A visual data mining framework for convenient identification of useful knowledge

Data mining algorithms usually generate a large number of rules, which may not always be useful to human users. In this project, we propose a novel visual data-mining framework, called Opportunity Map, to identify useful and actionable knowledge quickly and easily from the discovered rules. The framework is inspired by the House of Quality from Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in Quality Engineering. It associates discovered rules, related summarized data and data distributions with the application objective using an interactive matrix. Combined with drill down visualization, integrated visualization of data distribution bars and rules, visualization of trend behaviors, and comparative analysis, the Opportunity Map allows users to analyze rules and data at different levels of detail and quickly identify the actionable knowledge and opportunities. The proposed framework represents a systematic and flexible approach to rule analysis. Applications of the system to large-scale data sets from our industrial partner have yielded promising results.