Business value in integrating predictive and prescriptive analytics models

Abstract

This article suggests ways to frame classroom discussion around the business value of models in data science, predictive analytics, and management science classes. We consider an example in which predictive analytics is used to determine the inputs to prescriptive models for customer service, and illustrate how calculations of business value enter the process of creating recommendations for business stakeholders. A review of predictive and prescriptive techniques and how they map to business problems is provided to explain the context for the exercise, and the level of analytics maturity of organizations is discussed in connection with the use of predictive and prescriptive analytics. This example presents a unified view of concepts from traditionally disparate areas of analytics, making it suitable as a capstone or an ongoing project in a data science or business analytics course.