|
Picalo is a data analysis application, with focus in fraud detection and data retrieved from corporate databases. It is also the foundation for an automated fraud detection system (see below).
Picalo is currently focused on data analysis for fraud and corruption detection. However, it is an open framework that could actually be used for many different types of data analysis: network logs, scientific data, any type of database-oriented data, and data mining.
It started in 2000 as a pet project of Conan C. Albrecht, a professor at BYU. More information about Picalo's history is in the About Page.
Picalo is built upon a three-level architecture, including open source and potentially closed source parts. The following diagram describes the different parts of the Picalo platform.
- Level 1 Routines (production): This open source level includes all the basic data structures in Picalo. It was finished in the 2001-2002 time frame, and while we continue to add some routines to it, is quite stable and finished.
- Level 2 Routines (development): This level allows non-technical people to run advanced analyses without having to script or write programs. Picalo's pluggable architecture allows new detectlets to be installed in the existing program. We hope that detectlet libraries will be made available by individuals and/or companies -- the license and price is up to the developers.
- Level 3 Routines (planned): When developed, this level will apply expert system rules to intelligently run level 2 routines (detectlets) to discover many different types of fraud on its own. The license for the expert system is not decided at this point.
- Cross Platform Graphical User Interface: This open source layer provides a GUI on top of the Level 1 routines to allow non-technical users to access the heart of Picalo. It provides dialog-access to most Picalo features.
- detectlet Wizard: This open source wizard provides access to all detectlets installed at your location. It guides users through the use and application of detectlets in fraud analysis.
Detectlets are one of the most exciting parts of the Picalo architecture. They allow non-programmers to run analysis routines created by others. See the detectlets page for more information.
Picalo is built upon the shoulders of many great projects. Thousands of individuals have contributed time and energy to these projects, and the Picalo effort is grateful for their work. These are listed as follows:
What about quality control? Another way to phrase this question is, "Can I trust Picalo's results?" The short answer is you can trust Picalo as much as any analysis application. We take quality control very seriously.
The long answer is you should never fully trust any analysis application. You should always double check each step of the process, print control totals, and manually ensure that your routines are doing what you think they are. It can be very embarrasing (and dangerous) to make decisions on faulty analysis routines.
Users unfamiliar with the open source world may implicitly trust "corporate" software and be wary of "open" software. We hope you will re-evaluate this common misconception as you use Picalo. Certainly, closed-source software applications are often more user friendly than community-built applications. But "good looking" and easy-to-use programs are not necessarily trustworthy.
As more users test Picalo and more developers help program it, we'll have a lot of eyes looking through the code and testing the routines. Open source software often finds and fixes bugs much faster than closed-source software because of the number of individuals looking at its code. "Corporate" software is often written by small development teams who are driven by marketing calendars and new features.
The open source world has many examples of incredibly well-written software, including Linux (widely known for crashing very rarely), PostgreSQL (a highly-respected database), Apache (which runs most of the web), Bind (which runs the domain names on the Internet), KDE and Gnome (excellent user interfaces that look similar to Windows), wxWidgets (the GUI toolkit Picalo is built upon), Perl and Python and GCC (programming languages many "real" programs are written with), LaTeX (a great word processing platform), and Firefox (an incredible web browser). This list could go on with thousands of successful open source products that are in production use today.
In summary, is Picalo perfect? Of course not. There may even be one or two bugs left in the Level 1 routines of Picalo. But we're working to make it a world-class analysis application that encodes information about thousands of fraud schemes used worldwide. Consider helping out to be part of the team that makes Picalo better and better.
Most of Picalo is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The GPL is a restrictive, open source license. We've released this package under the GPL to protect it. The source code comes with Picalo, and you are encouraged to improve and add to its funcationality.
Detectlet libraries can be released under licenses other than the GPL. Since Detectlets will be built by companies, organizations, and individuals, it is up to the developers to decide whether to sell, open source, or even public domain their routines.
The restriction is that you cannnot use any Picalo code in your own products unless those products are also released under the GPL. If you are using a closed-source license or even one of many incompatible open source licenses, you cannot use Picalo code. The license protects the code from being "stolen" by any individual or company.
This short description is obviously an overgeneralization of the license; please see the LICENSE.TXT file for more information.
|
