EXECUTIVE PROGR AM SYLL ABUS

Data Science for

Business Leaders

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Course: AI for Business Leaders
Data science is seeing widespread adoption in business today. A 2020 survey by the analyst firm Cognilytica
revealed that nearly 90% of respondents indicated that they will have some sort of in-progress AI
implementation within the next two years. That said, knowing how to implement data science is critical;
according to McKinsey, 86 percent of executives say their organizations have been at best only somewhat
effective at meeting the primary objective of their data and analytics programs, including more than one-
quarter who say they’ve been ineffective.

The goal of the Data Science for Business Leaders Executive Program is to equip learners with the
understanding of strategic, human capital, and technical requirements that power the ability of data science
to deliver enhanced business outcomes, as well as the strategic execution skills to develop an organizational
data science strategy that unlocks this potential. This program focuses on the unique knowledge and
skills that business leaders need to unlock the value of data in their organizations, or enable a more data-
driven department/organization that leverages data to inform strategic decisions for business operational
improvement and growth.

This course consists of four lessons that together cover data science and its business case as well as the
processes, people, and platforms necessary to execute data science initiatives for the business.
Businesses often suspect that they want Data Science capabilities, and may even sense a need for Data
Science capabilities...but many are not sure where to start. What is Data Science? Who is a Data Scientist?
What is possible through Data Science? All these questions are addressed in Lesson 1, which provides a broad
introduction to Data Science and what it can do for a business.

Creating a data science strategy isn’t a standalone activity; it must be driven by your overarching business
operations and strategy. Therefore, a critical starting point for any data strategy is articulation of a business’s
strategic objectives and identification of opportunities for data science-based transformation. These are the
topics of the second lesson of the course.

The human capital component of Data Science is critical to delivering on a data science strategy. Who do we
recruit, hire, and train for our Data Science organization? How is that organization structured in order to deliver
value to our business? How do our Data Scientists carry out their work in a structured manner? How do we
leverage data and data science to foster a data-driven culture throughout the business? These questions are
addressed in the third lesson of the course.

Finally, executing the Data Science strategy requires technology -- technology for data and technology for
machine learning. Technology needs are specific to each business; they depend on the types of data to be
leveraged for Data Science, the form and magnitude of that data, the types of data science models that a
business plans to create, and the overall scale of operations represented by those data science models. The
fourth lesson covers in great detail the parameters that must be considered both in creating a Data and Data
Architecture Strategy, and in building a Machine Learning Architecture to support Data Science initiatives.

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 Upon assuming a new leadership role within a company (whether
from an internal move or joining the company anew), it is common
for an executive to be asked to prepare a plan for their first 100 days
in the job. The Capstone Project asks students to prepare that 100-
day data science plan for a company of their choosing; this could be
the student’s current company, some other existing company, or a
fictitious business context provided.

As part of this project, the student will build/create the following:

Capstone Project : • The Human Capital plan for their data science organization
100-Day Data Science • The Technical plan for their data science organization
Data and Data Architecture Strategy
Plan Machine Learning Architecture
• Identification of six data science opportunities for the organization
Rack and stack evaluation of these opportunities
Detail the risks, challenges, and key factors for success for each
of these opportunities
• Roadmap for executing these six data science opportunities.

The work product for this Capstone project will be a detailed

presentation to the CEO, detailing your plan and the rationale behind
your decisions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Classify data science projects in terms of Area, Approach, and

Type of Model
• For a given Area, Approach, and Model Type, provide one
Introduction to example project from your business
LESSON ONE
Data Science • Given the particulars of a data science project, identify areas
of concern that might lead to the projects failing.
• Given the particulars of a data science project, identify steps
that could be taken to help ensure the project succeeds

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 • Define an organization’s data science roadmap
• Identify the best projects(s) to start with
• Detail strategies for successfully launching data science
initiatives
• Determine a starting point -- the most appropriate first
project (or suite of projects) to capture the most promising
opportunities and launch the data science function with
adequate momentum to ensure its long-term operation within
Business Case for the organization.
LESSON TWO
Data Science • Work with fellow executives to set and manage reasonable
expectations of success for data science projects
• Given a set of candidate data science projects, determine
the relative strategic importance, cost, complexity of i
mplementation, risk, likelihood of value capture, and
magnitude of benefit for each of the five projects
• For any data science project, identify strategies for meeting
three key factors of success (executive sponsorship; strategic
alignment with core business interests; scope conditions)

• Use the Data Science Heat Map as a tool for specifying roles
within the Data Science organization
• Manage Data Science operations using structured processes
for work and communication
• Given the particulars of a company’s strategic and operating
contexts, identify the data science organizational model best
suited for that company.
• Given a data science strategy, identify and prioritize the
mix of roles you would pursue to build out the data science
organization.
Human Capital of
LESSON THREE • Describe the project and product management strategies best
Data Science
suited for a given company’s data science organizations
• Given a broad business challenge, describe how you would
approach the development of a data science strategy using
the Structured Problem Solving Method.
• Given a business context, identify strategies for promoting
a data-driven culture throughout that business, particularly, •
around guiding employees on how to think through breaking
down problems of identifying data consumers, data needs/
use cases, data sources, and related necessary pipeline/
transformations that need to happen

• Given a particular business context, prepare a detailed Data

and Data Architecture strategy
Data and
• Given a particular business context, detail how a Machine
Machine Learning
LESSON FOUR Learning Architecture strategy fits into its Data and Data
Infrastructure
Architecture strategy.
Strategy
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of a given business’s
Data and Data Architecture strategy

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Frequently Asked Questions
PROGR AM OVERVIE W

WHY SHOULD I ENROLL?

A study by the McKinsey Global Institute reports that data-driven organizations
are now 23 times more likely to acquire customers, 6 times as likely to retain
customers, and 19 times as likely to be profitable as a result. McKinsey also
reports that the creation of a strategy now ranks as the number one challenge to
(and reason for) companies’ success with data and analytics.

The opportunity to generate critical business insights grows alongside the

massive amounts of data being created by companies and consumers alike, but
so does the challenge of managing all that data effectively. The Data Science for
Business Leaders Executive program addresses that challenge in an organization’s
data transformation journey by helping managers and executives make better
strategic, data-driven decisions.

Upon graduating from the program, business leaders will be able to identify and
assess data science opportunities, develop a human capital plan for staffing
and structuring a business’s data science team, and evaluate strategic technical
decisions around data architecture. These are critical skills for any leader looking
to unlocke the massive potential that big data offers.

WHAT JOBS WILL THIS PROGRAM PREPARE ME FOR?

This program is designed to train business leaders tasked with determining the
strategic decisions to equip their company with the latest advancements in data
science.
If you’re asking any of the below questions about your role or your business, this
program is what you’re looking for: Anyone in an org. who’s asking:
• What are our greatest opportunities to use data?
• How do I prioritize projects and manage a project pipeline/portfolio of data
projects?
• How do we build up data expertise across the variety of roles/capabilities
(i.e. data scientists vs. data engineers vs. data analysts, etc.)
• How do we deploy our different data roles to maximize business value from
our data?
• Do we change something at the platform level or do something smaller?

Professionals in roles that involve high-level strategic roadmapping are well

prepared to excel in this Executive Program.

HOW DO I KNOW IF THIS PROGRAM IS RIGHT FOR ME?

This Executive Program teaches the strategic and technical foundations of data
science in the 21st century. It is intended for business leaders and managers who
are responsible for making strategic decisions regarding these technologies, and
want to equip themselves to formulate and evaluate proposals involving data

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FAQs Continued
science, data architecture, and machine learning technologies to impact their
business.

WHAT IS AN EXECUTIVE PROGRAM? HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM A

NANODEGREE PROGRAM?
Executive Programs are intensive, strategically-focused programs that empower
business leaders to rapidly understand complex and technical concepts, like
Artificial Intelligence, and apply these concepts to high-stakes decision-making in
real-world business scenarios.

An Executive Program is focused on teaching how to weigh implications related

to strategic decision making that affect an entire organization or department.
Unlike a Nanodegree program, which goes much deeper on the technical
execution of using a specific technology, Executive Programs focus on the
fundamentals of a particular technology, like Artificial Intelligence or Data
Science, and go deep into the key questions business executives should be
considering around the application of those technologies, and the strategic
implications that these technologies have at a corporate level.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN AN EXECUTIVE PROGRAM?

Every Executive Program includes career services including a personal career
coach, project reviews from industry professionals, technical mentor support so
you can get help when you need it, and a flexible learning plan so you can learn
at your own pace.

ENROLLMENT AND ADMISSION

DO I NEED TO APPLY? WHAT ARE THE ADMISSION CRITERIA?

No application is necessary. This Executive Program accepts all applicants
regardless of experience and specific background.

WHAT ARE THE PREREQUISITES FOR ENROLLMENT?

This program is intended for students who have spent time in a business setting,
had exposure to business decision making, and have potentially worked on
technical or IT projects.
In addition, a well-prepared learner will have:
- Basic knowledge of mathematics (Algebra, Geometry, etc.)
- Basic Statistics (Able to calculate the mean, median, and mode from a data
set)
- Prior exposure to statistics and probability in an academic or professional
setting

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FAQs Continued
TUITION AND TERM OF PROGR AM

HOW IS THIS EXECUTIVE PROGRAM STRUCTURED?

This Executive program is comprised of content and curriculum to support one
capstone project. Once you enroll in an Executive program, you will have access
to the content and services for the length of time specified by your subscription.
We estimate that learners can complete the program in four to six weeks,
working approximately five hours per week.

The Capstone project will be reviewed by the Udacity reviewer network.

Feedback will be provided, and if you do not pass the project, you will be asked
to resubmit the project until it passes.

HOW LONG IS THIS EXECUTIVE PROGRAM?

The Executive Program can be completed in 4-8 weeks, working 5 hours per
week. Two full months of access to the learning environment is included in your
enrollment in the Executive Program.

See the Terms of Use for other policies around the terms of access to our
Nanodegree programs.

HOW MUCH DOES THE EXECUTIVE PROGRAM COST?

The Executive Program takes 4-8 weeks to complete, and costs $1599 (variable
if purchased during a promotion) for two months access to the program. If you
don’t finish the program before your two months of access are over, you will
shift over to a monthly subscription plan, which will be $399 per month if you
purchased the program at full-price, and a variable amount if you purchased
during a promotional period.

SOF T WARE AND HARDWARE

WHAT SOFTWARE AND VERSIONS WILL I NEED IN THIS PROGRAM?

You will use Google Sheets and Google Slides, or similar spreadsheet and slides
software, and Google Forms to facilitate more practical exercises in the lessons
and Capstone project. Jupyter Notebooks, which are embedded in the Udacity
classroom, are used for some exercises and short explorations into code.
You will not be asked to write code in this course, so you will not need to have a
Jupyter Notebook on your own computer.

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