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Module 1 · Lab

Lab: build a baseline, test a rule and judge the result

Use a small invented customer table to compute a baseline, score a rule on training and test rows and write a careful judgement.

  • 50 minutes
  • 12 marks
  • Self-marked

50 minutes. Self-marked against the rubric. 12 marks. In the full course this counts toward the labs and cases share (15% of the course grade). Write your answers in the boxes, then open the model answer and tick each mark you earned honestly. Nothing is sent or stored.

Scenario (invented)

Use the ten-customer table from Lesson 4 (invented):

CustomerApp uses per week (feature)Renewed? (label)
15yes
24yes
31no
42no
56yes
63yes
70no
84no
92yes
105yes

Rows 1 to 7 are the training set and rows 8 to 10 are the test set. Rule: predict “yes” if the customer uses the app 3 or more times per week.

Tasks

Task 1 (3 marks)

Using the training rows only, state the baseline prediction and its accuracy on the test rows.

Private: nothing you type here is sent or stored.

Task 2 (3 marks)

Score the rule on the training rows and give its accuracy.

Private: nothing you type here is sent or stored.

Task 3 (3 marks)

Score the rule on the test rows and give its accuracy.

Private: nothing you type here is sent or stored.

Task 4 (3 marks)

Write a careful judgement in three sentences: compare the rule with the baseline, comment on the gap between training and test, and state a limit.

Private: nothing you type here is sent or stored.

Rubric and model answer

Task 1: compute the baseline (3 marks)

Model: training rows have four “yes” (1, 2, 5, 6) and three “no” (3, 4, 7), so the baseline predicts “yes”. On the test rows it is wrong for customer 8 and right for 9 and 10: 2 of 3, about 67%.

Task 2: score the rule on training (3 marks)

Model: customers 1, 2, 5, 6 use the app 5, 4, 6, 3 times: predicted yes, correct. Customers 3, 4, 7 use it 1, 2, 0 times: predicted no, correct. All 7 are right, so accuracy is 100%.

Task 3: score the rule on test (3 marks)

Model: customer 8 used the app 4 times, predicted yes, actual no: wrong. Customer 9 used it twice, predicted no, actual yes: wrong. Customer 10 used it 5 times, predicted yes, actual yes: right. Accuracy = 1 ÷ 3 = 33%.

Task 4: judge the result (3 marks)

Model: “On the test rows the rule (33%) did worse than the baseline (67%), although it was perfect on the training rows, a sign of over-fitting. But with only three test rows, the comparison is very noisy. Many more rows are needed before choosing between them.”

Marks so far: 0 of 12