OVERVIEW
This exercise is meant to give you experience in using specialized “Bus
OVERVIEW
This exercise is meant to give you experience in using specialized “Business Productivity”
software applications that you haven’t used before to understand the many different tools
available to you in your career.
OBJECTIVE
Download, install, run, and report on trial software application of your choice.
RESOURCES
• Computer with Microsoft Office (PowerPoint)
• Internet access
EVALUATION
Your grade will be based on meeting the following criteria within the scheduled deadline:
• Download an appropriate trial software application (25%)
• Download an appropriate dataset (if required) and demonstrate the main software
features (What, Who, How?) (50%)
• Create a PowerPoint presentation of your installation, use, screenshots of the main
features of the application, items from instructions below, and YOUR recommendation
for using the software (25%)
INSTRUCTIONS
Assignment: Download a trial version (usually free. DO NOT pay for software) of one of the
following applications and provide a short (6 – 10 slides) PowerPoint presentation on the:
• Features of the software
• Screenshots of the installed application on YOUR desktop
• Use of the application (search and download a sample data set according to the
instructions)
• Output product of the application (i.e. a chart/graph/dashboard from a data set,
descriptive statistics from a data set, or final product from your software)
• Your recommendation for using the software.
The following is a list of software to choose (You may choose something else provided you’ve
never used it before, it meets the standard of “Business Productivity,” and you get approval
from the instructor):
1. https://www.ibm.com/products/spss-statistics
“An integrated family of products that addresses the entire analytical process, from planning to
data collection to analysis, reporting and deployment.”
Used for statistical analysis in most graduate programs.
Mandatory: Download a data set and conduct basic descriptive statistical tests and submit
output
2. http://www.splunk.com/en_us/products/splunk-enterprise.html
“Splunk Enterprise makes it simple to collect, analyze and act upon the untapped value of the
big data generated by your technology infrastructure, security systems and business
applications—giving you the insights to drive operational performance and business results.”
Mandatory: Download a sample dataset or demonstrate use on your personal computer with
your own generated data
3. https://www.tableau.com/
“Produces interactive data visualization products focused on business intelligence.”
Mandatory: Download a sample dataset and demonstrate the visualization in Tableau:
https://public.tableau.com/en-us/s/resources
4. https://rapidminer.com/
“RapidMiner is a data science software platform developed by the company of the same name
that provides an integrated environment for data preparation, machine learning, deep learning,
text mining, and predictive analytics.”
Mandatory: Download a dataset and demonstrate datamining or use the built-in sample
datasets: https://docs.rapidminer.com/latest/studio/getting-started/studio-samples.html
5. https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/
“Power BI is a business analytics service that delivers insights to enable fast, informed
decisions.”
Mandatory: Download a sample dataset to use
6. https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-pro/trial
“ArcGIS Pro is Esri’s powerful, single desktop GIS application. Technologically ahead of
everything else on the market, ArcGIS Pro supports data visualization, advanced analysis, and
authoritative data maintenance in 2D, 3D, and 4D.”
Mandatory: Generate a map showing a specified geographic area and at least 2 layers of