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Section 1: Analytics Types & Business Intelligence (Questions 1-
10)
1. A retail company analyzes last quarter's sales data to determine which
products had the highest revenue. Which type of analytics is being used?
A. Predictive analytics
B. Prescriptive analytics
C. Descriptive analytics
D. Diagnostic analytics
Correct Answer: C. Descriptive analytics [CORRECT]
Rationale: Descriptive analytics answers "what happened?" by summarizing historical
data (sales revenue by product). Predictive analytics (A) forecasts future outcomes.
Prescriptive analytics (B) recommends actions. Diagnostic analytics (D) explains why
something happened. This distinction is foundational to WGU C207 analytics
competency framework and business intelligence classification.
2. A hospital uses patient readmission data to identify which factors contribute
most to unplanned returns within 30 days. Which analytics type is applied?
A. Descriptive analytics
B. Diagnostic analytics
C. Predictive analytics
D. Prescriptive analytics
Correct Answer: B. Diagnostic analytics [CORRECT]
,Rationale: Diagnostic analytics answers "why did it happen?" by analyzing root
causes and relationships between variables (factors contributing to readmissions).
Descriptive analytics (A) would only report readmission rates. Predictive analytics (C)
would forecast future readmissions. Prescriptive analytics (D) would recommend
interventions. This demonstrates the diagnostic layer of the analytics maturity model
per WGU C207 curriculum.
3. A bank develops a model to estimate the probability that a loan applicant will
default within the next 12 months. Which analytics type is being employed?
A. Descriptive analytics
B. Diagnostic analytics
C. Predictive analytics
D. Prescriptive analytics
Correct Answer: C. Predictive analytics [CORRECT]
Rationale: Predictive analytics answers "what will happen?" using statistical models
and historical data to forecast future outcomes (default probability). Descriptive (A)
and diagnostic (B) analyze past data. Prescriptive analytics (D) would recommend
whether to approve the loan. This demonstrates predictive modeling application in
financial services per WGU C207 business analytics competencies.
4. A logistics company uses optimization algorithms to determine the most cost-
effective delivery routes given fuel costs, traffic patterns, and delivery time
windows. Which analytics type is this?
A. Descriptive analytics
B. Diagnostic analytics
C. Predictive analytics
D. Prescriptive analytics
Correct Answer: D. Prescriptive analytics [CORRECT]
,Rationale: Prescriptive analytics answers "what should we do?" by using optimization
and simulation to recommend specific actions (optimal delivery routes). Descriptive
(A), diagnostic (B), and predictive (C) analytics inform but do not prescribe decisions.
This represents the highest level of analytics maturity and demonstrates WGU C207
emphasis on actionable business intelligence.
5. Which component of Business Intelligence (BI) is responsible for extracting
data from operational systems, transforming it into a consistent format, and
loading it into a data warehouse?
A. OLAP
B. ETL
C. Dashboard
D. KPI
Correct Answer: B. ETL [CORRECT]
Rationale: ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) is the process that moves data from source
systems to a data warehouse, ensuring data quality and consistency. OLAP (A)
enables multidimensional analysis. Dashboards (C) visualize data. KPIs (D) are metrics,
not processes. This demonstrates BI architecture understanding per WGU C207 data
management competencies.
6. A manager reviews a visual display showing real-time sales metrics, inventory
levels, and customer satisfaction scores on a single screen. This is BEST described
as:
A. A data warehouse
B. A data lake
C. A dashboard
D. An OLAP cube
Correct Answer: C. A dashboard [CORRECT]
, Rationale: A dashboard is a visual display of KPIs and metrics that provides at-a-
glance monitoring of business performance. A data warehouse (A) is a centralized
repository. A data lake (B) stores raw data. An OLAP cube (D) enables
multidimensional analysis but is not a visual display. This demonstrates BI tool
classification per WGU C207 visualization competencies.
7. Which term describes a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively an
organization is achieving key business objectives?
A. Data mart
B. Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
C. Data dictionary
D. Schema
Correct Answer: B. Key Performance Indicator (KPI) [CORRECT]
Rationale: A KPI is a quantifiable measure used to evaluate success in meeting
objectives (e.g., customer retention rate, revenue growth). A data mart (A) is a subset
of a data warehouse. A data dictionary (C) defines data elements. A schema (D)
defines database structure. This demonstrates business metrics terminology per
WGU C207 analytics foundations.
8. A financial analyst drills down from annual revenue to quarterly revenue to
monthly revenue to identify seasonal patterns. This capability is characteristic of:
A. OLTP (Online Transaction Processing)
B. OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)
C. ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
D. API (Application Programming Interface)
Correct Answer: B. OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) [CORRECT]
Rationale: OLAP enables multidimensional analysis including drilling down (from
summary to detail), slicing, dicing, and pivoting. OLTP (A) handles transactional data