Certified Specialist Business Intelligence Practice Test

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Prepare for the Certified Specialist Business Intelligence Test. Achieve mastery with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question supplemented with hints and explanations. Gear up for success!

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Descriptive analytics is primarily used to answer which of the following questions?

What happened and why
What will happen next
Who was responsible for past events
How can failures be corrected

The correct answer is: What happened and why

Descriptive analytics focuses on analyzing historical data to gain insights into past events and trends. It seeks to answer questions related to what has happened over a specific period and aims to provide a factual summary of past performance. This type of analytics utilizes data aggregation and statistical methods to interpret and present data in a manageable format, enabling organizations to understand their previous actions and results. In this context, answering "What happened and why" aligns perfectly with the definition of descriptive analytics, as it involves examining and interpreting data to clarify past occurrences and deduce the reasons behind them. This understanding can inform future decision-making and strategy development. The other options represent different aspects of analytics. For example, predicting future events leans more towards predictive analytics, while accountability for events relates to forensic or diagnostic analytics. Solutions for correcting failures generally fall into prescriptive analytics, which suggests actions based on data. Therefore, the focus of descriptive analytics on historical trends and outcomes makes it the correct choice for the question posed.