Deeply analyzing data to discover useful patterns has delivered enormous returns in many fields and industries. But, it is easy to go too far and “torture the data until it confesses” or otherwise doom your findings to fail where they really matter: on new situations. A key to achieving quality is to avoid “worst practices”.
Dr. John Elder will share his (often humorous) stories from real-world applications highlighting common, but deadly, mistakes. Come learn how to achieve success by laughing (or gasping) at stories of barely averted disaster.
Note: Some analytic details in the case studies can be quite technical, but the stories (and their lessons) appeal to participants across experience levels and job classifications.
Attendees will learn:
- How to find useful patterns in your data
- Analytic best practices by learning their flip side: worst practices
- The tremendous value of verified data mining
About John F. Elder IV, PhD, Founder and CEO
Dr. John Elder heads a data mining consulting team with offices in Charlottesville, Virginia and Washington DC (http://www.datamininglab.com). Founded in 1995, Elder Research, Inc. focuses on federal, commercial, investment, and security applications of advanced analytics, including text mining, stock selection, image recognition, biometrics, process optimization, cross-selling, drug efficacy, credit scoring, market timing, and fraud detection.
Dr. Elder obtained a BS and MEE in Electrical Engineering from Rice University, and a Ph.D in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia, where he's an adjunct professor teaching Optimization or Data Mining. Prior to 14 years at ERI, he spent 5 years in aerospace defense consulting, 4 heading research at an investment management firm, and 2 in Rice's Computational & Applied Mathematics department.
He has authored innovative data mining tools, is a frequent keynote speaker, and was co-chair of the 2009 Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining conference, in Paris. Dr. Elder's courses on analysis techniques – taught at dozens of universities, companies, and government labs – are noted for their clarity and effectiveness. He was honored to serve for 5 years on a panel appointed by the President to guide technology for National Security. His book on Practical Data Mining, with Bob Nisbet and Gary Miner, was published in May 2009.
