Mining the Talk: Unlocking the Business Value in Unstructured Information

Description

Leverage Unstructured Data to Become More Competitive, Responsive, and Innovative

In Mining the Talk, two leading-edge IBM researchers introduce a revolutionary new approach to unlocking the business value hidden in virtually any form of unstructured data - from word processing documents to websites, emails to instant messages.

The authors review the business drivers that have made unstructured data so important - and explain why conventional methods for working with it are inadequate. Then, writing for business professionals - not just data mining specialists - they walk step-by-step through exploring your unstructured data, understanding it, and analyzing it effectively.

Next, you'll put IBM's techniques to work in five key areas: learning from your customer interactions; hearing the voices of customers when they're not talking to you; discovering the collective consciousness of your own organization; enhancing innovation; and spotting emerging trends. Whatever your organization, Mining the Talk offers you breakthrough opportunities to become more responsive, agile, and competitive.

* Identify your key information sources and what can be learned about them
* Discover the underlying structure inherent in your unstructured information
* Create flexible models that capture both domain knowledge and business objectives
* Create visual taxonomies: pictures of your data and its key interrelationships
* Combine structured and unstructured information to reveal hidden trends, patterns, and relationships
* Gain insights from informal talk by customers and employees
* Systematically leverage knowledge from technical literature, patents, and the Web
* Establish a sustainable process for creating continuing business value from unstructured data

Preface xv

Acknowledgements xx

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

Chapter 2: Mining Customer Interactions 21

Chapter 3: Mining the Voice of the Customer 71

Chapter 4: Mining the Voice of the Employee 93

Chapter 5: Mining to Improve Innovation 111

Chapter 6: Mining to See the Future 133

Chapter 7: Future Applications 163

Appendix: The IBM Unstructured Information Modeler Users Manual 171

CONTENTS:

Preface xv

Acknowledgements xx

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

Chapter 2: Mining Customer Interactions 21

Chapter 3: Mining the Voice of the Customer 71

Chapter 4: Mining the Voice of the Employee 93

Chapter 5: Mining to Improve Innovation 111

Chapter 6: Mining to See the Future 133

Chapter 7: Future Applications 163

Appendix: The IBM Unstructured Information Modeler Users Manual 171