Archiving Results

Much of the analytic processing that is done against repetitive data is of the project
variety. And there is a problem with analytic processing done on a project basis. The
problem is that once the project is finished, the results are either discarded or put into
“mothballs.” There is no problem until such time as it comes to do another project. When
starting a new project, it is very convenient to see what analysis has preceded this
analysis. There may be overlap. There may be complementary processing. If nothing else,
a description of how the previous analyses have been developed can be useful.

Therefore, at the end of a project, it is useful to create an archive of the project.

Typical information that might go into the archive might include the following:

What data went into the project

How data were selected

What algorithms were used

How many iterations were there in the project

What results were attained

Where are the results stored

Who conducted the project

How long did it take to conduct the project

Who sponsored the project

Fig. 9.3.9 shows that an archive of projects is a worthwhile thing to do.

Chapter 9.3: Repetitive Analysis