CRISP-DM: data-mining process model

[Julian Clinton]

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*Move For Standard Data Mining Process Gathers Pace*

        First CRISP-DM SIG Workshop Held

1 December 1997

Key players in the data mining market met in Amsterdam last week as 
the
move towards a standard process model for data mining gained momentum.

The CRISP-DM initiative - "CRoss-Industry Standard Process for Data
Mining"
- is intended to provide a general model for the data mining process, 
as
the technology  comes of age. CRISP-DM is partially funded by the
European
Commission, and members include NCR, ISL, Daimler-Benz and OHRA.

Vital to CRISP-DM is a Special Interest Group (SIG) of data mining 
tool
and
service suppliers and large-scale commercial users.

At the Amsterdam workshop, SIG members from eight countries heard the
CRISP
consortium outline the industry's need for a common methodology and
describe initial work towards a standard data mining process model. 
SIG
members were invited to present their views. Speakers represented data
mining vendors (including Syllogic, Data Distilleries and Attar
Software),
systems suppliers and integrators (including Cap Gemini and ICL 
Retail),
management consultancies (including Deloitte & Touche and Price
Waterhouse)
and large-scale industrial companies (including British Telecom and
ABB).

In the SIG presentations and discussions afterwards, several key 
points
were stressed repeatedly. These were that:
* users will not always be technology experts,
* a methodology should provide a framework for documenting and 
re-using
the
experience gained on data mining projects,
* business issues are as important as technology, and must be 
addressed
by
any process model.

The CRISP partners were delighted to find such a high level of 
agreement
between the SIG members, and support for the aims of the initiative.

"This workshop has confirmed the need for a standard, cross-industry
process model," said Jens Hejlesen of NCR, CRISP-DM project manager.
"There
was overwhelming agreement that data mining needs a common process
model,
and from the SIG members' input we are confident that our work is 
going
in
the right direction. Most importantly, there is a recognition that the
data
mining market needs such a standard now if we are to see this 
technology
adopted as infrastructure by Global 2000 companies."

Members are still being recruited for the CRISP SIG, and further
workshops
are planned during the next few months. An email discussion forum will
also
be established, and a newsletter will be published. Anybody interested
in
joining the CRISP SIG should contact:

    crisp@dbag.ulm.DaimlerBenz.COM

*CRISP-DM Partners*

NCR, the world's leading supplier of data warehouse solutions;
Integral Solutions Limited (ISL), developers of the market-leading
    Clementine Data Mining System;
Daimler-Benz, European industrial giant;
OHRA, one of the Netherlands' largest insurance companies.

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Julian Clinton (julianc@isl.co.uk)
Integral Solutions Limited,
Berk House, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hants RG21 4RG, UK
Tel. +44 (0)1256 355899, Fax. +44 (0)1256 363467
URL. http://www.isl.co.uk
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