The CRISP-DM (Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining) process provides a structured approach to help guide data analysts and data scientists through a project from beginning to end. It was introduced in
this paper in 2000 and widely used ever since. There are even articles like
this discussing how this process makes better data scientists. It is important that not only the data scientists, but everybody taking part in the project (e.g. stakeholders, managers, etc.) understands the main concept, so if you are interested in the area, we recommend you check it out.
Let's take a look at the CRISP-DM process and its six steps:
- Business understanding: The first step of the CRISP-DM process is to understand the business problem that needs to be solved. This involves identifying the key stakeholders, defining the project objectives, and formulating the initial hypotheses. This step helps ensure that the data mining project is focused on solving a specific business problem and aligns with the organization's goals.
- Data understanding: Once the business problem is defined, the next step is to gather and explore the data. Data sources are identified and evaluated for their quality, relevance, and completeness. This step helps data analysts and data scientists understand the nature of the data they'll be working with and identify potential data quality issues.
- Data preprocessing: In this step, the data is cleaned, transformed, and prepared for analysis. This includes handling missing data, dealing with outliers, and selecting relevant features. This step is critical for ensuring that the data is in the right format for analysis and that any issues are addressed before modeling.
- Modeling In this step, data analysts and data scientists develop predictive models to answer the business questions identified in step 1. This involves selecting appropriate modeling techniques, testing different models, and selecting the best model for the data. This step helps identify the best approach for modeling the data and ensures that the model is accurate and reliable.
- Evaluation: Once the model is developed, it's time to evaluate its performance against the business objectives defined in step 1. This involves testing the model on a holdout dataset and comparing the results against the business requirements. This step ensures that the model meets the business needs and performs well in real-world scenarios.
- Deployment: The final step of the CRISP-DM process is to deploy the model into the production environment. This involves creating documentation, implementing the model, and monitoring its performance over time. This step ensures that the model is integrated into the organization's processes and that it continues to deliver value over the long term.
By following the six steps outlined above, data analysts and data scientists can develop accurate and reliable models that solve specific business problems and deliver value to the organization.