PGDM Specialisation
IT & Analytics Domain
Where management instinct meets data intelligence. Not to make you a coder, but to make you the person who knows exactly what to build, why, and when.
The Big Picture
Not a Coding Boot Camp. An Analytics State of Mind.
The IT & Analytics domain at XIME Chennai is built on a single conviction: the most dangerous person in a boardroom is one who can speak the language of data and business. Our programme does not set out to produce computer scientists. It sets out to produce judgement-heavy, tool-agnostic managers who know how to tame technology, not just consume it.
Every course in this domain ships with a clear TTF: Tools, Technologies & Frameworks, so you always know what you will be working with. The tools may evolve. Your ability to pick up any tool and deploy it for business impact? That is permanent.
What Makes It Different
- Integrated IT, analytics and business orientation.
- Industry-practitioner-led teaching model.
- Role-linked elective pathways and majors.
- Open-source, industry-ready tool ecosystem.
Each course publishes its TTF upfront, and the TTF evolves as the industry evolves, without changing the underlying learning outcomes.
Why This Domain
Six Things That Set Us Apart
Most programmes treat technology and analytics as separate tracks. Here, they are one, because in every real organisation, they are inseparable.
You will learn concepts through tools, not be bound by them. Master one tool and you adapt instantly to any other. Every employer runs a different stack. You will fit right in.
Every course is taught by industry veterans, many occupying C-suite and senior decision-making positions, who bring real war stories, not textbook cases.
Thirteen role tracks. Each with a recommended elective map. You do not just pick courses. You build a portfolio that speaks directly to the job you are targeting.
AI Product Manager. Decision Scientist. GenAI Strategy Consultant. Data Governance Analyst. These are not future jobs. They are live, growing, and hiring now in India.
Every tool students use: Python, R, Power BI, PostgreSQL, ChatGPT, GitHub is free. Zero licensing cost. Open-source first, industry-ready always.
Who Teaches You
Practitioners, Not Theorists
The Analytics domain at XIME Chennai is taught almost entirely by industry professionals who continue to hold senior positions in their organisations. They come not just to deliver lectures, but to train, drawing from live business situations they are navigating right now.
Our visiting faculty collectively span the full width of the domain. When they share a war story, it is from a war still in progress.
This is deliberate. You graduate knowing not just the concepts, but how they play out under real organisational pressure, politics, and deadlines.
Every Course Has a TTF
Each course in this domain publishes its Tools, Technologies & Frameworks (TTF) upfront. You know exactly what you will be using before the term starts. The TTF evolves as the industry evolves, without changing the underlying learning outcomes.
The Curriculum
List of Course Offerings
The domain pathway combines Year 1 core preparation with Year 2 electives across analytics, technology strategy, AI, governance, and business transformation.
| Term | Code | Course Name | Brief Description | Tools, Technologies & Frameworks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Term | Orientation Mathematics Primer / (Compulsory) | A 5-hour structured primer during induction week. Covers numbers and algebra, functions, logarithms and exponents, progressions and financial mathematics, and a consolidation session explicitly previewing Term 1 SMDM content. No assessment; participation only. | Reference booklet (take-home) / 5 structured one-hour sessions / Indian business examples throughout | |
| T1 | SMDM | Statistical Methods for Decision Making / (Core) | Modules 1-5 cover descriptive statistics, probability, hypothesis testing, regression, and multivariate methods through an Indian business lens. | Microsoft Excel with Analysis ToolPak / LibreOffice Calc (open-source equivalent) / R + RStudio (from Module 4 onwards) Optional |
| T3 | DTAI | Digital Technologies & AI for Business / (Core) | Decision-centric, non-technical overview of the digital and AI landscape. Covers digital transformation, cloud fundamentals, AI and ML concepts, GenAI tools, prompt engineering, data ethics, and India's DPDP Act. Designed to equip students to evaluate, procure, and govern technology. | ChatGPT / Gemini / Microsoft Copilot (free tiers) / GPT Builder / Copilot Studio (free tier) / Excel for ROI and cost-benefit exercises / DPDP Act reference materials / AI decision and deployment frameworks (e.g., NIST AI RMF) |
| T4 | BANA | Business Analytics / (Elective) | Hands-on, project-centric course building the analytical toolkit used in real business engagements. Covers EDA, statistical modelling, classification, clustering, and regression using Python and R. Students complete an end-to-end analytics project on an Indian business dataset. | Python 3.x via Anaconda / R + RStudio / Pandas / NumPy / Matplotlib / Scikit-learn / Statsmodels / CRISP-DM (Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining) |
| T4 | BUFO | Business Forecasting / (Elective) | Demand forecasting and planning skills essential for supply chain, finance, and operations roles. Covers time series decomposition, exponential smoothing, ARIMA, error measurement, and forecast evaluation. Excel-based throughout; no programming required. | Microsoft Excel with Analysis ToolPak / SPSS / JMP / jamovi (statistical package) / Facebook Prophet (faculty demo only) / Time series frameworks (ARIMA, ETS, Holt-Winters) |
| T4 | DMBI | Data Management, Warehousing & Business Intelligence / (Elective) | Builds the data infrastructure skills every analyst needs. Covers relational database design, SQL querying, data warehousing (star schema, ETL pipelines), and BI dashboards. Students build an end-to-end data pipeline from source to Power BI dashboard using cloud tools. | SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL + pgAdmin (free) / Power BI Desktop (free) / Databricks Community Edition (free, browser-based) / Google BigQuery free tier / ETL pipeline concepts / Star schema and dimensional modelling (data warehouse design pattern) |
| T4 | DPMG | Digital Project Management / (Elective) | Extends classical project management into the digital era. Covers agile and hybrid methodologies, digital-specific risk, and vendor governance. Students manage a simulated digital project using Jira or Trello, applying PMBOK and Scrum to scenarios involving software, data, and AI deliverables. | Jira (Atlassian free tier) / Trello (free) / Miro (free tier) / Excel for risk registers and project plans / PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) |
| T5 | AAML | Applied AI & Machine Learning for Business / (Elective) | Core applied AI and machine learning course. Builds on BANA to cover ensemble methods (Random Forest, XGBoost), NLP, deep learning, generative AI, model explainability (SHAP, LIME), responsible AI, and causal inference methods (rigorous A/B testing, Difference-in-Differences, Propensity Score Matching, uplift modelling). Python-based via Google Colab. Students build and present a complete ML project with business recommendations. | Python via Google Colab (free) / Scikit-learn (open source) / SHAP - Explainable AI (open source) / pingouin - A/B testing and power analysis (open source) / statsmodels - Difference-in-Differences via OLS (open source) / causalml - Uplift modelling and PSM (open source) / ChatGPT / Gemini free tiers / ML model evaluation frameworks (accuracy, precision, recall, AUC-ROC) / Causal inference methods (DiD, PSM, uplift modelling) / Responsible AI guidelines (fairness, explainability, privacy) |
| T5 | APRD | Agile Project and Product Development / (Elective) | Trains students in agile product development with a focus on managing digital and data-driven products. Covers product backlog management, user stories, sprint ceremonies, product metrics (OKRs, DAU/MAU), and product-market fit testing. | Jira (Atlassian free tier) / Trello (free) / Miro (free tier) / Agile / Scrum / Kanban methodology / Sprint planning and backlog frameworks / OKR and product metrics frameworks |
| T5 | DPIN | Digital Process Intelligence / (Elective) | Trains students to view organisations as networks of processes and equip them with tools to model, analyse, and improve them. Covers BPM lifecycle, BPMN 2.0 notation, process mining using real event log data, and process simulation. Students build a complete process improvement case. | Bizagi Modeler (free) / Disco - process mining (free trial) / ProM - process mining (open source) / Process simulation tools / BPMN 2.0 (Business Process Model and Notation) / BPM lifecycle framework (design, model, execute, monitor, optimise) |
| T5 | CISB | Cloud & IoT Strategy for Business / (Elective) | Strategy-focused course on cloud computing and IoT for business leaders - no coding required. Covers cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), vendor evaluation, TCO modelling, IoT architecture, and data sovereignty under India's DPDP Act. | AWS free tier account / Google Cloud Platform free tier / Excel / LibreOffice for TCO modelling / Cloud evaluation and scoring frameworks / IoT architecture reference models / DPDP Act data residency guidelines |
| T5 | SIAM | Statistical Inference & Modelling / (Elective) | Advanced statistics elective for students seeking genuine modelling depth. Builds directly on SMDM, covering regression as a full modelling process, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, factor analysis, and logistic regression. Excel and SPSS/JMP-based; no Python or R required. | Advanced Excel with Analysis ToolPak / SPSS or JMP or jamovi (statistical package) / R + RStudio (optional) / statsmodels - Difference-in-Differences regression (open source) / Regression, multivariate analysis, and quasi-experimental frameworks / Causal inference methods: DiD and Propensity Score Matching |
| T5 | VAAS | Visualisation Analytics & AI-Driven Storytelling / (Elective) | Covers the full arc from data to visual narrative. Students build interactive dashboards in Power BI and Tableau, create publication-quality charts in Python, and apply GenAI tools to generate and refine data stories. Culminates in a live, client-style data presentation. | Power BI Desktop (free) / Tableau Public (free) / Python: Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly (Colab) / Google Looker Studio (free) / GenAI tools for narrative generation / Data storytelling frameworks (SCR narrative, Minto Pyramid) |
| T6 | ABDA | Applied Big Data Analytics for Business / (Elective) | Equips students with conceptual and applied skills for large-scale data systems. Covers distributed computing, PySpark for batch processing, cloud-native SQL analytics, and big data pipeline design. Databricks Community Edition and Google BigQuery used throughout. | Python 3.x via Google Colab / Apache Spark via PySpark (primary) / Databricks Community Edition (free, browser-based) / Google BigQuery free tier / Hadoop HDFS (conceptual + labs) / Apache Airflow (conceptual demo) |
| T6 | DSTR | Digital Strategy and Transformation / (Core) | Teaches students to formulate and execute digital strategy at enterprise level. Covers digital maturity assessment (BCG/McKinsey frameworks), IT-business strategy alignment, platform business models, COBIT and ITIL governance frameworks, and Indian industry transformation case studies. | Excel / LibreOffice for TCO and ROI modelling / COBIT 2019 / ITIL 4 (IT governance and service management) / BCG and McKinsey digital maturity frameworks / Digital transformation and platform strategy frameworks |
| T6 | GESB | Gen AI & Enterprise AI Strategy for Business / (Elective) | Advanced course on deploying generative AI at enterprise scale. Covers LLM fundamentals, RAG system design, agentic AI concepts, AI governance, and enterprise adoption strategy. Students build a functional GenAI prototype and develop a board-ready AI adoption roadmap. | ChatGPT / Gemini / Claude APIs (free tiers) / LangChain (open source) / Streamlit (open source) / n8n / Zapier (free tier) / Python (API-level interactions only) / RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and LLM evaluation frameworks |
| T6 | TGRC | Technology Governance, Risk & Compliance / (Elective) | Develops governance, risk, and compliance skills for the digital enterprise. Covers IT governance frameworks (COBIT, ITIL), cybersecurity risk management (NIST CSF 2.0, ISO 27001), India's DPDP Act, and compliance programme design. | COBIT 2019 (IT governance framework) / NIST CSF 2.0 (cybersecurity framework) / ISO 27001 overview (information security management) / FAIR risk model (Factor Analysis of Information Risk) / DPDP Act and Rules (GoI publications) / RBI IT governance circular |
| T6 | PRBA | Prescriptive Analytics for Business / (Elective) | Capstone analytics elective completing the predictive-to-prescriptive value chain from BANA and AAML. Covers LP, Integer Programming, multi-objective optimisation and goal programming, Monte Carlo simulation for stochastic decisions, and the Predict-then-Optimise pipeline (Bertsimas-Li framework). Students deliver an end-to-end prescriptive analytics project using Python. | Python via Google Colab (free) / PuLP - LP/IP/MIP optimisation (open source) / scipy.optimize - non-linear optimisation (open source) / NumPy / SciPy - Monte Carlo simulation / Predict-then-Optimise framework (Bertsimas & Li, MIT) / Prescriptive modelling framework (Keisler) |
| T5/T6 | AMVA | Applied Multivariate Analytics (Elective) | Applies multivariate statistical methods - factor analysis, cluster analysis, and structural equation modelling - to real business datasets. Students use jamovi and SmartPLS to move from data preparation through model interpretation to decision-relevant insight. Assignment-centric; no exam. | jamovi (free GUI, R-based) or SPSS or JMP / SmartPLS (free, PLS-SEM) / Microsoft Excel (data preparation) |
Career Mapping
Course Dependency View
Course Pathways - Aggregated View
| Track | Role Category | BANA | BUFO | DMBI | DPMG | AAML | SIAM | CISB | APRD | DPIN | VAAS | GESB | DSTR | TGRC | ABDA | PRBA | AMVA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Track (Established Roles) | Business & Consulting Analytics | M | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||
| Digital & Product Analytics | M | M | M | M | M | M | |||||||||||
| Analytical Depth | M | M | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||
| Technology Consulting & Strategy | M | M | M | M | M | M | |||||||||||
| Risk, Cyber & Governance Analytics | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||||
| Dual Specialisation (Analytics + Domain) | Supply Chain & Operations Analytics | M | M | M | M | M | M | M | |||||||||
| Marketing Analytics | M | M | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||
| Financial Analytics | M | M | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||
| HR Analytics | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||||
| Emerging Track (Validated, Growing) | AI Product Management | M | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||
| Decision Science | M | M | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||
| AI & GenAI Consulting | M | M | M | M | M | M | |||||||||||
| Data Governance & CDO | M | M | M | M | M | ||||||||||||
| AI-Driven Process Intelligence | M | M | M | M | M |
Where You Can Go
Roles You Can Target
From proven placement roles to high-growth emerging opportunities, the Analytics domain prepares you across a wide spectrum.
Problem structuring, hypothesis-driven analysis, KPI design and stakeholder communication.
Customer journey analysis, funnel metrics, experimentation and data-driven product decisions.
Technology evaluation, ROI justification, governance frameworks and vendor strategy.
Cyber risk quantification, DPDP Act compliance, IT audit and regulatory frameworks.
Bridging business strategy and AI reality. Approx. 9,000 open roles on Glassdoor India. 30% year-on-year growth globally.
Answers what should we do by integrating statistical modelling, behavioural economics and business framing.
AI use-case identification, ROI modelling and enterprise AI deployment. McKinsey, BCG X, Accenture AI are hiring.
DPDP Act 2023 enforcement is creating sustained demand. GCCs growing headcount 18 to 27 percent annually.
Your Technology Arsenal
The Software Stack
Open-source first. Every tool listed below is free. No licensing cost, no vendor lock-in, just the tools that industry actually uses.
Programming & Analytics
Data Visualisation & BI
Databases & SQL
AI & GenAI Tools
Cloud & Infrastructure
Governance Frameworks
Project / Agile
Device Policy
BYOD: Bring Your Own Device
XIME Chennai follows a Bring Your Own Device policy. Every student is expected to own a laptop. The laptop is your primary learning device. No dependency on computer labs for any coursework. All tools install and run locally on your machine.
Recommended Laptop Specifications
Accounts to Create Before Joining (All Free)
- OpenAI (chat.openai.com): Free account for ChatGPT and GPT Builder access
- Google Account: For Gemini, Google Colab, Looker Studio and Kaggle
- Microsoft Account: For Copilot, Power BI Service and Copilot Studio free tier
- GitHub (github.com): Free account for code sharing, version control and portfolio building
- Kaggle (kaggle.com): Free account for datasets, notebooks and learning pathways
- AWS (aws.amazon.com): Free tier account for Cloud and IoT Strategy for Business elective
- Tableau Public (public.tableau.com): Free account for Data Visualisation coursework
Domain Leadership
Meet the Area Head
IT & Analytics Domain | Area Head
Prof. Swaminathan Nagarajan
"An alumnus of IIM Calcutta with 35+ years of making technology work for business, not the other way around."
Academic Role at XIME Chennai
Associate Professor and Area Head, IT & Analytics Domain. Teaches and designs curriculum across Digital Strategy, IT Consulting, Business Analytics, and Gen AI courses.
Brings a rare combination: deep practitioner credibility built over three decades, and the classroom discipline to translate that into structured learning. Students get the war stories and the frameworks behind them.
Active researcher and columnist. Published articles on Digital Transformation, AI Strategy, Decision Science, and Process Mining. Speaker at international academic conferences.