Investigation

Unit Question: How can we use data analysis in our day-to-day life to make informed decisions?

Scenario:

Recently I posted a notice offer organizations my help in organizing all of their data and help to analyze future outcomes; at a price of 250dhs. I got a lot of replies some being from the toy store Hamleys and some being from clothes store such as Mother Care. However there was on that caught my eye. I had received an email from the manager of Australia’s cricket team. He had offered me a job to help them store, calculate, process and analyze the performance of the Australian cricket team in order to improve on their weaknesses and perform better in the future.

I plan on using my ICT skills that I learned in school. The software I plan on using is Ed Excel however I would like to take a look at other software’s before I finalize on Ed Excel.

Before I begin adding my data in my first step to this project is to look at how cricket works. So I will have to do research on the sport. Find out its rules, how to play the game and the roles each player has.

After that, I am going to provide a design solution by first drawing it out as a sketch on paper and then transferring in onto paint. The first step to my design brief is going to be making player portfolios. I going to create brief player portfolios which will contain the players name, age, date joined the team, bowler/cricketer, century made or not, highest amount of runs/bowls, role in the team (captain) and their picture. My design specifications will include first the amount of matches the team has played and how many of them have they won or lost in 3 different types of series. I will then take an average of how well they have played with their opposing team in the year. Then I will focus on the amount of runs and bowls made on an average scale. I will then find the average amount of runs/bowls made. And finally I will look at the fielding of the team. I will finalize my data with graphs that will help the coach indentify easily the weak points of the team and therefore use that data to help the team overcome their weaknesses.

The constraints on this project are most likely going to be time management. I will have to make sure I stick to task and I don’t exceed the time limit given. Another constraint might be getting accurate information and information that is recent. Also cricket is a very popular sport so therefore there will be a lot of information given and my job will be to simply the data into only the parts I need, this process will infact consume a lot of my time and once again as mentioned above up I will need to be very firm with my time management.

How can I help my customer to perform automatic calculations?

The software I’m using Ed Excel has settings in which it automatically does the calculations for you once data is inputted in. All you have to do is the following:

1.      One the worksheet, click on one the cells which you would like to use to enter the formula

2.      Put the sign = , to start the formula off

3.      Now click on the data you would like to use

4.      Now if you need to use the following symbols to do the following things:

Add = +

Subtract = -

Multiply = *

Divide = /

5.      When you click enter excel will automatically do the math for you

For example:

=12.99+16.99 in cell C6

 OR

You can simply click on the autosum button on the top left corner

Research:

Before I begin my project I will need to do a series of research based on the sport, in order to make an effective database. I will first look at the rules and regulations and how the game operates, and what type of games there are for example - test series, twenty 20 & one day. My research will also include the following:

-          History

-          Players

-          How to Play

-          Australian Players:

-          Australia’s Achievements

It is essential I do my research well cause if I don’t I would not be able to figure out how to organize the data on the team; therefore I would not be able to do my job correctly.

Areas of Interaction:

The area of interaction that I have chosen is Approaches to Learning. This is because Approaches to Learning is about discipline, attitudes, and strategies, skills which are needed in order to make critical coherent and independent evaluations. This means in order to fulfill its requirements I will have to develop my skills further to create a strong output of my product. My question for this unit is:

How can we use data analysis in our day-to-day life to make informed decisions?

In order to answer this question each of us individually have to create a scenario and choose a software that we can use for our create. The software I have chosen is Ed Excel as mentioned above. Ed Excel is a tool that is mainly used to input/store data as it has the ability to automatically calculate the data given. The reason I think Approaches to Learning is best suited for my project is because in order to meet the requirements of my client I not only need to learn about a whole new sport (cricket), but I also need to learn how to do automatic calculations on Ed Excel and organize data is a way that it is easy to look at it and draw conclusions/evaluations from. As for learning a new sport, I will need to learn how the game is played, rules and regulations, Australia’s history, different types of matches, how the game is scored and what positions do players have. Once I’ve completed the research of both the things mentioned above I will then need to input all my data onto Ed Excel with graphs and smaller tables to help the coach understand the weak areas of his team.

Linking myself to this the AOI I will need to be very critical when inputting my work and finalizing it before I hand it in, as if I do wrong the coach may not pay me and therefore my work would be for nothing. I need to make sure my information is correct, my data is inputted correctly and is organized, I have visuals to help support the data and most importantly the calculations I will do through formula’s are consistent and will work on their own even if the coach himself imputed the information.

I will be measuring if my work was a success or not by firstly looking at the performance of the team, they should be improving in terms of their skills as through the data I will provide them they will understand where their weak areas are and therefore proceed to overcome them.

How can I access information?

I can access the information from numerous sites however the main one I’ve chosen is:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/

How do I know if the information is reliable?

I will know the information is reliable, because I go on different websites and compare the data from both sites they should be the same. If they are not then they are not reliable and therefore I will need to search for data that is.

What will I do with this information?

As mentioned above I will use this information to create a spreadsheet where I will input all the data, so the coach of Australia’s cricket team understands where his team is weak and where they are strong and therefore attempt to improve from there.

What communication tools do I use? 

Ed Excel

Which ways of communicating do I need to improve on?

I will need to be careful when inputting data and making sure its organized as I will be taking data from the years 2012-2013

How can I better communicate my understanding?

I will be using graphs to help the coach get a visual perspective of how the data is, and therefore make it easier for him to read the data.

How can I better communicate my understanding?

I will be using graphs to help the coach get a visual perspective of how the data is, and therefore make it easier for him to read the data.

What aspects of my organization do I need to develop?

I will need to be very aware of the amount of time I have to complete this project

How can I best organize myself?

I can best organize myself by creating a Gantt chart, as it will help me stick to task and use my time well.

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