Explanatory analysis in business intelligence systems

In this paper we describe a method for the discovery of exceptional values in business intelligence (BI) systems, in particular OLAP information systems. We also show how exceptional values can be explained by underlying causes. OLAP applications offer a support tool for business analysts and accountants in analyzing financial data because of the availability of different views and managerial reporting facilities. The purpose of the methods and algorithms presented here, is to extend OLAP based systems with more powerful analysis and reporting functions. We describe how exceptional values at any level in the data, can be automatically detected by statistical models. Secondly a generic model for diagnosis of atypical values is realized in the OLAP context. By applying it, a full explanation tree of causes at successive levels can be generated. If the tree is too large, the analyst can use appropriate filtering measures to prune the tree to a manageable size. This methodology has a wide range of applications such as interfirm comparison, analysis of sales data and the analysis of any other data that possess a multi-dimensional hierarchical structure. The method is demonstrated in a case study on financial data.