TMA RESOURCES &
PUBLISHED ARTICLES
THE ANALYTICS CLINICTM
No other online event brings the experience and excitement of “live analytics on a high-wire” than TMA’s machine-learning reality show, “The Analytics Clinic.” TMA’s clinician Keith McCormick bravely runs experiments on emerging predictive analytics topics in real time, in front of a large audience.
A panel of seasoned experts then cut through common industry hype and address the big “So What?” question in a segment called “The Realm of Reality.” The expert panel translates the clinic results while interpreting sentiment from live participant polling. This lively discussion reveals how impressive technical results don’t automatically translate to deployment, interpretability, impact or adoption. The tactical and strategic lessons conveyed in each Clinic are substantial.
View recordings from any of the following episodes. If you lack time (or a sense of humor), you may forward past the opening lobby quips. Please excuse a timing shift between the video and audio across various components that increases along the Adobe Connect recordings.
[ >> Can Data Preparation Be Automated? << ]
[ >> How Are Data Scientists Hired? << ]
[ >> Designing Analytics Projects for Insight Versus Action << ]
[ >> Preventing Homeless Models: Preparing for Model Adoption << ]
[ >> The Machine Learning Algorithm <=> Problem Mismatch << ]
[ >> Sizing Big Data for Predictive Analytics | The Case Against N = All << ]
[ >> Ensemble Models: Worth the Gains? << ]
[ >> Citizen Data Scientists: Why Not DIY AI? << ]
AI & PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS | WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S NOT, AND WHY INDUSTRIALIZE?
This track was presented in late 2021 by TMA’s president Eric King as part of the United Way’s Data Democratization Conference.
[ >> Watch the Presentation << ]
BIG DATA NEEDS ADVANCED ANALYTICS…BUT ANALYTICS DOES NOT NEED BIG DATA
In this published feature article, TMA’s president argues that size and success don’t correlate in goal-driven analytics. “Big data enthusiasts are finding that the more data they collect, the harder it becomes to understand just what the data is telling them. And most practitioners are surprised to learn how little data is required to build a highly effective goal-driven model.”
[ >> View the Full Article << ]
FIVE THINGS PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS PROS DON’T DO (BUT REALLY NEED TO…)
When projects fail to deliver the expected results, the culprit is often inadequate training and preparation. Program managers and data analysts need to first understand what it is they are getting into. The widespread adoption of predictive analytics has been at the mercy of two opposing forces over the past two decades. Frequent, compelling use cases from the few organizations that have properly implemented predictive analytics projects propelled the discipline into the mainstream. Yet its perceived complexity has slowed adoption. Let’s take a look at five critical things business intelligence (BI) and analytics professionals often overlook, hence depriving their organizations of the substantial benefits of predictive analytics.
[ >> View the Full Article in .PDF Format << ]
PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS | FAILURE TO LAUNCH
TMA’s highly popular webinar ran every month for nine years with thousands in live attendance. A strategic organizational approach to analytics followed a segment on tactical insights. Live polling for participant sentiment and expert panel analysis were lively parts of this event.
[ >> Proceed to full webinar recording or library of the Q&A sessions << ]
DATA SCIENCE USES, EXCUSES AND ABUSES
In this interview with MR Realities, a regular podcast that discusses common pitfalls, shortcomings and myths in market research and analytics, TMA’s president Eric A. King separates rhetoric from reality and cuts through hype and mystification when it comes to the application of data science and the definition of a data scientist.
[ >> Proceed to Data Science Interview << ]
CIO REVIEW LISTS TMA AS A TOP 20 ANALYTICS SOLUTION PROVIDER
CIO Review identifies “the best” in a variety of areas important to business intelligence. They surveyed more than 300 data analytics services firms and profiled the Top 20. TMA was proud to take its place among the best data analytics services companies.
[ >> View the Full Article in .PDF Format << ]
TMA’S TRAINING DIRECTOR DELIVERS KEYNOTE AT TDWI CONFERENCE
The Data Warehousing Institute invited TMA’s Tony Rathburn to deliver the keynote speech entitled “Enhanced Resource Allocation: Business Use of Predictive Analytics and Data Mining” at their World Conference in Boston. Watch the full keynote presentation as Tony emphasizes how most analytic practioners have tunnel vision on the wrong end of the problem. Tony reveals how data scientists are building more-than-accurate models, but falling short at the project level to arrive at results that are truly actionable, understandable, and measurable.
[ >> Watch the Full TDWI Keynote Presentation << ]
SIX MYTHS ABOUT BUILDING A DATA SCIENCE TEAM
This article is written by TMA’s senior consultant Keith McCormick and published in TDWI’s UPSIDE Newsletter. Keith presents each myth countered by a modern reality when it comes to building and leading an analytic team. This article defines the team and what each role needs to know as well as the facts you need to be successful.
[ >> Read the Full Article << ]
BEYENETWORK SOLUTION SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW OF TMA
TMA’s president, Eric A. King is interviewed by Ron Powell, the editorial director of The BeyeNETWORK. Eric provides an overview of TMA, TMA’s focus on predictive modeling, the strength and uniqueness of TMA’s team, and how TMA guides customers through a complex discovery process to ultimately stand up a self-sustainable internal predictive modeling practice, with existing staff.
[ >> Listen to the Full 15 Minute Interview Here << ]
DATA MANAGEMENT REVIEW’S “HOW TO BUY DATA MINING”
Eric King, Founder of TMA provides a framework for avoiding costly project pitfalls in predictive analytics. This comprehensive article guides those who are not sure how to approach this seemingly cryptic and intangible practice to take a systematic approach to predictive analytics. Readers will discover that those who start in the typical fashion of most BI projects (with data and software) will fall far short of their objectives!
[ >> Download the Complete Article in PDF Format << ]
TDWI’s “TEN MISTAKES TO AVOID IN PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS”
TMA’s Senior Consultant and Training Director, Thomas A. “Tony” Rathburn describes in this article ten perils to steer clear of when preparing for a data mining and predictive modeling project. The Data Warehousing Institute’s popular “Ten Mistakes to Avoid” series helps practitioners make a more informed entry into various business intelligence practices. This particular issue includes a bonus mistake for TMA referrals.
[ >> Read the Ten Mistakes to Avoid Article << ]
MAKING PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS “PREDICTIVE”
In the increasingly complex and competitive environment of business, it is critical to understand that your data, your software, and your technology will never understand the context in which it operates. It will never understand your decision process. It will never understand how you measure success. The only value of technology is to make your business more effective in achieving your goals. To achieve and maintain competitive advantage, organizations must provide centralized resources to support distributed analytics development efforts. Only the business decision makers can monitor and adapt to a rapidly changing environment, utilize available technology to enhance future performance, and ensure that we do not get bogged down implementing technology that offers only the hype of great features…
[ >> View the Full Article << ]
TMA’S DATA MINING CHANNEL ON THE BEYENETWORK
TMA’s president, Eric A. King hosts an Expert Resource Channel on Data Mining and Predictive Analytics for the Business Intelligence Network. This channel covers the practical application of strategy, tactics and best practices for predictive modeling. Topics and resources focus on extending the value of business analytics with prospective intelligence derived through knowledge discovery and machine learning technology. Check back frequently for new postings!
[ >> Explore TMA Predictive Analytics & Data Mining Channel << ]
101 WAYS TO SABOTAGE YOUR PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS PROJECT
TMA’s president Eric A. King outlines some of the most common yet elusive pitfalls that most who are new to the practice of data mining and predictive analytics fall into. In this article, Eric describes why new practitioners are not to blame along with the potential rewards awaiting those who take a low-risk / high reward strategic approach to what is essentially a discovery process.
[ >> Read The Full 101 Ways Article << ]