Capstone Project | Data Science Plan: Build a Data Science Strategy
Upon assuming a new leadership role within a company (whether from an internal move or joining the company anew), it is common for an executive to be asked to prepare a plan for their first 100 days on the job. This project asks you to prepare that 100-day data science plan for a company of your choosing; this could be your current company, some other existing company, or a fictitious business context we provide.
As part of this project, you will build/create the following:
Identification of six data science opportunities for the organization
Opportunities must be spread across three different functional areas
Detail the risks, challenges, and key factors for success for each of these opportunities
roadmap for executing these six data science opportunities.
Rack and stack evaluation of these opportunities
a Human Capital plan for your data science organization
a Technical plan for your data science organization
Data and Data Architecture Strategy
Machine Learning Architecture
The work product for this Capstone project will be a detailed presentation to the CEO, detailing your plan and the rationale behind your decisions.
Goals of the Capstone: Upon completion of this Capstone Project, you will be able to carry out the following tasks:
Given a business context, generate ideas for data science projects across multiple functional areas of the business.
Determine the relative strategic importance, cost, complexity of implementation, risk, the lihood of value capture, and magnitude of benefit for each of a variety of projects
Identify and prioritize the mix of roles you would pursue to build out a data science organization.
Prepare a detailed Data and Data Architecture strategy that a business can use to carry out the roadmap of data science projects.
Generate strategies for promoting a data-driven culture for your business
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Project Instructions
Project Setup
Before beginning the project, please download the project templates from the lesson resources. The document template also contains the project instructions so you can work directly in that document without having to refer back to these instructions.
Templates to download (Please rename these templates to include your name Ex: Phil Fuller DSBL Project.docx):
DSBL Project Template
DSBL CEO Presentation Template
Resources are available in the navigation panel on the left side of the screen. You may need to click the three lines to show the menu if it’s hidden.
These documents are saved in .docx and Powerpoint format but can be opened in any document application. If you want to use Google Docs or if you don’t have Microsoft Office, please follow the direction below:
Upload the files into Google Drive
Click on the file and choose Open With
Select Google Docs for the .docx and Google Slides for the slide deck.
If the file opens in Google Drive’s Compatibility Mode, indicated by a Docs or PowerPoint icon in the top right,
Click on File in the Menu Bar
Click Save as Google Docs or Google Slides
Google will convert the file, and you should be good to go.
If you have other documents software or use MS Office, the files should open in that software as well, but you will need to consult the documentation for that software in ortote the visualizations in this project for your software as the steps may be different from Google.
Project Steps
Step 1 – Identify Data Science Opportunities in the Business
Throughout the course, you have been exposed to multiple examples of data science projects implemented in a business setting. Now, based on your knowledge of your specific business context, you will generate at least six potential projects to be considered by the executive leadership team. These projects must span three unique functional areas of the business, with any single functional area representing no more than 3 projects:
Acceptable Project Mixes
2 marketing + 2 supply chain + 2 finance
2 marketing + 1 human resources + 1 procurement + 1 product + 1 manufacturing
3 finance + 1 legal + 2 marketing
Unacceptable Project Mixes:
3 marketing + 3 finance
4 marketing + 1 product + 1 manufacturing
For each candidate project, please provide the following detail in the “Project Specification” workbook:
Description of the project
Business problem to be addressed
Role of data science in addressing the business problem
Targeted business objective(s)
Data Science Classification
Approach
Type of Model
Data needed for the project and sources for that data
The magnitude of opportunity (with justification)
Cost and complexity of development and implementation
Likelihood of value capture
Key Business Stakeholders
Step 2 – Developing a Roadmap: Prioritizing Data Science Opportunities in the Business
A strategic approach to data science requires the business to consider the relative opportunities, costs, and risks of potential projects to identify the best order to carry out the projects. What should be tackled first? What is best pushed off until later? Completing the Data Science Roadmap requires stepping through key considerations to determine which project(s) should be considered ‘top priority’ and at what pace these and subsequent projects should be initiated.
Complete this “Rack and Stack Exercise” worksheet to determine the strategic alignment, cost, complexity of implementation, certainty of value capture, and magnitude of benefit for each of the six projects
Complete the Data Science Opportunity Matrix, using slide 1 of the CEO Presentation Template (You may or may not decide to include this slide as part of your CEO presentation)
Based on the information you prepared for #1, complete the “Data Science Roadmap” to capture the relative order and timing with which you would recommend the business carry out the six projects.
Step 3 – Establishing a Data Science Human Capital Strategy for your Data-driven Business
Now that we have established a roadmap for carrying out data science projects, our attention must turn to build and configure the organization we will leverage to carry out this roadmap. The Data Science Human Capital Plan completed in this step will cover the organizational structure and talent configuration best suited to carry out the business’s roadmap, as well as the activities that the organization in particular — and business more broadly — must complete in order to promote a data-driven culture throughout the business.
Identify the organizational model best suited for the data science organization at your company.
Complete the “Human Capital Plan” Worksheet for your data science organization.
Identify the first ten professional roles for which you would recruit. How would you organize these roles into teams within the organization?
Assume that leadership will allocate four new FTE’s for your data science organization during the current fiscal year. How would you prioritize your organizational buildout?
Craft a “Data-Driven Transformation Strategy” by identifying six specific initiatives that you would recommend the data science organization and/or the business undertakes in order to promote a data-driven culture across the business.
Step 4 – Establishing the Technical Infrastructure to Support the Data Science Organization
With a completed Data Science Roadmap and a Human Capital Plan for executing the data science strategy, we turn our attention to the technological capabilities that must be built to support the new Data Science organization.
Prepare a strategy that your business might consider to meet its Data and Data Architecture needs (use the “Data and Data Architecture Strategy” template provided in the resources to record your strategy).
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Project Submission
Before you submit your project, please make sure that:
You have met all of the requirements on the Project Rubric
You have completed the following deliverables:
DSBL CEO Presentation in .pptx format
DSBL Project Template in .docx format
You may also want to look at the standout suggestions on the Rubric to see if you can make your project even better. This will make your project Standout to potential employers.
Optional Your CEO Presentation Video. Please provide your video in .mp4 format. You can use a phone, video camera, or webcam to film this.
Zip all of your files for review
Name your zip file with your name
If you used Google, you can simply select all of the files in Google Drive and click download and Google will create the Zip file for you. On Windows and macOS there are various options such as 7-Zip that allows you to Zip your files as well.
Submit your files for review
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Project Rubric
المعايير يفي بالمواصفات
The student will be able to generate a set of compelling data science projects across different functional areas.
Generates six unique data science projects
Includes at least three functional areas
No more than three projects per single functional area
Identifies (for each project) the business problem to be addressed
Identifies how data science will address each business problem
Identifies targeted business objective (revenue? customer acquisition? cost reduction?)
Correctly applies “Data Science Approach” framework to classify each project in terms of Approach
Correctly applies “Data Science Model Type” framework to classify each project in terms of Type of Model
Identifies all data needed for the project
Responses include the type of data
Responses note from where that data is generated (e.g., “sensor data from machine monitoring software”)
Provides an estimate of the magnitude of each opportunity
Justification for each estimate should describe the reasons for designating the opportunity as small, medium, or large in magnitude
Provides an estimate and justification of the cost and complexity of each opportunity
Provides an estimate and justification of likelihood of value capture (Low/Medium/High)
Identifies stakeholders in both the executive ranks as well as functional leaders in other areas of the business
Developing a Roadmap: Prioritize Data Science Opportunities
المعايير يفي بالمواصفات
The student will be able to determine the strategic importance, cost, complexity of implementation, risk, the likelihood of value capture, and magnitude of benefit for each
Completed “Rack and Stack Exercise” Worksheet with ratings for each of the following columns
strategic importance
cost
complexity of implementation
the likelihood of value capture
magnitude of benefit
The student will be able to compare data science projects in terms of feasibility vs. business impact
Completed “Data Science Opportunity Matrix”
Includes estimates of feasibility that follow from the “Rack and Stack” exercise
Includes estimates of business impact that follow from the “Rack and Stack” exercise
Includes estimates of the likelihood of value capture that follow from the “Rack and Stack” exercise
The student will be able to identify the best initial project (and justify that choice) as well as the timing of subsequent projects
Completed “Data Science Roadmap”
Includes recommendation on an initial project to pursue
Provides rationale for the choice of the initial project.
Rationale should reflect the impact, feasibility, and the likelihood of value capture
Ordering and timing of subsequent projects should follow from insights from the Opportunity Matrix and Rack and Stack exercises.
Establishing a Data Science Human Capital Strategy
المعايير يفي بالمواصفات
The student will be able to identify an appropriate organizational structure for the data science organization based on business maturity, operational characteristics, and the role of data science within that business
Identification of ideal organizational model
Justification for that model
Justification should reflect characteristics specific to the business
Justification should reflect data science’s role within the business
The student will be able to identify and prioritize the mix of roles they would pursue to build out a data science organization.
Completed “Human Capital Plan” Worksheet
Includes a mix of professional roles and team structure that best fits the needs of individual projects
Identifies highest-priority roles
Provides justification for these roles that reflect the need to build momentum for data science and execute on the initial data science project.
The student will be able to generate strategies for promoting a data-driven culture for their business.
Completed “Data-Driven Transformation Strategy”
Identifies six high-quality initiatives for promoting a data-driven culture throughout the business
Establishing the Technical Infrastructure
المعايير يفي بالمواصفات
The student will be able to prepare a detailed Data and Data Architecture strategy for their business
Completed Data Strategy with identification of data needs based on data needs of six projects
Identification of two ideas for promoting data availability
Identification of two ideas for promoting data usability
Identification of two ideas for guaranteeing data integrity
Identification of two ideas for guaranteeing data security
Identification of components of Data Architecture
Identification of three ideas for promoting the development of data literacy skills and capacity through the organization
Completed description of ML architecture and how it interfaces with data architecture
Suggestions for a better project
Specification of project timing should consider not only the three key dimensions of the Opportunity Matrix (Feasibility, Impact, Value Capture), but should also reflect the critical need to generate momentum, get some quick wins, and build support for what will be a nascent data science initiative within the business.
An outstanding solution will include human capital needs that directly follow from the requirements and timing of projects.
An outstanding solution will include technical architecture needs that directly follow from the requirements and timing of projects.
You may wish to submit a short video of you presenting your final presentation to your CEO; this is an outstanding way to gain practice with communicating about data science in business contexts. This video should not be more than 5 mins in length.
