4 Crucial Lessons I Learned from a Data Science Consultant | by KahEm Chu | Sep, 2022
Data Science Consultancy
After collaborating with a Data Science Consultant, I saw the precious values I missed in my previous Data Science project, which led to a not-so-pleasant experience
Two months earlier, my team engaged a data science consultant firm on a new launch data science project. The consultants will be developing the machine learning model and the entire pipeline. From the two months of working with the consultant, I have learnt the technical skills and the skills to provide consultancy and collaborate with technical and non-technical personnel from him.
The consultant is Foo Cheechuan. Besides providing consultancy, he wrote various articles about Data Science, Python, R and Tableau.
The first lesson I learnt from Chee Chuan is that both parties in the consultation, should have expectations and assumptions from one another party 🤝.
The assumptions are from both parties, not only the client.
For example, the client assumes the consultant has the expertise to provide insight on the subject matter. Then the consultant, in this case, the data science consultant, expects the client to provide sufficient data for analysis. The sharings in the relevant business process, logic and knowledge are also needed. Without these, the consultant could not develop the model or even start the project.
To make the consultation successful, the clients and the consultant should always understand the requirements of each other and provide the necessary support.
The second lesson I learnt is to be confident 😎. The consultant never loses his confidence or direction when bombarded by complicated business processes or when he runs into an issue during his development. He takes challenges as opportunities to learn. The data science project is full of uncertainties, and he always stays calm and does his research to overcome the issue. He always remained calm and took his time to tidy up the information and brainstorm idea. Then, ask for more information whenever he feels necessary.
This is one of the crucial values I missed while working on my first data science project. I was terrified when there were so many different business processes and a lot of stuff that I did not understand. I was even afraid to ask for more info from the business users because I worried they might feel I am not capable, which gave me a really hard time and I became difficult to work with.
The truth is, they are more than happy to provide help, and the best practice is surface the issues because everyone wishes the project to be done or the problem to be solved.
Here’s come the third lesson that I learnt. We should believe in ourselves, plan the time for each task and surface the issue when it might affect the project timeline. After all, the data science project required a team effort, not solo. Especially when you are in a giant organization, you will be needing help and support from various parties.
For example, the database admin provides access to the database, IT provides the licence to the application required, and then the subject matter expert provides all the relevant business knowledge, process, and logic. It’s always okay to not know something, that simply means you are learning new knowledge🔥!
The fourth lesson is to be detail-oriented. I not only see this value from Chee Chuan, but even my father also warned me I might make trouble sometimes if I am not detail-oriented 😅. My father warned me because I made a typo in a message I sent him the other day. He says today you made a typo in the message, and did not correct it. In future, you maybe make an error in data entry, $10M and $10 have a huge difference.
Okay, let’s back to Chee Chuan. He is indeed a very detail-oriented person compared to me. He looks into every single detail and studies every formula provided by business stakeholders. Well, he even managed to find some misalignments in the information provided. This is because the information provided is incomplete, which makes the logic mismatch. I respect his detail-oriented and try to be like him 😊.
In short, these are the four lessons I learnt from Chee Chuan,
- In consultation, assumptions come from both consultant and client. Both assumptions need to be met to make the consultation successful.
- Be confident, and take every challenge as an opportunity.
- Surface the issue when it’s not too late.
- Be detail-oriented, a small mistake can bring big trouble.
I hope my experience may inspire you too (may the force be with you 😊).
Chee Chuan is a real professional Data Science Consultant. I feel blessed for having the opportunity to collaborate with him. Best wishes to him!
Congrats and thanks for reading to the end. Hope you enjoy this article. 😊
Data Science Consultancy
After collaborating with a Data Science Consultant, I saw the precious values I missed in my previous Data Science project, which led to a not-so-pleasant experience
Two months earlier, my team engaged a data science consultant firm on a new launch data science project. The consultants will be developing the machine learning model and the entire pipeline. From the two months of working with the consultant, I have learnt the technical skills and the skills to provide consultancy and collaborate with technical and non-technical personnel from him.
The consultant is Foo Cheechuan. Besides providing consultancy, he wrote various articles about Data Science, Python, R and Tableau.
The first lesson I learnt from Chee Chuan is that both parties in the consultation, should have expectations and assumptions from one another party 🤝.
The assumptions are from both parties, not only the client.
For example, the client assumes the consultant has the expertise to provide insight on the subject matter. Then the consultant, in this case, the data science consultant, expects the client to provide sufficient data for analysis. The sharings in the relevant business process, logic and knowledge are also needed. Without these, the consultant could not develop the model or even start the project.
To make the consultation successful, the clients and the consultant should always understand the requirements of each other and provide the necessary support.
The second lesson I learnt is to be confident 😎. The consultant never loses his confidence or direction when bombarded by complicated business processes or when he runs into an issue during his development. He takes challenges as opportunities to learn. The data science project is full of uncertainties, and he always stays calm and does his research to overcome the issue. He always remained calm and took his time to tidy up the information and brainstorm idea. Then, ask for more information whenever he feels necessary.
This is one of the crucial values I missed while working on my first data science project. I was terrified when there were so many different business processes and a lot of stuff that I did not understand. I was even afraid to ask for more info from the business users because I worried they might feel I am not capable, which gave me a really hard time and I became difficult to work with.
The truth is, they are more than happy to provide help, and the best practice is surface the issues because everyone wishes the project to be done or the problem to be solved.
Here’s come the third lesson that I learnt. We should believe in ourselves, plan the time for each task and surface the issue when it might affect the project timeline. After all, the data science project required a team effort, not solo. Especially when you are in a giant organization, you will be needing help and support from various parties.
For example, the database admin provides access to the database, IT provides the licence to the application required, and then the subject matter expert provides all the relevant business knowledge, process, and logic. It’s always okay to not know something, that simply means you are learning new knowledge🔥!
The fourth lesson is to be detail-oriented. I not only see this value from Chee Chuan, but even my father also warned me I might make trouble sometimes if I am not detail-oriented 😅. My father warned me because I made a typo in a message I sent him the other day. He says today you made a typo in the message, and did not correct it. In future, you maybe make an error in data entry, $10M and $10 have a huge difference.
Okay, let’s back to Chee Chuan. He is indeed a very detail-oriented person compared to me. He looks into every single detail and studies every formula provided by business stakeholders. Well, he even managed to find some misalignments in the information provided. This is because the information provided is incomplete, which makes the logic mismatch. I respect his detail-oriented and try to be like him 😊.
In short, these are the four lessons I learnt from Chee Chuan,
- In consultation, assumptions come from both consultant and client. Both assumptions need to be met to make the consultation successful.
- Be confident, and take every challenge as an opportunity.
- Surface the issue when it’s not too late.
- Be detail-oriented, a small mistake can bring big trouble.
I hope my experience may inspire you too (may the force be with you 😊).
Chee Chuan is a real professional Data Science Consultant. I feel blessed for having the opportunity to collaborate with him. Best wishes to him!
Congrats and thanks for reading to the end. Hope you enjoy this article. 😊
Denial of responsibility! Techno Blender is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.