Microsoft Data Science Bootcamp for Freshers — Lesson 2: Statistics, Feature Engineering and Model Development

Learning Objectives

• Apply descriptive statistics, probability, distributions, hypothesis concepts, correlation, and experimental thinking
• Create features and train regression, classification, clustering, and baseline models with repeatable pipelines
• Validate statistics, feature engineering and model development decisions with documented requirements, test evidence, risk controls, and measurable acceptance criteria

Detailed Topics

• Apply descriptive statistics: Apply descriptive statistics, probability, distributions, hypothesis concepts, correlation, and experimental thinking
• Create features and train regression: Create features and train regression, classification, clustering, and baseline models with repeatable pipelines
• Validate statistics: Validate statistics, feature engineering and model development decisions with documented requirements, test evidence, risk controls, and measurable acceptance criteria

Guided Demonstration

1. Review the requirement, users, data, dependencies, permissions, risks, and expected result.
2. Demonstrate the relevant design, configuration, development, analysis, administration, or support workflow step by step.
3. Capture settings, outputs, logs, screenshots, calculations, test results, and other useful evidence.
4. Compare the observed result with acceptance criteria and explain any corrective action.

Hands-On Activity

Build and compare multiple machine-learning models.

• Document assumptions, prerequisites, and the planned sequence before starting.
• Complete the activity and preserve evidence of normal, boundary, and failure behavior.
• Record issues, corrective actions, reusable notes, and the next improvement priority.

Scenario Analysis

• Identify the business or technical decision that must be made.
• Compare valid implementation approaches and their trade-offs.
• Consider security, privacy, accessibility, performance, support, and operational impact.

Troubleshooting Focus

• Separate symptoms from causes and collect evidence before applying a fix.
• Check configuration, data, permissions, dependencies, capacity, connectivity, and recent changes.
• Validate rollback, recovery, ownership, user impact, and business continuity.

Validation Checklist

• The requirement, scope, inputs, and expected outcome are clear.
• The selected design or configuration is documented and follows approved standards.
• Normal, boundary, failure, security, accessibility, and operational conditions are reviewed.
• The result is supported by evidence and the next improvement is prioritized.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can explain and apply Statistics, Feature Engineering and Model Development in a realistic scenario and validate the result with documented evidence.