BUS7017 Analysing Big Data Report Assignment Brief 2026 | Arden University

BUS7017 Assignment Brief

As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Diagnostic Report. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of theprogramme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. Critically examine the characteristics and challenges presented by BigData sets
2. Apply and evaluate analytical software and techniques
3. Evaluate Big Data governance, ethical and security issues
4. Assess the importance of Big Data analysis in modern financial environments
5. (Graduate Attributes)

Effective Communication. Communicate effectively both, verbally andin writing, using a range of media widely used in relevant professional context. Be IT, digitally and information literate

Guidance

Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, themodule name, the submission deadline and the exact word count of your submitted document; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list in AU Harvard system(s). 

You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below. Please notethat tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.

You must not include your name in your submission because Arden Universityoperates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of theidentity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.

Maximum word count: 5,000 words

Please refer to the full word count policy which can be found in the Student Policies sectionhere: Arden University | Regulatory Framework Please note the following: Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of theassessment. 

The word count includes everything in the main body of the assessment (including intext citations and references). The word count excludesnumerical data in tables ,figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. ALL other printedwords ARE included in the word count. Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a10-percentage point deduction

Assignment Task – Report

This assignment is worth 100% of the marks for this module.

Assignment aims and objectives The aim of this assignment is twofold:

• Conduct and report on a diagnostic of the data environment in an organisation of your choice.
• Based on the outcomes of the diagnostic, develop a professional discussion presenting statistical and/or machine learning analysis of a large data setcoupled with a concluding narrative demonstrating appropriate recommendations.

A diagnostic of the data environment an organisation operates in represents a starting point in developing a big data analytics framework, and as such, is a key part of dataenabled decision-making at all levels. This aspect of data analytics should include the following processes:

• Identification of major data sources and flows between the organisation and its stakeholders;
• Formulation of the improvement in data integrity as well as its storing,processing and reporting mechanisms;
• Recommendations on compliance procedures, specifically, data protection,privacy and ethical assurance.A statistical and/or machine learning analysis of a large data set is used to support andenhance the decision-making process in a case organisation. It should include the following components.
• Identification of a strategic decision which can be supported by data analytics;
• Description of relevant dataset;
• Selection and application of data mining procedures to the data set in question.
• Development of a report on forecasting and/or trends obtained through datamining, which should be visualised with tables, charts and diagrams.
• Recommendations based on the outcomes of the aforementioned analysis.

Case study for this assignment

Option 1.

For the case study in this assignment, please use an organisation of yourchoice. This could be your current or previous workplace, start-up, social enterprise,governmental or NGO policy-making consultancy, community project or any informalactivity, which could benefit from data analytics. You need to be familiar with theorganisation’s data analytics processes and you need tohave senior management’spermission to use specific organisational data for your analysis. NB: Organisation name, other business or stakeholder particulars and any personallyidentifiable information can be fully anonymised. The data used in your analysis canalso be altered so that no sensitive information is revealed.

Option 2.

If option 1 poses an issue for you, please adopt a case study of a globalsuperstore using a related publicly available data set, which can be downloaded freely from:https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/rohitsahoo/sales-forecasting For this case organisation, please demonstrate the diagnostic of its data environment and perform the retail sales forecasting using the aforementioned data set. It is up toyou to identify and formulate a specific business question that needs to be addressed with this forecasting.Please note that if you are re-sitting this assessment for the first time, you may re-work your original submission if you wish. However, if this is your third attempt at this assessment, youmust submit a piece of work which is substantially different from your first two attempts.

Assignment tasks

Task 1

Introduce your chosen case study organisation briefly to set out the context. Suggestthe products, services, and markets they are involved with. Develop a specific proposal on an improved decision making within the chosen case study based on (a)analysis of the currently observed data, and (b) any extra types of data that can beretrieved, stored and processed for augmenting the currently available information. This response must include:

• Analysis of key sources and flows of data that are collected, processed, storedand taken into account in the chosen organisation’s decision-making process,including a statement of all the current financial and non-financial data theorganisation uses in its decision making.
• An approach to the improvement in data integrity of the proposed data analyticsframework;
• Data protection and ethical assurance requirements.
  (1000 words)
  (20 marks)
  (LO:3)

Task 2

Based on the outcomes of your response to Question 1, state a specific businessquestion the organisation currently needs to make, and how big data are expected toimprove its quality. This should include:

• A statement of major strategic questions and how the financial and non-financialdata are currently used in respective decision making;
• Statement of a particular business question selected for data analysis, and itscritical importance for the organisational competitive advantage or performance improvement;
• Identification of a specific data set to be analysed for addressing the statedquestion. The assignment must utilise a large data set obtained from the chosen organisation.(700 words)

Task 3

Describe a relevant dataset to be used in the proposed data analytics project, including:

• Discussion of business-related information the data set represents;
• Explanation how it has been obtained;
• Analysis of how representative the data set is, and potential limitationsassociated with its application.(500 words)(20 marks)(LO:1)

Task 4

Discuss data mining procedures with the dataset in question, performed usinganalytical software (e.g. Excel, SPSS and / or Weka), which should include:

• Data preparation, cleaning and filtering;
• Statement of immediate observations of business performance usingdescriptive data analysis;
• Development of an organisation’s forecast report based on inferential statisticsand/or machine learning, resulting in addressing the business question statedin Task 2.

NB: this discussion must be supported extensively by tables, charts and diagramsdemonstrating how the outcomes of analysis performed in the previous task can beinterpreted.

(1800 words)(25 marks)(LO:2)

Task 5

Based on the outcomes of Task 4, suggest how the business question stated in Task 2 should be answered. Then recommend how data analytics can improve the decisionmaking based on the analysis described earlier as well as propose the deployment ofextra data sources potentially capable of further augmenting the organisational big dataanalytics framework.

(1000 words)
(15 marks)
(LO:1 and LO:4)

BUS7017 Assessment Criteria (Learning objectives covered