This practical guide provides a collection of techniques and best practices that are generally overlooked in most data engineering and data science pedagogy. A common misconception is that great data scientists are experts in the “big themes” of the discipline—machine learning and programming. But most of the time, these tools can only take us so far. In practice, the smaller tools and skills really separate a great data scientist from a not-so-great one.
Taken as a whole, the lessons in this book make the difference between an average data scientist candidate and a qualified data scientist working in the field. Author Daniel Vaughan has collected, extended, and used these skills to create value and train data scientists from different companies and industries.
With this book, you will:
Understand how data science creates value Deliver compelling narratives to sell your data science project Build a business case using unit economics principles Create new features for a ML model using storytelling Learn how to decompose KPIs Perform growth decompositions to find root causes for changes in a metric
Daniel Vaughan is head of data at Clip, the leading paytech company in Mexico. He’s the author of Analytical Skills for AI and Data Science (O’Reilly).
From the brand

Explore more Data Science
Start learning with O’Reilly
More From O’Reilly

Sharing the knowledge of experts
O’Reilly’s mission is to change the world by sharing the knowledge of innovators. For over 40 years, we’ve inspired companies and individuals to do new things (and do them better) by providing the skills and understanding that are necessary for success.
Our customers are hungry to build the innovations that propel the world forward. And we help them do just that.
Publisher : O’Reilly Media
Publication date : December 5, 2023
Edition : 1st
Language : English
Print length : 254 pages
ISBN-10 : 1098146476
ISBN-13 : 978-1098146474
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 7 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #526,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #11 in Engineering Research #123 in Data Mining (Books) #203 in Data Processing
Customer Reviews: 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (5) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
2 reviews for Data Science: The Hard Parts: Techniques for Excelling at Data Science
Add a review
Original price was: $65.99.$37.75Current price is: $37.75.


Marcela –
This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to excel in the field of data science. The author has done an excellent job in explaining how technical knowledge alone is not enough to succeed in the field. The book emphasizes the importance of knowing how to apply your data science knowledge to make a big impact for your company. The author has filled the gap between technical knowledge and business value so eloquently, clearly, and most of all, so enjoyably! The book is an easy read, with all the steps and methods you need to apply your data science knowledge to make a big impact for your organization. I’ve also found the code repo quite useful to replicate some of the plots, methods and simulations (by the way, if you don’t feel comfortable with simulations, all of the datasets used are simulated, so you can replicate them exactly — and of course, there’s one whole chapter covering simulations). It’s a great resource for anyone who wants to increase their own value as a data scientist and bring real value to their business. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in data science and wants to take their skills to the next level, and I’m looking forward to going through the author’s previous book.
Prateek –
You’re like a skipping stone on an otherwise lake of great depth of topics. Can’t recommend.