Page 140 - Big Data Analytics for Connected Vehicles and Smart Cities

120 Big Data Analytics for Connected Vehicles and Smart Cities What Are Analytics? 121

beginning of a suitable response. A suitable response to new insight and under-
standing with respect to service issues and problems would be to develop a plan
for addressing the issue and putting together a related budget. This is simply
an evolution into scientific investment planning based on the identification of
issues and an understanding of the effects of the investment.
Vast quantities of data present the challenge of making sense of the data,
converting it into information, and doing something useful with it. The real
value of analytics lies in the end result. As illustrated in Figure 6.2, there is a
process involving analytics that should result in the delivery of practical value.
The vital role of analytics lies in the conversion of the data to information, but
even information cannot deliver value unless it supports actions and changes
because of the new information.
Early in the development of intelligent transportation systems, many
transportation professionals were concerned that new sensor and telecommu-
nication abilities would reveal issues that could not be addressed due to budget
constraints. This is another reason why the application of analytics must sup-
port the entire value chain from data collection, through information process-
ing to the definition and application of response strategies. A comprehensive
approach to the application of analytics across the full spectrum of transporta-
tion activities from planning through design delivery and operations will also
help to focus available resources accurately and consistently. This should realign
budgets and release funds for the issues uncovered by new insights.
Figure 6.2 is drawn as a pyramid to indicate the dependence of the success
of later actions on the success and completeness of the earlier ones. Good data
leads to good information and with the help of analytics, information yields
actionable insights. It is also important to consider all the steps in the process
in order to achieve results.
In practice, analytics will show the relationship between different pieces
of data in the data lake, and it is this connection that can yield new results and

Figure 6.2 Analytics value chain.