Data Science for Business Syllabus

Data Science for Business moves beyond the spreadsheet and provides a hands-on approach for demystifying the data science ecosystem
and making you a more conscientious consumer of information. Starting with the questions you need to ask when using data for deci-
sion-making, this course will help you know when to trust your data and how to interpret the results.

Modules Case Studies Takeaways Key Exercises

• Apply the steps of the Data Driven • Translate business problems

Decision Framework into data hypotheses
Module 1

Carvana: Good
The Data Science • Identify the benefits that data science • Explore and describe datasets
Data and Bad
Shift Buys brings to business problems • Use visualizations to generate
hypotheses

• Relate the quality of data with the the • Prepare and clean data for
quality of the conclusions analysis
Module 2

Fannie Mae: • Assess the quality of data • Examine data dictionaries

Data Wrangling Identifying
• Guide decisions for merging tables and • Design table joins
Investments managing missing data • Identify solutions for managing
missing data

• Incorporate visualizations throughout • Critique existing charts

the data science process and identify methods of
improvement
• Interpret charts and graphs
Module 3

StockX: Drawing • Generate insight with graphs

Visualization • Develop questions from visualizations
Demand • Design visualizations to express
• Design visualizations for clear
data clearly
communication with maximal impact

• Connect yesterday’s data with • Determine when time

tomorrow’s prediction series analysis is useful and
informative
• Evaluate temporal patterns in data
Module 4

NICU beds: • Select appropriate methods for

Time Series • Match the time scale with the business
Creating exponential smoothing
Forecasting Capacity
problem
• Select appropriate smoothing
techniques for time series forecasting

© Copyright 2020. President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved.
 Modules Case Studies Takeaways Key Exercises

• Interpret linear regression results • Identify relationships between

Bark Gift Shop: variables
• Extend intuition into analysis
Motivating • Write hypotheses
• Apply advanced methods to gain
Module 5

Managers
Linear Regressions sophistication and insight to your • Explain the parts of a linear
ATO Pictures: understanding. model, including interactions
Marketing and dummy variables
Movies • Interpret linear regression
results

• Differentiate linear and logistic • Complete a confusion matrix

regression • Interpret results from logistic
• Conceptualize Machine Learning regression, CART, random
Logistic
Module 6

Carvana and forest, lasso, and neural

Regressions and • Evaluate model fit
Fannie Mae networks
Machine Learning
• Select a model to guide
decisions

Learning requirements: In order to earn a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online and Harvard Business School Online, participants
must thoughtfully complete all 6 modules, including satisfactory completion of the associated quizzes, by stated deadlines.

© Copyright 2020. President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved.