Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
| Master in business engineering (120 ECTS) | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
No company can survive without a good management information system. Nowadays, a company must be able to collect, analyze and handle huge volume of data in order to answer managerial questions and/or offer new top value services. Amazon, Google, Facebook are obvious successful stories confirming the importance of data management.
Three keywords to define the course:
- Management field: Decision Making
- Approach: Data analysis (Analytics)
- Theory (basics) and applications
This course covers techniques such as:
- advanced reporting with Excel (DB functions, filters, pivot table...)
- reporting with advanced visual tools like "Tableau" or Power BI
- data mining tools: - data preparation - decision trees - neural networks - linear and logistic regression - market basket analysis - clustering - model analysis
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
- Gaining the knowledge and understanding of the chosen concentration field.
- Understanding and being able of using modelization methods.
- Capacity to research autonomously and methodically the information needed to solve a complex, transversal management problem.
- Integrate autonomously researched information, tools, knowledge and context to build and propose original, creative and viable solutions to concrete complex management problems whether real or simulated.
- Providing concrete solutions to a management problem, integrating modelization methods and/or a dimension of technology, innovation or production.
- Developing a critical sense (arguing).
- Professional capacity for written communication.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Basic computer skills Basic statistical knowledge
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Theory is immediately illustrated by small examples. Students perform exercises on computer during the lectures. Real cases are considered (e.g. revenue management, bankruptcy detection, customer choice...)
They will acquire a basic theoretical knowledge but also learn to use professional tools like Excel for basic reporting, Tableau or Power BI for advanced visual reporting and SAS Enterprise Miner for machine learning.
The students have also to complete an in-depth visual analysis on a provided dataset as a group project.
A flipped classroom approach is used for the machine learning chapter. The students have to prepare some topics before the lecture thanks to an online tutorial. The lecture will focus on the difficulties encountered during the preparation.
The project and the preparations are compulsory. A student will not be allowed to sit the exam (failure mark) while he has not completed all his/her assignments (including the certification).
SAS CERTIFICATION:
The machine learning chapter is based on a SAS certification program. The students who obtain a mark large enough (threshold set by SAS: 72% in 2019) also get the SAS external professional certification.
The online course is open at the beginning of the year and the exam will be held at the end of the second semester. You can work at your own pace, when you wish, and from where you want (even from your Erasmus location during the first semester while the offline course starts only in February). The SAS exam can be sit at the end of the year at HEC or before in a SAS certified center.
The marks obtain at the SAS exam are included in the final mark for the course. One point over 20 is added if the students obtain the certification.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
All lectures are given in a computer room. Complementary online training is available for the SAS chapter.
Recommended or required readings
Required:
Slides on Lol@
SAS e-course: "Applied Analytics Using SAS Enterprise Miner"
(this is the support used for the offline course AND the online SAS version).
Online description: Applied Analytics Using SAS Enterprise Miner
SAS certification description: SAS certified predictive modeler using SAS EM
Recommended:
Introduction to Data Mining, Pang-Ning Tan, Michael Steinbach, Vipin Kumar, Pearson Inertnational.
Assessment methods and criteria
Three parts:
- Tableau project : 25%
- SAS certification: 55%
- Excel : 20%
- A student will obtain a global failure mark if he obtains 0 (or do not complete) for some parts.
- The SAS certification exam could be replaced by a local exam if needed.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
The examinations are organized twice a year during the official sessions. All the students sit the exam in Liège. Due to the nature of this course, we have never accepted to organize any additional exam at a different date and/or at a different location (even for students from abroad).
Contacts
M. Schyns, HEC-Liege, N1
M.Schyns@uliege.be
F.Peters, HEC-Liege, N1
fpeters@uliege.be
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session
Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning
Same as initially announced + podcasts, slides, additional information on eCampus and some tools to check the progression.
Assessment subjects
Assessment methods
1) Excel + PowerBI : project by group for 45% (as previously announced - no change)
2) SAS in two parts:
2a) online SAS tutorial (same workload as previoulsy announced but new marking)
35% of the final mark
1 point for each chapter fully and succesfully completed on the server (sas2020.hec.uliege.be or sas.hec.ulg.ac.be) (instead of one bonus point)
2b) SAS evaluation: 20% of the final mark
You have three possibilities:
i) recommended: SAS online certification. It is highly recommended because it is closer to what was initially announced and correponds to the expected competencies you should acquire. If you reach the score of 725/1000, you also get a valuable external certification from SAS. You can select freely the day and time of your exam: everyday between the 22nd of April and the 20th of June 24/24 (registration possible every quarter). You only need a computer with a mike, a cam and a reliable Internet connection. Of course, an exam is clearly more challenging and stressfull than a project. I'll take into account by granting one and a half extra point (over twenty) to all students who obtain a score between 50% and 72% and three extra points to all students who obtain the certification (>72%).
ii) baby individual project with SAS EM: simple case to handle; the project should not take more time than preparing and sitting the certification exam. Simple case means that I have prepared the data to ease your life and that I don't ask you to write a full report. "Not take more time than the certif" is a relative measure that means that I expect that you work serioulsy and as much as if you prepare and sit the exam (which takes time). It certainly doesn't mean that you can do it in a few hours. I expect to find a real work done in the projects and not just default "press buttons". Deadline: 1st of June 23h59
Description on eCampus.
iii) both (i) and (ii). In this case, I'll keep the best result. Note that you can do (i) early in your agenda and decide for (ii) if you are not satisfied by your first result.
Bonus:
a) If the lockdown is no longer of application before end of June:
If a certifcation date is convenient for you, you are still allowed to register for free at Tervuren for the certification instead of the online version.
b) In september, no SAS project anymore. Only the certification.
Even if you succeed during the first session (as I'm sure you will) , you'll be welcome to sit the certification for free at HEC on the 26th of August. I won't change your deliberation marks but you can get the external SAS certificate.
Contacts
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session
Assessment subjects
Assessment methods
1) Excel + PowerBI : project 45%
Rk: oral examination on LifeSize (first week of September).
2) SAS in two parts:
2a) online SAS tutorial (same workload as previoulsy announced but new marking)
20% of the final mark
1 point for each chapter fully and succesfully completed on the server (sas2020.hec.uliege.be or sas.hec.ulg.ac.be) (instead of one bonus point)
2b) SAS evaluation: 35% of the final mark
Deadline for the three parts: 1st September
Each part is compulsory. The global mark will be zero if one part is missing.