Data Mining Best Practices
Watch this video featuring Dr. Kevin Kuznia, Academic Department Chair.
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Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review Chapter 21 of your textbook.
In this assignment, you will analyze current data mining practices and evaluate the pros and cons of data mining. Provide one example of a company that has successfully practiced data mining and discuss why they were successful. Then, research a company that experienced a failed data mining practice. What data mining best practices could they have implemented to avoid this failure?
In your paper,
Discuss the industry standards for data mining best practices.
Identify pitfalls in data mining, including practices that should be avoided.
Provide an example of company that has successfully practiced data mining. What steps and precautions did they take to ensure the success of their data mining endeavor? How did they keep customer data safe?
In a second example, research a company that experienced a failed data mining experience. What pitfalls did the organization fall into? What would you have done differently?
Sample Solution
Data mining is a powerful tool that can be used to gain insights into customer behavior and other patterns in data. It involves the gathering of large amounts of data, analyzing it for trends or patterns, and understanding how those patterns can be applied to make decisions. While it has become increasingly important in today’s digital age, data mining must be done responsibly and ethically. Companies must follow industry standards for best practices when collecting, storing, and using customer data.
When it comes to successful examples of data mining practices, Amazon stands out as an example of how to do things right. Amazon collects user data through surveys, purchase histories, web searches and clicks on their website. It then uses this collected information to personalize its services for customers - such as personalized shopping recommendations - by analyzing the gathered information for patterns that could help inform its decisions about targeting certain products or services at different customers. To ensure success with these efforts while still protecting customer privacy , Amazon only stores anonymized versions of its collected user data which keeps the identities of individuals anonymous while still allowing them to reap the benefits from personalized experiences on their site .
On the flip side , there are also cases where companies have failed in their attempts at utilizing data mining tactics . One example would be Target back in 2012 when they were accused by customers of being too intrusive with their targeted marketing campaigns . The company had mined customer purchasing history from a variety of sources including loyalty programs , store locations , receipts , etc., without notifying customers first . This resulted in Target sending coupons that seemed almost “creepy” given what they knew about individual shoppers – such as one expecting mother receiving baby related coupons before she had announced her pregnancy publicly . Needless to say this was seen as an invasion of privacy by many consumers leading them to avoid doing business with Target altogether .
To have avoided this failure Target should have implemented better best practices prior to launching any sort of collection process – such as providing adequate transparency on how they collect/store/use consumer information and giving users options over what types/amounts of information are collected & shared with third parties (if any) . Additionally they should have taken extra precautions when dealing with sensitive topics like pregnancy (in addition informing users beforehand ) by offering additional opt out options if desired & ensuring that all associated communications remain confidential between just customer & company rather than making it public knowledge (e.g., no mention on social media or anywhere else). Finally they should have been sure not use any collected information outside customary business operations – meaning only using it within confines set forth by laws / regulations which govern proper usage & storage procedures..