The final exam will not be cumulative, but may include some ideas,
which are relevant to the topics for the final exam, that were previously covered. All relevant ideas will be noted on exam
review sheets.

4. Learning Management System - ONLINE - Canvas: Most materials will be distributed on the Internet, using the Canvas
LMS. It is assumed that students know how to access the content on Canvas.

The lecture slides will be available on Canvas, and will be there at least one day prior to each class. But, on some occasions, I
might make a few minor changes to them up to one hour before class begins. If you want to have the slides with you during
the class, please print them out and bring them with you. Printouts will not be available in class.

5. Announcements regarding the class such as schedule changes, assignments, projects, and so on will be made in class during
the first 10 minutes as well as on the web at the Announcements page. You are responsible for checking the class web site
for announcements regularly.

6. Contacting the Professor & Teaching Assistant (TA): You can reach me by telephone or email. If you try to reach me,
and you are unable to do so, then leave a message for me. Upon on receiving your message, I will almost always get back to
you within 24 hours. Teaching Assistant (TA): As we cover this course, I will have the support of a TA, whose contact
information I’ll share within the first 2 weeks of the class start date.

7. Grading:

1. Quiz #1 – 20%
2. Quiz #2 – 25%
3. Team Exercises/Assignments: 25% (- 5% each on 5 exercises using R)
4. Project – 30%

Final course letter grade follows the numeric-letter grade system shown in the table below.

8. Team Assignments and Peer Evaluation

In most professional environments, collaboration is essential. Team-based assignments simulate real-world work
environments where collaboration is necessary to achieve common goals. Working in teams can help you develop
communication skills as you learn to express your ideas clearly, listen to others, and negotiate differences. By design, this
course includes several team exercises to help students develop these skills. To the extent possible, students will be
assigned to teams, each consisting of 4 or 5 (contingent on enrollment levels, there may be exceptions to the ideal group
size). Students are encouraged to use team communication tools, such as Microsoft Teams or Slack, to manage their
teamwork communications.

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 It is expected that team members will contribute to work efforts in an equitable way, and to verify that this occurs each
student will have the opportunity to provide a peer evaluation after each team exercise. All feedback will be shared with
students anonymously so they will know what is working out well and what needs to be improved. Peer evaluations will be
scored in manner that allows for adjustments to team exercise and project scores at an individual level. The peer
evaluation scores will be strictly confidential, shared between each student and the instructor only.

9. Project Description

The class project will give you an opportunity to apply most of the techniques you learn in this course. Around the sixth
week of class, I will make available to you a set of data on which your project is based. The data will be what we consider
“big.” You will be required to get an understanding of the variables in your data set. You will use the software applications
for the course to perform various analytic techniques on your data. In your project, you will attempt to show how well you
can apply the techniques, define multiple problems and solve them using appropriate techniques. You will need to
interpret all your results. And, say how your results help a stakeholder to make good business decisions, which you will
also define.

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Course Policies:

Syllabus Changes: Due to the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, please note that the instructor may need to make
modifications to the course syllabus and may do so at any time. Notice of such changes will be announced as quickly as possible
through.

Missed Classes: The student is responsible for obtaining material, which may have been distributed on class days when he/she
was absent. This can be done through contacting a classmate who was present or by contacting the instructor during his office
hours or other times. Missed or late exams cannot be made up under any circumstances, unless an official excuse is provided.
Any uncoordinated, unexcused missed exam will result in a score of 0 for that exam.

Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date due. As you know, this class has lab sections. In these
sections, you will do exercises that correspond to topics already covered. As a result, this course outline is also a guide for the
lab sections.

Covid-19 Information: Students are encouraged to visit the University’s COVID-19 website for important information including
diagnosis and symptom protocols, on-campus testing, and vaccine information. Please check the website throughout the
semester for updates.

Vaccinations: Data suggests that vaccination remains the best intervention for reliable protection against COVID-19. Students
are asked to familiarize themselves with pertinent vaccine information and to consult with their health care provider. The
University strongly encourages all students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated.

Reasonable Academic Adjustments/Auxiliary Aids: The University of Houston complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, pertaining to the provision of reasonable academic
adjustments/auxiliary aids for disabled students. In accordance with Section 504 and ADA guidelines, UH strives to provide
reasonable academic adjustments/auxiliary aids to students who request and require them. If you believe that you have a disability
requiring an academic adjustments/auxiliary aid, please contact the Justin Dart Jr. Student Accessibility Center (formerly the
Justin Dart, Jr. Center for Students with Disabilities).

Excused Absence Policy: Regular class attendance, participation, and engagement in coursework are important contributors to
student success. Absences may be excused as provided in the University of Houston Undergraduate Excused Absence Policy
and Graduate Excused Absence Policy for reasons including: medical illness of student or close relative, death of a close family
member, legal or government proceeding that a student is obligated to attend, recognized professional and educational activities
where the student is presenting, and University-sponsored activity or athletic competition. Under these policies, students with
excused absences will be provided with an opportunity to make up any quiz, exam or other work that contributes to the course
grade or a satisfactory alternative. Please read the full policy for details regarding reasons for excused absences, the approval
process, and extended absences. Additional policies address absences related to military service, religious holy days, pregnancy
and related conditions, and disability.

Recording of Class: Students may not record all or part of class, livestream all or part of class, or make/distribute screen captures,
without advanced written consent of the instructor. If you have or think you may have a disability such that you need to record
class-related activities, please contact the Justin Dart, Jr. Student Accessibility Center. If you have an accommodation to record
class- related activities, those recordings may not be shared with any other student, whether in this course or not, or with any
other person or on any other platform. Classes may be recorded by the instructor. Students may use instructor’s recordings for
their own studying and notetaking. Instructor’s recordings are not authorized to be shared with anyone without the prior written
approval of the instructor. Failure to comply with requirements regarding recordings will result in a disciplinary referral to the
Dean of Students Office and may result in disciplinary action.

Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may be punished by failure on exam, paper or project;
failure in course; and or expulsion from the University. For more information, refer to the "Academic Dishonesty" policy in the
University’s Catalog. The University of Houston Academic Honesty Policy is strictly enforced by the C. T. Bauer College of
Business. No violations of this policy will be tolerated in this course. A discussion of the policy is included in the University of
Houston Student Handbook, http://www.uh.edu/dos/hdbk/acad/achonpol.html. Students are expected to be familiar with this
policy.
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Need for Assistance: If you have any condition, such as a physical or learning disability, which will make it difficult for you to
carry out the work as outlined in this document, or which will require academic accommodations, please notify me as soon as
possible. I will recommend that you contact the Center for Students with Disabilities. The contact person is Justin Dart in the
CSD building #568, room 110. The numbers for the CSD office are Ph: 713-743-5400; TDD: 713-749-1527; Fax: 713-743-5396
or email: [email protected]. Also available to you is Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), which can help students who are
having difficulties managing stress, adjusting to college, or feeling sad and hopeless. You can reach CAPS (www.uh.edu/caps)
by calling 713-743-5454 during and after business hours for routine appointments or if you or someone you know is in crisis. In
addition, there is no appointment necessary for the “Let's Talk” program, which is a drop-in consultation service at convenient
locations and hours around campus. http://www.uh.edu/caps/outreach/lets_talk.html.

Title IX/Sexual Misconduct: Per the UHS Sexual Misconduct Policy, your instructor is a “responsible employee” for reporting
purposes under Title IX regulations and state law and must report incidents of sexual misconduct (sexual harassment, non-
consensual sexual contact, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual intimidation, intimate partner violence, or stalking) about
which they become aware to the Title IX office. Please know there are places on campus where you can make a report in
confidence. You can find more information about resources on the Title IX website at https://uh.edu/equal-
opportunity/title-ix-sexual-misconduct/resources/.

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Tentative Lecture Outline

This outline is tentative. We will go over the topics described below in an applied way. That is, in solving
problems our focus will be on the topic of the day. However, keep in mind that the order in which these topics are
covered can change in the event of unexpected class disruptions.

Date No. Topic Chapter

Introduction to Course - Overview of Business

1 Chap Two
8/20 Analytics & the Data Mining Process

8/27 2 Data Visualization Chap Three

Sampling and Uses
Basic Charts
Distribution Plots
Multidimensional visualization
Interactive visualization

9/03 3 Online Team Exercise - Data Visualization with R

Dimension Reduction & Cluster Analysis –

Correlation Analysis & Chap Four
9/10 4 Principal Component Analysis
Classification and Predictive Performance Chap Fourteen
Hierarchical (Agglomerative) Clustering

Online Team Exercise – PCA, Cluster & Correlation

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9/17 Analyses with R

9/24 6 Multiple Regression Chap Six

Estimating regression equation
Variable selection
Making predictions

10/01 7 Online Team Exercise – Multiple Regression with R

10/08 8 Quiz #1 + Logistic Regression

10/15 9 Classification and Regression Trees Chap Nine

Online Team Exercise – Classification and Regression

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10/22 Tree with R

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 Online Team Exercise – Logistic Regression Class with
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10/29 R Chap Ten

11/05 12 CLASS- Online Intro to LLM & NLP with JMP Pro

Instructor-
13 Team Project Meeting Day
11/12 provided Notes

11/19 14 Quiz #2

Finals date -
Final Project Due
TBD