Managing the data analysis process

Data analysis is a sequential process which evolves as a network or analysis paths, some fruitful and some unproductive. Each node of the network represents a milestone of the analysis or a ''data analysis save-state.'' Data analysis save-states and associated interactive software provide tools for effective management of the data analysis process. Save-states may be restored to review previous results, to verify what was done, or to continue the analysis. This paper describes the process of data analysis and its management and software tools developed for managing data analysis.