If you want to know expenditures for personnel in a particular region for the previous six months, you just highlight the appropriate items in the windows. Excel, QlikView and other similar products are relatively easy to use, but they do require some sophistication to set up because they can do so much. If you have specific statistical analysis requirements, you may be able to find products aimed directly at your needs. One of them, CB Predictor from Decisioneering Inc., is aimed at prediction. It uses wizards to guide you through the analytical steps required to solve time series analysis and regression.
Regression is used to estimate the value of one variable when other related variables are known.
For example, it might show changes in productivity given different personnel levels. Another type of specialty analysis product focuses on human resources. PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management, Workforce Analytics Version 8.0 extracts data from HRMS to provide analysis of such things as compensation, retention rates and headcount. It also allows users to analyze performance indicators and benchmarks to help agencies evaluate, for example, how compensation or a specific benefits program affects retention. Datawatch Corp. Keep in mind Products from SPSS and SAS are generally for professional statisticians or for sophisticated nonstatisticians.