Introduction to Data Analysis

We are living in the information age. Data is core to everything that we do in our organisations and businesses. As a result most of our software applications perform critical functions in processing, storing, and reporting data. Data analysis therefore becomes an essential skill for software project team members and anyone else who needs to analyse, model, and report data and information.

This course provides a pragmatic introduction to data analysis concepts. The course is targeted to those who are new to data analysis, who need to analyse and model data, become familiar with core database concepts, and perform SQL select queries. A number of hands-on exercises are performed during the course to apply what is learnt.

The ‘Introduction to Data Analysis’ course is delivered by seasoned Equinox practitioner consultants who undertake data analysis as part of their day to day activities.

Duration

1 Day

Course Objectives

Following the completion of this course, students will be able to:

Understand key data analysis concepts
Read and interpret Entity Relationship Diagrams
Explain the forms of normalisation
Write SQL Select statements

Audience

Business Analysts, Systems Analysts, Application Analysts
Testers and Test Analysts
Data Analysts
Other project or business roles that include data analysis and database querying activities.

Course Syllabus

Overview

Top Down Analysis
Bottom Up Analysis

Notation

UML Class Diagram
UML Entity Relationship Diagram

Top Down Analysis

Business Rules as Input
Business Entities as Input

Bottom Up Analysis: Normalisation

Terminology
First, Second and Third Normal Form
Boyce-Codd, Fourth and Fifth Normal Form

Referential Integrity and Indexing

Structured Query Language

Description
History
Vendor Extensions
SQL Statements
SQL Resources
Select Syntax (Basic Select, Where Predicates, Aggregate Functions, Table Joins, Aliasing)