Predictive analysis is a branch of a broader discipline called data mining, which comprises important data analysis activities such as exploratory data analysis, descriptive modeling, pattern and rule discovery, data retrieval, and predictive modeling.
For our purposes, we will focus strictly on the predictive modeling scenario that the discipline of predictive analysis is based on. Predictive analytics consists of those tools that make it possible to perform the tasks of a predictive analysis process, which involves the use of various analytical and statistical techniques to build a mathematical model in an attempt to predict the future outcome of a certain scenario of study. From statistics to game theory, predictive analysis techniques make use of historical data to create predictions, usually by capturing relationships between explanatory (independent) variables and "predictors" (predicted variables) from past events. Two major modeling types can be applied: classification (for predicting categorical/discrete variables such as yes/no, likelihood of an event to occur or not occur, risk levels, etc.) and regression (for continuous variables, such as blood pressure, liquid levels, etc.).
