SPADE: Simple Platform for Analyzing Data Efficiently
University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed SPADE (A Simple Platform for Analyzing Data Efficiently), a web-based platform to allow users with varying levels of computer skills to gain insights into large data sets and present results in a clear and understandable manner. This easy-to-use software can create visually stunning charts, fully animated without the need for specialist programming skills and has the potential to improve accessibility of data science for millions of users.
Description
The field of data science is rapidly growing with business, academia and research institutions collecting ever more data. However, data are only useful if correctly analyzed and presented in an understandable manner. A lack of data science training for many has meant traditional data analysis software is unusable with hours of training required for the most basic of tasks. SPADE is designed to be used by individuals with no data science skills, to perform quick data analysis rapidly allowing for intuitive exploration. Charts and visuals can be easily built without advanced training or additional software. Equally, experienced data scientists can program SPADE to carry out more advanced analysis making SPADE a universal research tool for a variety of users. SPADE is a cloud-based platform for making interactive charts, providing an easy and effective way for exploring the complex multi-dimensional datase. SPADE is a web-based platform able to be used from any modern web browser with no installation. If needed, it is also able to be run on-site. The interactive charts are easy to create in a very short amount of time without writing any code, as is traditionally done. Advanced analysis is implemented through the popular Jupyter notebook software with integration for easy presentation of results in the dashboard.Applications
- Academic research- Data analysis
- Business intelligence
Advantages
Existing data science software such as SPSS or Tableau require hours of specialist training, are not intuitive, and lack the ability to present data easily making them inaccessible for beginners or inexperienced users. Additionally, many of these software packages require installation directly to a computer, a time and resource consuming process.SPADE is web-based – vital in this age of remote working – allowing access without the need to download specialist software. SPADE can also be accessed from a mobile device, improving accessibility in a low resource setting or “in the field” allowing for data sharing without the need to copy files. It is also designed to be intuitive and suitable for novice users but can be enhanced by experienced data scientists making it a complete solution for organizations with mixed skill sets. A key advantage of SPADE is graph generation and visualization without the need for additional software allowing users to present, organize, and annotate data for better understanding of complex data sets.