Assignment
Data Analytics Project: Think Like a Data Scientist
Think Like a Data Scientist: My 168 Hours in a Week
This assignment was inspired by the article How to Start Thinking Like a Data Scientist by Thomas C.
Redman in the Harvard Business Review. (The link takes you to the article online, but it’s not essential
that you read it–more of an FYI if you’re curious.)
You don’t have to be a data scientist or a Bayesian statistician to tease useful insights from data. For 20
years, I’ve used a simple exercise to help those with an open mind (and a pencil, paper, and calculator)
get started. One activity won’t make you data savvy, but it will help you become data literate, open
your eyes to the millions of small data opportunities, and enable you to work a bit more effectively with
data scientists, analytics, and all things quantitative. Each step in this assignment illustrates an
important concept in analytics—from planning for data collection to understanding variation
to data visualization and clear communication.
Objective(s)
Demonstrate how to apply the data analytics process from initial question to reporting
Communicate each step in the process clearly and concisely using data storytelling techniques
in the Slidedoc format
Instructions
Each of you will answer the same basic question: How do I invest my time in a week? Because
everybody has an equal amount of time–168 hours (24 hours/day x 7 days)–but uses it in different
ways. Hopefully, it will be insightful to analyze what a typical week looks like for you.
Brainstorm with your assignment partner. Start by thinking about both of your lives and how you use
your time to identify your main categories and sub-categories. Most of you will have a minimum of
four main categories and possibly one to two others depending on your lifestyle. There’s no
right/wrong answer–it depends on what’s important to you.
For a paired work select some (at least 3) main categories which are similar to your assignment
partner. Other categories can be different.
Main Category School Me Time Family Sleep *Other
Sub-Categories Classes Watch Meals Zzz… Part-time job
Homework/ Listen Chores Pet
Assignments Read Time w/partner Hobby
Studying Hobby Time w/kid(s) or Fitness
Admin Fitness Kid stuff Sport
Sport
Situation Overview
Paint a picture (so to speak) of your lifestyle to help the audience understand how you’re approaching
the question based on your specific situation.
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Assignment
Data Analytics Project: Think Like a Data Scientist
Describe both of your current situation to give background/context in separate slides.
Identify your main categories – discuss which categories are same to your assignment partner
and which are not.
Based on your situation, identify at least two of the categories of yours and your assignment
partner’s that is interesting to investigate more in-depth (using the sub-categories) based on an
assumption and/or hypothesis you have
Data Collection Plan
Outline the specific plan to get the data you need to answer the question. Use the correct terminology.
In a table (like above), identify the categories and sub-categories of data you are going to
capture as individual data points
o Define any data points that might need definition
o Recommend working in 30 and 60 minute increments
Describe how you have collected the data and the timeframe
Identify data sources used to collect data (i.e. pen/paper, smartphone, tracking app etc.)
Describe your confidence in the quality of the data you collected
o Is the week you picked representative of a “typical week”?
o Did you diligently capture the data as planned?
o If necessary, briefly explain if you had to adjust the original plan after you started to
collect the data
Raw Data Set
Organize and display the raw data you collected in a table–include this as an Appendix at the end of
the report
Don’t get so complicated that the data can’t clearly be shown
Show data for each day and time increment
Use a legend to colour code each category if it helps
This should be “raw data” so no doing analysis like ranking, totals, percentages, graphs
Analyze the Data
Doing analysis means combining, organizing, ranking the data in a way that makes sense for the
questions to uncover relationships and results.
Analyzes the main How do I invest my time in a week? Question for both you and your
assignment partner.
Analyzes (at least) two categories in-depth that you’re curious about you and your assignment
partner’s (based on your assumption or specific hypothesis)
Explain (‘tell’) what you are seeing in the data–i.e. patterns, trends, outliers
Create data visualization (‘show’) like bar graph and/or pie chart to complement the narrative
o Need to use different types of charts.
o Need to use comparative charts.
o Need to have two data series charts.
Evaluate what you’re seeing in the analysis based on the important questions. What insight(s) emerge?
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Assignment
Data Analytics Project: Think Like a Data Scientist
Identify the main insight(s)/”ah-ha!”/takeaway from each analysis–the most important one to
two things (that could help you moving forward)
Use one page for each analysis (main 168 hours, in-depth 1, in-depth 2 etc.) that applies each of the
‘typical’ Slidedoc elements for a page
Combined Recommendations
Make four (4) recommendations for yourself and your assignment partner:
1. Continue to keep doing something that’s working for both of you
2. Change something both of you’re doing to make it better
3. Stop doing something that’s just not working for both
4. Start doing something new for both
Things to Consider
Situation Overview, Data Collection Plan, Recommendations can each be done in 1-page.
Analyze the Data will have 1-page for each question or category you’re evaluating.
Assignment Format
Create a multi-page report using one of the Slidedoc templates (in Microsoft PowerPoint) that
was provided in the course resources
Aside from cover, table of contents and appendix; each page of a Slidedoc is organized to
include these elements along with white space:
o TITLE
o Main takeaway
o Supporting body copy
o Data visualization (usually 1, absolute maximum of 2 on a page)
Make sure each element on the page is clearly readable at 100% page size ("zoom")
o Typically, this means the minimum font size of 12pt for the important elements
Submit the final document in PDF format–which will keep your original formatting intact
