A business problem is the organizational objective a data science project is meant to address. Define it before choosing a model or preparing data. It should be clear, concise, measurable, and achievable with the available resources and timeframe. Business stakeholders and subject matter experts should define and own it, then help the team course-correct when needed. section 11.2 section 1.4
Check the definition before work begins:
- Name the intended effect and the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will measure it. “Increase revenue” or “decrease costs” alone leaves too much ambiguity. section 11.2
- Set a target that is achievable within the resources and timeframe. An unrealistic target can cause useful results to be rejected. section 11.2
- Keep changes to requirements visible. A major change in scope without corresponding changes to resources or deadlines can disrupt the project. section 11.2
Turn an aim into a target
Instead of “decrease the cost,” specify which cost heads to optimize and a result to measure: identify the best combination of cost heads A, B, C, and D to reduce cost by 1.2% in the next six months. section 1.4
The definition also guides later decisions. For GenAI integration, use the business priority to identify valuable use cases, then assess whether the available data is sufficient, high-quality, and representative of the problem. Test the resulting system against the intended real-world use case. section 10.6
Table 1.2 Examples of how to define a business problem to make it clear, concise, and measurable
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Examples
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Ill-defined business problems
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Good business problems
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Increase the production
Decrease the cost |
Optimize the various cost heads (A, B, C, and D) and identify the most optimal combination to decrease the cost by 1.2% in the next six months
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Increase the revenue by 80% in one month
Automate the entire process |
From the various factors of defects in the process (X, Y, Z), identify the most significant factors to reduce the defect % by 1.8% in the next three months
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Compare vague aims with definitions that name a target, a measurement, and a deadline. section 1.4
