Institute of Data Analytics Signs Project Extension with QuEST Forum
The Institute of Data Analytics, part of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at UT Dallas, has signed a 3-year project extension with QuEST Forum to manage data for the TL 9000 quality standard. QuEST Forum is a global association of the information and communication technology (ICT) companies charged with developing and implementing quality and performance practices that unite and improve the ICT industry.
Under its agreement with QuEST Forum, the Institute provides a secure repository for monthly performance data submitted by telecom service providers and equipment vendors as part of their compliance to the TL 9000 standard. This data is used to create industry benchmarks and performance data reports, which are used, in turn, by companies to track their own performance and compare themselves against peer groups.
The extension will fund the project from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018, adding three years to the Institute’s current agreement which expires at the end of 2015.
“UT Dallas has had a relationship with QuEST Forum spanning more than 14 years,” said the Institute’s Executive Director Dr. Ron Bose. “Our team is proud of the contribution we are able make to the ICT industry through this partnership.”
The researchers at the Institute for Data Analytics at UT Dallas manage and analyze large, secure data sets for companies in multiple industries, including communications and financial services. Companies in these fields produce large amounts of data, which the Institute analyzes with the “big data” techniques to gain insights into the data structure. The Institute is completely supported by industry funding and has in the past six months received several large financial commitments. With a full time staff of eight professionals, the Institute supports faculty research and employs half a dozen or so graduate students each semester. The institute draws primarily from faculty and students in the Computer Science Department of the Jonsson School, but works with other schools at UT Dallas as well.
The Institute also maintains the E-Plan system, which is the nation’s largest repository of data on 20,000 hazardous chemicals that are stored at more than 400,000 facilities across the US. E-Plan is funded by multiple state governments and by private industry. It provides on-line information on hazardous materials instantly to first responders and is credited for saving many lives.
In September 2015, Dr. Bose received a $60,000 contract from a major US telecommunications company to analyze data from various repair bureaus where customers complaint tickets are sent for triage and diagnosis. During the initial project with UT Dallas, the company will work with both Dr. Bose and two UT Dallas graduate students who will use 24-months of customer ticket data to evaluate technician scheduling and to analyze the types of events that lead to the largest amount of tickets.
In addition, the Institute also executes data analytics projects for companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and outside. Working with a major online brokerage firm, UTD faculty and students, who are sponsored by the Institute, examined four years of customer trading and transaction data to understand customer risk-taking behaviors and trading patterns. They also recently completed a project for a telecom software company to define key performance indicators and metrics required to manage telecom networks, as these networks evolve to a software-driven and virtualized infrastructure.
The Institute’s Executive Director, Dr. Ron Bose, is also a Research Professor in the Computer Science Department and is responsible for funding, research activities and implementation of key programs at the institute. Dr. Bose joined UT Dallas in 2013 after having spent more than 30 years at major technology companies, including Bell Laboratories, AT&T, Siemens and Fujitsu. He was also a Partner at Arthur Andersen, serving telecom, media and high technology clients in the United States and Canada. He received his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Masters in Systems Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and Ph.D. in Operations Research from University of Texas, Austin. He has served on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Communications Society and as Technical Editor of IEEE Communications Magazine.
About the UT Dallas Computer Science Department
The UT Dallas Computer Science program is one of the largest Computer Science departments in the United States with, over 1,600 bachelor’s-degree students, more than 1,100 master’s students, 160 PhD students, and 80 faculty members, as of Fall 2015. With The University of Texas at Dallas’ unique history of starting as a graduate institution first, the CS Department is built on a legacy of valuing innovative research and providing advanced training for software engineers and computer scientists.