Machine Learning WorkFlow
The machine learning workflow is the systematic process of building, training, validating, and
deploying ML models. It ensures models are accurate, reliable, and useful in real-world
applications.
1. Problem Definition
Goal: Clearly state what you’re trying to solve.
Key Questions:
o What type of problem is it? (Classification, Regression, Clustering, etc.)
o What is the desired output? (e.g., predicting price, detecting spam)
o What performance metric matters most? (Accuracy, Precision, Recall, RMSE, etc.)
Example: Predict house prices based on features like location, size, and number of rooms.
2. Data Collection
Goal: Gather data from reliable sources.
Sources: Databases, APIs, web scraping, sensors, or public datasets.
Considerations:
o Quantity and quality of data matter.
o Ensure the data is representative of the problem.
Example: Collect housing prices and features from real estate websites.
3. Data Preprocessing
Goal: Clean and prepare data for modeling.
Steps:
1. Data Cleaning: Handle missing values, remove duplicates, correct errors.
2. Feature Engineering: Create new features or transform existing ones.
3. Encoding Categorical Variables: Use One-Hot Encoding, Label Encoding.
4. Feature Scaling: Normalize or standardize numerical values.
5. Data Splitting: Divide into training, validation, and test sets.
Example: Replace missing house prices with median, encode city names as numerical
variables, and standardize area size.
4. Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)
Goal: Understand patterns, relationships, and anomalies in the data.
Techniques:
o Statistical summaries (mean, median, mode, std)
o Visualizations (histograms, scatter plots, box plots, correlation heatmaps)
Example: Check if price strongly correlates with square footage or number of bedrooms.
5. Model Selection
Goal: Choose appropriate ML algorithms based on problem type.
Options:
o Supervised Learning: Linear Regression, Decision Trees, Random Forest,
XGBoost, Neural Networks
o Unsupervised Learning: K-Means, DBSCAN, PCA
o Reinforcement Learning: Q-Learning, Policy Gradient
Example: For predicting house prices → Regression models like Linear Regression or
Random Forest Regressor.
6. Model Training
Goal: Fit the chosen algorithm to training data.
Key Points:
o Adjust hyperparameters (learning rate, max depth, etc.)
o Ensure proper data split to avoid overfitting.
Example: Train a Random Forest Regressor with 80% of the data.
7. Model Evaluation
Goal: Check model performance using validation/test data.
Metrics:
o Classification: Accuracy, Precision, Recall, F1-score, ROC-AUC
o Regression: RMSE, MAE, R² score
Example: Evaluate house price model using RMSE to measure prediction error.
8. Model Optimization
Goal: Improve performance without overfitting.
Techniques:
o Hyperparameter tuning (Grid Search, Random Search, Bayesian Optimization)
o Feature selection or dimensionality reduction
o Cross-validation
Example: Use Grid Search to find the best max depth and number of trees in Random
Forest.
9. Model Deployment
Goal: Integrate the trained model into real-world applications.
Methods:
o REST API for predictions
o Web applications or mobile apps
o Embedded into existing software systems
Example: Deploy house price predictor as a web service where users enter details and get
estimated prices.
10. Monitoring and Maintenance
Goal: Ensure the model remains accurate over time.
Key Activities:
o Track performance in production
o Detect data drift (when input data distribution changes)
o Retrain models periodically with fresh data
Example: If housing trends shift, retrain model with updated property prices.
1. NumPy (Numerical Python)
Overview
Foundation library for numerical computations in Python.
Provides n-dimensional arrays (ndarray), fast vectorized operations, and linear algebra
routines.
Much faster than Python lists because it’s implemented in C.
Key Features
Multidimensional arrays: Efficient storage and manipulation of large datasets.
Broadcasting: Automatic expansion of arrays during operations.
Linear algebra, FFT, random number generation.
Common Functions
import numpy as np
# Creating arrays
a = np.array([1, 2, 3])
b = np.zeros((2, 3))
c = np.ones((3, 3))
d = np.arange(0, 10, 2) # 0 to 8 with step 2
e = np.linspace(0, 1, 5) # 5 points between 0 and 1
# Array operations
arr = np.array([1, 2, 3, 4])
arr.mean(), arr.std(), arr.sum()
arr.reshape(2, 2)
arr[1:3]
2. Pandas (Python Data Analysis Library)
Overview
High-level library for data manipulation and analysis.
Built on top of NumPy.
Main structures: Series (1D) and DataFrame (2D).
Key Features
Data cleaning, transformation, merging, grouping, and aggregation.
Built-in tools for reading/writing data from CSV, Excel, SQL, JSON.
Label-based indexing for easy data selection.
Common Functions
import pandas as pd
# Creating DataFrame
data = {'Name': ['Alice', 'Bob'], 'Age': [25, 30]}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
# Reading/writing
df = pd.read_csv('file.csv')
df.to_excel('file.xlsx')
# Data selection
df.head()
df['Age'] # Column selection
df.iloc[0] # Row selection by index
df.loc[0, 'Name'] # Row + column by label
# Data cleaning
df.dropna() # Remove missing values
df.fillna(0) # Fill missing values
df['Age'].mean() # Column aggregation
# Grouping
df.groupby('Name')['Age'].mean()
3. Matplotlib (Data Visualization)
Overview
Core 2D plotting library in Python.
Very customizable, good for static and publication-quality plots.
Common Plots
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
x = [1, 2, 3, 4]
y = [10, 20, 25, 30]
# Basic Line Plot
plt.plot(x, y)
plt.xlabel('X-axis')
plt.ylabel('Y-axis')
plt.title('Line Plot')
plt.show()
# Bar Chart
plt.bar(x, y)
# Scatter Plot
plt.scatter(x, y)
# Histogram
plt.hist(y, bins=5)
4. Seaborn (Statistical Visualization)
Overview
Built on top of Matplotlib.
Provides beautiful, high-level statistical plots with less code.
Good for exploring distributions, correlations, and categorical data.
Common Functions
import seaborn as sns
# Built-in dataset
tips = sns.load_dataset('tips')
# Distribution Plot
sns.histplot(tips['total_bill'], bins=20, kde=True)
# Box Plot
sns.boxplot(x='day', y='total_bill', data=tips)
# Scatter + regression line
sns.regplot(x='total_bill', y='tip', data=tips)
# Heatmap
sns.heatmap(tips.corr(), annot=True)
5. Plotly (Interactive Visualization)
Overview
Library for interactive, dynamic, web-based plots.
Works well for dashboards and data apps (with Dash).
Can produce zoomable, hover-enabled charts.
Common Functions
import plotly.express as px
# Scatter Plot
df = px.data.iris()
fig = px.scatter(df, x='sepal_width', y='sepal_length', color='species')
fig.show()
# Line Chart
fig = px.line(df, x='sepal_width', y='sepal_length', color='species')
fig.show()
# Bar Chart
fig = px.bar(df, x='species', y='sepal_length', color='species')
fig.show()
6. Scikit-Learn (Machine Learning)
Overview
Core library for machine learning in Python.
Provides tools for model selection, training, evaluation, and preprocessing.
Contains algorithms for classification, regression, clustering, and dimensionality
reduction.
Workflow
1. Import dataset
2. Split into train/test sets
3. Choose model → Fit → Predict
4. Evaluate performance
Common Functions
from sklearn.datasets import load_iris
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier
from sklearn.metrics import accuracy_score
# Load dataset
iris = load_iris()
X, y = iris.data, iris.target
# Train-test split
X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2)
# Train model
model = RandomForestClassifier()
model.fit(X_train, y_train)
# Predictions
y_pred = model.predict(X_test)
print("Accuracy:", accuracy_score(y_test, y_pred))
Preprocessing tools
StandardScaler (feature scaling)
OneHotEncoder (categorical encoding)
MinMaxScaler (normalization)
train_test_split (splitting datasets)
Quick Summary Table
Library Primary Use
NumPy Numerical computation, arrays
Pandas Data manipulation and cleaning
Matplotlib Static plots
Library Primary Use
Seaborn Statistical, beautiful plots
Plotly Interactive visualizations
Scikit-Learn Machine learning models and tools
