Phase 12Days 133-144

Professional Analytics, Communication & Portfolio

Frame ambiguity, influence decisions, and prove readiness

Phase Goal

Own analysis from stakeholder question through quality review, communication, portfolio evidence, and interview defense.

Progress

Notes

Open the written lectures for this course before checking off the phase topics.

Projects

Watershed Restoration Funding Portfolio

Day 133: Problem Framing & Decision Contracts

Build the first-principles mental model for Stakeholder, action, deadline, and reversibility; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Stakeholder, action, deadline, and reversibility before inspecting the resultApply Stakeholder, action, deadline, and reversibility to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Stakeholder, action, deadline, and reversibility; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Question tree and unknown map; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Question tree and unknown map before inspecting the resultApply Question tree and unknown map to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Question tree and unknown map; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Scope, non-goals, constraints, and acceptance; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Scope, non-goals, constraints, and acceptance before inspecting the resultApply Scope, non-goals, constraints, and acceptance to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Scope, non-goals, constraints, and acceptance; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Solution-first requests and missing owners; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Solution-first requests and missing owners before inspecting the resultApply Solution-first requests and missing owners to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Solution-first requests and missing owners; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Retrieve one recent mechanism and one older prerequisite before consulting notesComplete a guided example, then reconstruct its critical path from a blank artifactSolve a changed task that requires choosing among already-taught toolsRecord the decision changed, failure tested, help used, and adaptive 1/3/7/14/30-day review cue

Day 134: Requirements & Analytical Plans

Build the first-principles mental model for Metric definitions and sources; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Metric definitions and sources before inspecting the resultApply Metric definitions and sources to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Metric definitions and sources; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Grain, population, window, and comparison; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Grain, population, window, and comparison before inspecting the resultApply Grain, population, window, and comparison to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Grain, population, window, and comparison; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Risks, assumptions, dependencies, and reviews; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Risks, assumptions, dependencies, and reviews before inspecting the resultApply Risks, assumptions, dependencies, and reviews to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Risks, assumptions, dependencies, and reviews; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Challengeable pre-result plan; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Challengeable pre-result plan before inspecting the resultApply Challengeable pre-result plan to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Challengeable pre-result plan; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 135: Stakeholder Interviews & Domain Learning

Build the first-principles mental model for Open, probing, confirming, and counterfactual questions; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Open, probing, confirming, and counterfactual questions before inspecting the resultApply Open, probing, confirming, and counterfactual questions to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Open, probing, confirming, and counterfactual questions; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Vocabulary and workflow observation; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Vocabulary and workflow observation before inspecting the resultApply Vocabulary and workflow observation to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Vocabulary and workflow observation; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Conflicting definitions; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Conflicting definitions before inspecting the resultApply Conflicting definitions to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Conflicting definitions; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Playback notes without false consensus; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Playback notes without false consensus before inspecting the resultApply Playback notes without false consensus to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Playback notes without false consensus; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 136: Data Quality Incident Response

Build the first-principles mental model for Detection, severity, scope, owner, and containment; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Detection, severity, scope, owner, and containment before inspecting the resultApply Detection, severity, scope, owner, and containment to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Detection, severity, scope, owner, and containment; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Lineage and affected outputs; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Lineage and affected outputs before inspecting the resultApply Lineage and affected outputs to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Lineage and affected outputs; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Correction, backfill, communication, and prevention; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Correction, backfill, communication, and prevention before inspecting the resultApply Correction, backfill, communication, and prevention to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Correction, backfill, communication, and prevention; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Silent fixes and unverified republishing; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Silent fixes and unverified republishing before inspecting the resultApply Silent fixes and unverified republishing to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Silent fixes and unverified republishing; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 137: Executive Writing & Recommendations

Build the first-principles mental model for Answer-first structure; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Answer-first structure before inspecting the resultApply Answer-first structure to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Answer-first structure; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Fact, interpretation, recommendation, and risk; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Fact, interpretation, recommendation, and risk before inspecting the resultApply Fact, interpretation, recommendation, and risk to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Fact, interpretation, recommendation, and risk; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Comparison, unit, period, and denominator; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Comparison, unit, period, and denominator before inspecting the resultApply Comparison, unit, period, and denominator to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Comparison, unit, period, and denominator; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Hidden answers and false certainty; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Hidden answers and false certainty before inspecting the resultApply Hidden answers and false certainty to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Hidden answers and false certainty; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 138: Data Storytelling & Presentation

Build the first-principles mental model for Audience and narrative spine; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Audience and narrative spine before inspecting the resultApply Audience and narrative spine to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Audience and narrative spine; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Context → change → explanation → choice; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Context → change → explanation → choice before inspecting the resultApply Context → change → explanation → choice to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Context → change → explanation → choice; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Annotation and sequencing; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Annotation and sequencing before inspecting the resultApply Annotation and sequencing to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Annotation and sequencing; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Chart tours and unsupported drama; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Chart tours and unsupported drama before inspecting the resultApply Chart tours and unsupported drama to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Chart tours and unsupported drama; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 139: Ethics, Privacy & Fair Measurement

Build the first-principles mental model for Purpose limitation and minimization; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Purpose limitation and minimization before inspecting the resultApply Purpose limitation and minimization to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Purpose limitation and minimization; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Sensitive attributes and proxies; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Sensitive attributes and proxies before inspecting the resultApply Sensitive attributes and proxies to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Sensitive attributes and proxies; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Suppression, access, and retention; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Suppression, access, and retention before inspecting the resultApply Suppression, access, and retention to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Suppression, access, and retention; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Fairness claims without affected-user context; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Fairness claims without affected-user context before inspecting the resultApply Fairness claims without affected-user context to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Fairness claims without affected-user context; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 140: Portfolio Case Study Architecture

Build the first-principles mental model for Problem, user, decision, constraints, process, and outcome; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Problem, user, decision, constraints, process, and outcome before inspecting the resultApply Problem, user, decision, constraints, process, and outcome to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Problem, user, decision, constraints, process, and outcome; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Repository structure and reproduction; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Repository structure and reproduction before inspecting the resultApply Repository structure and reproduction to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Repository structure and reproduction; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Quality evidence, alternatives, and limitations; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Quality evidence, alternatives, and limitations before inspecting the resultApply Quality evidence, alternatives, and limitations to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Quality evidence, alternatives, and limitations; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Screenshots without inspectable reasoning; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Screenshots without inspectable reasoning before inspecting the resultApply Screenshots without inspectable reasoning to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Screenshots without inspectable reasoning; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 141: Python & Pandas Interview Practice

Build the first-principles mental model for Trace-before-run prompts; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Trace-before-run prompts before inspecting the resultApply Trace-before-run prompts to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Trace-before-run prompts; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Collection, function, file, NumPy, and Pandas diagnosis; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Collection, function, file, NumPy, and Pandas diagnosis before inspecting the resultApply Collection, function, file, NumPy, and Pandas diagnosis to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Collection, function, file, NumPy, and Pandas diagnosis; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Timed clean-and-aggregate case; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Timed clean-and-aggregate case before inspecting the resultApply Timed clean-and-aggregate case to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Timed clean-and-aggregate case; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Trade-off communication while coding; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Trade-off communication while coding before inspecting the resultApply Trade-off communication while coding to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Trade-off communication while coding; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 142: SQL, Excel & BI Interview Practice

Build the first-principles mental model for SQL grain, joins, windows, and reconciliation; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of SQL grain, joins, windows, and reconciliation before inspecting the resultApply SQL grain, joins, windows, and reconciliation to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind SQL grain, joins, windows, and reconciliation; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Excel formula, pivot, and audit diagnosis; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Excel formula, pivot, and audit diagnosis before inspecting the resultApply Excel formula, pivot, and audit diagnosis to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Excel formula, pivot, and audit diagnosis; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Dashboard critique; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Dashboard critique before inspecting the resultApply Dashboard critique to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Dashboard critique; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Whiteboard metric definitions; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Whiteboard metric definitions before inspecting the resultApply Whiteboard metric definitions to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Whiteboard metric definitions; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 143: Statistics & Product Case Practice

Build the first-principles mental model for Descriptive versus inferential choice; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Descriptive versus inferential choice before inspecting the resultApply Descriptive versus inferential choice to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Descriptive versus inferential choice; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Sampling and experiment diagnosis; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Sampling and experiment diagnosis before inspecting the resultApply Sampling and experiment diagnosis to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Sampling and experiment diagnosis; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Metric trees, guardrails, and A/B cases; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Metric trees, guardrails, and A/B cases before inspecting the resultApply Metric trees, guardrails, and A/B cases to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Metric trees, guardrails, and A/B cases; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Recommendations with inconclusive evidence; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Recommendations with inconclusive evidence before inspecting the resultApply Recommendations with inconclusive evidence to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Recommendations with inconclusive evidence; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Day 144: Final Capstone — Restoration Funding Portfolio

Build the first-principles mental model for Transparent stakeholder-approved criteria; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Transparent stakeholder-approved criteria before inspecting the resultApply Transparent stakeholder-approved criteria to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Transparent stakeholder-approved criteria; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Python/SQL analysis, Excel review model, and Tableau view; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Python/SQL analysis, Excel review model, and Tableau view before inspecting the resultApply Python/SQL analysis, Excel review model, and Tableau view to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Python/SQL analysis, Excel review model, and Tableau view; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Sensitivity, quality, privacy, and fairness review; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Sensitivity, quality, privacy, and fairness review before inspecting the resultApply Sensitivity, quality, privacy, and fairness review to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Sensitivity, quality, privacy, and fairness review; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Build the first-principles mental model for Committee presentation, technical defense, and transfer; name the question it answers and the unit of analysisPredict and trace a tiny example of Committee presentation, technical defense, and transfer before inspecting the resultApply Committee presentation, technical defense, and transfer to a realistic analyst decision while stating assumptions, units, and boundariesBreak one assumption behind Committee presentation, technical defense, and transfer; diagnose the visible failure and perform the corrective check

Deliver Watershed Restoration Funding Portfolio for a river-basin grant committee; support the decision: which restoration proposals should be funded under a fixed budget and transparent criteria?Reconstruct the critical workflow without the example open and disclose help usedFind and repair a planted data, logic, or communication failure with evidenceRespond to a changed requirement without being told which technique to useState limitations, non-goals, uncertainty, and what evidence would change the recommendation

Capstone

Watershed Restoration Funding Portfolio

Build for a river-basin grant committee. The result must support this decision: which restoration proposals should be funded under a fixed budget and transparent criteria? Include reproducible inputs, validation evidence, one tested failure, a changed requirement, and an explicit non-goal.

Reproducible source-to-output workflow
Documented quality checks and assumptions
Decision-ready output for a named user
Independent reconstruction and transfer evidence

Phase Complete!

After this phase, you'll be able to:

Problem Framing & Decision Contracts
Requirements & Analytical Plans
Stakeholder Interviews & Domain Learning
Data Quality Incident Response
Executive Writing & Recommendations
Data Storytelling & Presentation
Ethics, Privacy & Fair Measurement
Portfolio Case Study Architecture

Independently deliver Watershed Restoration Funding Portfolio, diagnose a planted failure, explain the decision logic, and transfer the workflow to a changed requirement.

Back to all phases

Phase Goal

Day 133: Problem Framing & Decision Contracts

Stakeholder, action, deadline, and reversibility

Question tree and unknown map

Scope, non-goals, constraints, and acceptance

Solution-first requests and missing owners

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 134: Requirements & Analytical Plans

Metric definitions and sources

Grain, population, window, and comparison

Risks, assumptions, dependencies, and reviews

Challengeable pre-result plan

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 135: Stakeholder Interviews & Domain Learning

Open, probing, confirming, and counterfactual questions

Vocabulary and workflow observation

Conflicting definitions

Playback notes without false consensus

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 136: Data Quality Incident Response

Detection, severity, scope, owner, and containment

Lineage and affected outputs

Correction, backfill, communication, and prevention

Silent fixes and unverified republishing

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 137: Executive Writing & Recommendations

Answer-first structure

Fact, interpretation, recommendation, and risk

Comparison, unit, period, and denominator

Hidden answers and false certainty

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 138: Data Storytelling & Presentation

Audience and narrative spine

Context → change → explanation → choice

Annotation and sequencing

Chart tours and unsupported drama

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 139: Ethics, Privacy & Fair Measurement

Purpose limitation and minimization

Sensitive attributes and proxies

Suppression, access, and retention

Fairness claims without affected-user context

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 140: Portfolio Case Study Architecture

Problem, user, decision, constraints, process, and outcome

Repository structure and reproduction

Quality evidence, alternatives, and limitations

Screenshots without inspectable reasoning

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 141: Python & Pandas Interview Practice

Trace-before-run prompts

Collection, function, file, NumPy, and Pandas diagnosis

Timed clean-and-aggregate case

Trade-off communication while coding

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 142: SQL, Excel & BI Interview Practice

SQL grain, joins, windows, and reconciliation

Excel formula, pivot, and audit diagnosis

Dashboard critique

Whiteboard metric definitions

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 143: Statistics & Product Case Practice

Descriptive versus inferential choice

Sampling and experiment diagnosis

Metric trees, guardrails, and A/B cases

Recommendations with inconclusive evidence

Practice, retrieval, and analyst judgment

Day 144: Final Capstone — Restoration Funding Portfolio

Transparent stakeholder-approved criteria

Python/SQL analysis, Excel review model, and Tableau view

Sensitivity, quality, privacy, and fairness review

Committee presentation, technical defense, and transfer

Phase gate: independent delivery and transfer

Watershed Restoration Funding Portfolio

Phase Complete!