Five sections guide students through the information Part 1: Foundations of Business Analytics. The first two chapters provide the basic foundations needed to understand business analytics and Microsoft Excel, and show students how to manipulate data and develop simple spreadsheet models. Part 2: Descriptive Analytics. Chapters 3 through 7 cover the fundamental tools and methods of data analysis and statistics. These chapters focus on visual representations of data, descriptive statistical measures, probability distributions and data modeling, sampling and estimation, and statistical inference. Part 3: Predictive Analytics. Chapters 8 through 12 develop approaches for applying trendlines and regression analysis, forecasting and introductory data mining techniques, building and analyzing models on spreadsheets, and simulation and risk analysis. Part 4: Prescriptive Analytics.

Chapters 13 and 14 explore linear, integer, and nonlinear optimization models and applications. Chapter 15 focuses on what-if and sensitivity analysis in optimization, and visualization of Solver reports. Part 5: Making Decisions. Chapter 16 focuses on philosophies, tools, and techniques of decision analysis. In-text features aid in student understanding New - Numbered Chapter Sections , with Check Your Understanding questions, provide a means to review fundamental concepts. New - Analytics in Practice describes real applications in business. Learning Objectives help students guide their learning efforts. Key terms and their definitions assist students as they review the chapter and study for exams.

Updated - End-of-Chapter Problems and Exercises help reinforce the material covered throughout the chapter, and have been revised for added clarity. Integrated Cases encourage students to think independently and apply the tools at a higher level of learning. Data Sets and Excel Models are used in examples and problems, and are available to students on the author''s website (pearsonhighered.com/evans). New - Appendix in Chapter 1 reviews basic Excel skills, and is used throughout the book. Updated material ensures students are well versed in the latest business analytics principles and techniques New - The application of Excel for dealing with spreadsheet data (Chapter 2); New - Combinations and permutations (Chapter 5); New - The use of data visualization for confidence interval comparison (Chapter 6); New - Excel approaches for double exponential smoothing and Holt-Winters models for seasonality and trend (Chapter 9); New - Simple data mining techniques for spreadsheets using Excel (Chapter 10); and New - What-if and sensitivity analysis, visualization of Solver reports, and how Solver handles models with bounded variables (Chapter 15). Complete software support New - Technology Help in every chapter provides students with useful summaries of key Excel functions and procedures. Also, the 3rd Edition now relies solely on native Excel, and is independent of platforms, allowing it to be easily used by students with either PCs/Macs.

Updated - Online supplements provide detailed information and examples for using StatCrunch and Analytic Solver for Education, which provides more powerful tools for data mining, Monte-Carlo simulation, optimization, and decision analysis. Also available with MyLab Business Statistics MyLab(tm) is the teaching and learning platform that empowers you to reach every student. By combining trusted author content with digital tools and a flexible platform, MyLab personalizes the learning experience and improves results for each student. For example, new Excel and StatCrunch Projects help students develop business decision-making skills. Learn more about MyLab Business Statistics. Reach every student with MyLab Teach your course your way: Your course is unique. So whether you''d like to build your own assignments, teach multiple sections, or set prerequisites, MyLab gives you the flexibility to easily create your course to fit your needs. Empower each learner: Each student learns at a different pace.

Personalized learning pinpoints the precise areas where each student needs practice, giving all students the support they need -- when and where they need it -- to be successful. Question Help consists of homework and practice questions to give students unlimited opportunities to master concepts. Learning aids walk students through the problem -- giving them assistance when they need it most. The Study Plan gives students personalized recommendations, practice opportunities, and learning aids to help them stay on track. The Getting Ready for Statistics Library contains more than 450 exercises to ensure students have mastered the needed developmental math topics before beginning their statistics course. These are key for students who may need extra prerequisite support and can be added to any assignment. Deliver trusted content: You deserve teaching materials that meet your own high standards for your course. That''s why we partner with highly respected authors to develop interactive content and course-specific resources that you can trust -- and that keep your students engaged.

Using proven, field-tested technology, auto-graded Excel Projects let you seamlessly integrate Microsoft® Excel® content into your course without having to manually grade spreadsheets. StatCrunch , a powerful, web-based statistical software, is integrated into MyLab, so students can quickly and easily analyze data sets from their text and exercises. New - StatCrunch Projects provide opportunities for students to analyze big data, practice statistical thinking, and make data-informed decisions. Each project consists of a series of questions about a large data set to provide a deeper dive on business statistics topics. Improve student results: When you teach with MyLab, student performance often improves. That''s why instructors have chosen MyLab for over 15 years, touching the lives of over 50 million students. Check out the preface for a complete list of features and what''s new in this edition.