Quiz Space

Business Data Management · End Term · 21 Dec 2025 · September 2025 term

Question 45: A CEO dashboard shows monthly revenue for the last 3 yea…

Question 45

+1 markOne correct option

A CEO dashboard shows monthly revenue for the last 3 years. You notice:
● The y‐axis starts at ₹95 crore instead of 0. ● The actual revenue range is from ₹100 crore to ₹105 crore. ● The line chart visually appears to have huge swings (steep peaks and valleys).
The CEO says: “Our revenue is extremely volatile; we need an urgent cost‐cutting task force.”
As the data analyst, what is the most appropriate first response?

  1. A

    Confirm that revenue is volatile and immediately pull detailed cost data to support the CEO’s proposed task force.

  2. B

    Suggest smoothing the line with a 12‐month moving average so the volatility looks less extreme and is easier for executives to accept.

  3. C

    Point out that the chart uses a truncated y‐axis which exaggerates visual volatility, and propose re‐plotting with either a zero baseline or a chart of month‐over‐month % change before drawing conclusions.

  4. D

    Explain that small revenue fluctuations are normal and recommend removing the y‐axis entirely so the focus is on the overall upward trend.

Show answer

Correct answer

  • C

    Point out that the chart uses a truncated y‐axis which exaggerates visual volatility, and propose re‐plotting with either a zero baseline or a chart of month‐over‐month % change before drawing conclusions.

See the whole paperTake it as a mock test

Question 45 of 50 in the IIT Madras BS Business Data Management (BDM) End Term paper sat on 21 Dec 2025, in the September 2025 term (Business Data Management 18 Dec 25). It carries 1 mark.

More questions from this paper

  1. Q1A beverage company wants to estimate the annual “Addressable Market” (in ₹) for a new premium coffee brand in India. Th…
  2. Q2A "Left Join" between Table A (100 rows) and Table B (100 rows) results in a table with 105 rows. What does this defini…
  3. Q3You are analyzing market share data for the smartphone industry.\ ● Last year, total market volume was 100 million unit…
  4. Q4A B2B SaaS company tracks leads through this funnel:\ ● Stage 1: MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) ● Stage 2: SQL (Sales Q…
  5. Q5A business analyst is studying how “Macro-economic indicators” relate to the sales of luxury cars. Over the last 3 rece…
  6. Q6You are visualizing a funnel for an e‐commerce site:\ ● Visits → Add to Cart → Checkout → Payment → Order Confirmed\ Yo…
  7. Q7You are given a 100% stacked bar chart comparing market share of 5 competitors over 3 years. Each year’s bar is normali…
  8. Q8A business analyst is studying how “Macro-economic indicators” relate to the sales of luxury cars. Over the last 3 rece…
  9. Q9An external agency provides you with data on both Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Share of Wallet (SOW) for your reta…
  10. Q10You are analyzing market share data for the smartphone industry.\ ● Last year, total market volume was 100 million unit…
  11. Q11You are auditing a “Sales Transaction” dataset. For true Beverage items, the “Product Category” column contains:\ ● “Be…
  12. Q12You have the following Tables:\ ● Customer_Master(CustID) with 10,000 active customers. ● Transactions(CustID, TxnDate)…
  13. Q13A retail manager wants to analyze Daily Inventory Turnover for SKU A to identify days with possible stockout risk.\ The…
  14. Q14A beverage company wants to estimate the annual “Addressable Market” (in ₹) for a new premium coffee brand in India. Th…
  15. Q15In a tidy retail dataset, you track weekly sales for 5 stores over 52 weeks. You want a structure that:\ ● Allows you t…
  16. Q16You are presenting to the CEO. She asks: “Which region contributed the most to our profit growth this year compared to …
  17. Q17You have the following Tables:\ ● Customer_Master(CustID) with 10,000 active customers. ● Transactions(CustID, TxnDate)…
  18. Q18In a tidy retail dataset, you track weekly sales for 5 stores over 52 weeks. You want a structure that:\ ● Allows you t…
  19. Q19A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) has a "Long Tail" sales distribution. In an ABC analysis, this SKU would likely fall into Ca…
  20. Q20You are auditing a “Sales Transaction” dataset. For true Beverage items, the “Product Category” column contains:\ ● “Be…
  21. Q21You are presenting to the CEO. She asks: “Which region contributed the most to our profit growth this year compared to …
  22. Q22You are analyzing "Basket Co-occurrence" (Market Basket Analysis). You find that [Bread, Milk] has high lift, but [Brea…
  23. Q23In a Pivot Table, you drag "Region" to Rows, "Year" to Columns, and "Sales" to Values. You then drag "Sales" into the V…
  24. Q24A chain of gyms analyzes member data and finds:\ ● Strong positive correlation between “Number of Personal Training (PT…
  25. Q25You are visualizing a funnel for an e‐commerce site:\ ● Visits → Add to Cart → Checkout → Payment → Order Confirmed\ Yo…
  26. Q26You are analyzing seasonality for an Ice Cream brand. December sales (in 1,000 units) over the last 5 years were:\ Year…
  27. Q27A small shop owner keeps data in a notebook. For January he writes entries like:\ ● "15th Jan: Sold 10 kg Rice, 5 kg Da…
  28. Q28An external agency provides you with data on both Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Share of Wallet (SOW) for your reta…
  29. Q29You are analyzing "Basket Co-occurrence" (Market Basket Analysis). You find that [Bread, Milk] has high lift, but [Brea…
  30. Q30A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) has a "Long Tail" sales distribution. In an ABC analysis, this SKU would likely fall into Ca…
  31. Q31In a "Churn Prediction" model, you include a variable "Customer calls to support line". You find a positive correlation…
  32. Q32A chain of clinics measures “Doctor Utilization Rate”:\ Utilization = Total Consultation Minutes / Available Working Mi…
  33. Q33A "Left Join" between Table A (100 rows) and Table B (100 rows) results in a table with 105 rows. What does this defini…
  34. Q34In a Pivot Table, you drag "Region" to Rows, "Year" to Columns, and "Sales" to Values. You then drag "Sales" into the V…
  35. Q35Why is "Metadata" critical for Business Data Management?
  36. Q36A retail manager wants to analyze Daily Inventory Turnover for SKU A to identify days with possible stockout risk.\ The…
  37. Q37You are analyzing seasonality for an Ice Cream brand. December sales (in 1,000 units) over the last 5 years were:\ Year…
  38. Q38A retail chain runs a new loyalty program in only some stores. After 3 months, you compare:\ ● Program stores: average …
  39. Q39A subscription video platform wants to understand “Customer Engagement Value” (CEV) by combining:\ ● Customer_Master(Cu…
  40. Q40A small shop owner keeps data in a notebook. For January he writes entries like:\ ● "15th Jan: Sold 10 kg Rice, 5 kg Da…
  41. Q41A B2B SaaS company tracks leads through this funnel:\ ● Stage 1: MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) ● Stage 2: SQL (Sales Q…
  42. Q42Why is "Metadata" critical for Business Data Management?
  43. Q43A chain of clinics measures “Doctor Utilization Rate”:\ Utilization = Total Consultation Minutes / Available Working Mi…
  44. Q44A subscription video platform wants to understand “Customer Engagement Value” (CEV) by combining:\ ● Customer_Master(Cu…
  45. Q46A CEO dashboard shows monthly revenue for the last 3 years. You notice:\ ● The y‐axis starts at ₹95 crore instead of 0.…
  46. Q47A retail chain runs a new loyalty program in only some stores. After 3 months, you compare:\ ● Program stores: average …
  47. Q48You are given a 100% stacked bar chart comparing market share of 5 competitors over 3 years. Each year’s bar is normali…
  48. Q49A chain of gyms analyzes member data and finds:\ ● Strong positive correlation between “Number of Personal Training (PT…
  49. Q50In a "Churn Prediction" model, you include a variable "Customer calls to support line". You find a positive correlation…