How to Build a Machine Learning Model with Python in 10 Steps

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According to IBM, 42% of enterprise-sized companies surveyed said they are using AI in their business. Moreover, an additional 40% of respondents say they are exploring AI. And, 59% of the companies surveyed said that they have accelerated their rollout or investments in the technology.

These statistics indicate the growing appetite of businesses for AI and ML solutions. They recognize that It is the way of the future. Hence, they are accelerating investments in developing these solutions.

However, the primary building block of AI solutions is a top-tier Machine Learning model. ML is a subset of AI with a focus on algorithms that can process millions of data points and perform analytical and operational tasks without any explicit instructions. And, as data is the lifeblood of any AI solution, machine learning models thus become extremely important.

Hence, if you don’t have experience in building ML models with Python then we can help you. In this piece, we will list down ten steps a software development company follows to build an ML model with Python.

10 Steps to Build Your Machine Learning Model

Let’s say a fleet management company wants to optimize their fleet’s maintenance schedules, usage, and fuel consumption, and see an opportunity to do so through AI.

So, they reach out to a software company to build a solution for them. Here’s how they are going to do it:

1.Define Your Objectives

They will start by identifying the objectives they want to accomplish. As stated above, the primary objective is to optimize the fleet’s maintenance. A well-defined objective is crucial for the project’s success.

2.Gather Necessary Data

After identifying all the objectives, they will then gather all the necessary data. They can ask the company to provide all the data on their fleet. This can include reports on maintenance, fuel consumption, and vehicle breakdowns. Moreover, data collectors can also access online data repositories, using APIs and web scraping software, to gather additional data. The reason for collecting data from multiple sources is to get accurate results.

3.Data Cleaning

The next step will be to clean the data. Let’s digress for a moment. Data cleaning is essential because it can eliminate redundancies, remove irrelevant entries, and highlight any missing values. Moreover, wrongly formatted data is also expunged. 

Python also provides data-cleaning features. Libraries like Pandas and NumPy are used for cleaning data.

Next, the data collectors will apply exploratory data analysis to identify how different variables interact with each other. Airbnb’s ML model uses the same technique. You can read the complete case study here

4.Model Selection

After cleaning and preparing the data, it is now time to select the appropriate ML model. There are several models to choose from, based on the objectives. Some of them are:

1.Sci-kit Learn

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Sci-kit offers traditional machine learning algorithms, i.e. linear regression, logistic regression, decision trees, and vector machines.

2.TensorFlow

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TensorFlow can be great for deep learning and scalability. Moreover, it can also be used to develop complex models.

3.PyTorch

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PyTorch is mostly used in building intricate neural networks like Tensor and various multi-dimensional arrays such as NumPy arrays.

5.Model Training

The next step is to train the chosen model. It involves feeding the data into the model. This allows developers to from the results and patterns, and adjust the parameters afterward.

6.Evaluating The Model

Now, it is time to evaluate the performance of the model. There are various methods for assessing a model’s performance. Like MAE measures the average magnitude of errors between predicted and actual values. Moreover, the Davies-Boulden Index and Calinski-Harabasz index are commonly used.

7.Model Optimization

After evaluating the performance of the model, if the developers deem it to be necessary, they will optimize the model. Hence, some of the model optimization techniques include:

1.Hyperparameters

Developers can adjust the hyperparameters of your model to adjust its performance. These hyperparameters control the learning process and structure of the model.

2.Adding More Data

Developers can also add more data to optimize the model. This is because more data often leads to better performance.

3.Using Different Algorithms

Sometimes developers might use different algorithms to bolster the performance of the model.

8.Build A Web Application

The next step is to build a web app to give the ML model an interface. Hence, developers can use the following Python web frameworks to get the job done:

1.Flask

Flask is a lightweight web development framework that has several useful features for web application development. Additionally, it uses the Jinja template engine to dynamically build HTML web pages.

2.Django

Django is another web framework that follows the model-template-views architectural pattern. It offers rapid development and clean design and also has built-in features for AI and ML development.

9.Model Integration

The next step is to integrate the model with the interface. Developers will implement the necessary logic to receive input from users, process it using the AI model, and then display the results. Moreover, developers use API to connect the model with the front end.

10.Deploy It To The Cloud

After the development phase is complete, it’s time to deploy the model to the cloud. It is a necessary step, because, no matter how good your model is, you cannot be sure if it stays on your local drive. Hence, developers can use tools like AWS, Heroku, and Pythonanywhere.

Conclusion

So, these are the steps that developers follow to build an ML model with Python. They start by defining the model’s objectives, gathering necessary data, cleaning the acquired data, training and evaluating the model, and thus, deploying it to the cloud.