Can you predict the future? Can you tell what is going to happen tomorrow? Actually, you can. If you saw the most recent Captain America movie you would know there has been a computer system that can predict people’s behavior, or just turn to the TV show People of Interest. Minority Report is another fiction movie that allows the criminals to be caught before the crime happens. Well, perhaps this is all an excellent conjecture of what the future may hold but there are some truths to these fictional stories. One such truth is using historical human patterns to predict future behavior. Every retailer in the world has been using various technologies to do this for years in order to determine ordering quantities for specific types of products. If you only look at your own behavior you can see patterns. Do you eat basically the same things each day, wear similar clothing, use similar personal care products, use certain gas stations, and so forth? Do you hang out with the same people, work at the same place, wake-up at the same time, and watch the same programs? We are people of habit. Even with our culture in the U.S. having more choices than most of the world, we still fall into habits. Therefore, if you multiply your behavior pattern by 300 million people it is believable that mathematical algorithms along with high powered computer systems could make future predictions that come close to being accurate within a certain degree of probability.
The motivation behind knowing what tomorrow brings for businesses is to be able to reduce inventory, cut expenses, and increase revenue. Basically, improve their competitive advantage and move them closer to being the winner in their industry. WalMart used these very techniques to become the front runner in retail. It all begins with the ability to develop advanced systems which are made possible by the software engineering discipline. You can predict your future today by deciding to advance your career with a Master of Science in Software Engineering from West Virginia University. You have the ability to answer the question “What’s Next?” in your life.