Patent Document ID: 20090177682
Application ID: 11971462
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for performing data mining, the method including: mining data using any data mining method which ranks each of a plurality of variables; generating a tree diagram from the mined data including the variables using a tree mining method; obtaining a population and a target value from a top node or a top field of the tree diagram; storing the population and the target value by appending the population and the target value to a listing of sequential top node parameters; removing the top node or top field from the variables used in the tree mining method to create a new tree diagram formed with all or a subset of the variables used in the tree mining method, the new tree diagram having a next top node or a next top field; repeatedly obtaining a next population and a next target value for the next top node or the next top field, appending the next population and the next target value to the listing of sequential top node parameters, and removing the top node or top field from the variables used to form a new tree diagram, until the new tree diagram does not contain any more nodes or fields; and plotting the listing of sequential top node parameters on a tree cusp curve using at least one of a left branch of the tree cusp curve or a right branch of the tree cusp curve wherein the tree cusp curve provides a graphical user interface enabling visual identification of one or more fields which affect a greatest number of records, or one or more fields which affect a least number of records, based upon a magnitude of departure of the one or more fields from a norm as displayed on the tree cusp curve.