When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate
There are 7 modules in this course
In this final course you will complete a Capstone Project using data analysis to recommend a method for improving profits for your company, Watershed Property Management, Inc. Watershed is responsible for managing thousands of residential rental properties throughout the United States. Your job is to persuade Watershed’s management team to pursue a new strategy for managing its properties that will increase their profits. To do this, you will: (1) Elicit information about important variables relevant to your analysis; (2) Draw upon your new MySQL database skills to extract relevant data from a real estate database; (3) Implement data analysis in Excel to identify the best opportunities for Watershed to increase revenue and maximize profits, while managing any new risks; (4) Create a Tableau dashboard to show Watershed executives the results of a sensitivity analysis; and (5) Articulate a significant and innovative business process change for Watershed based on your data analysis, that you will recommend to company executives.
Airbnb, our Capstone’s official Sponsor, provided input on the project design. The top 10 Capstone completers each year will have the opportunity to present their work directly to senior data scientists at Airbnb live for feedback and discussion.
"Note: Only learners who have passed the four previous courses in the specialization are eligible to take the Capstone."
The goal for this week is to learn about the Capstone Project you are tasked with, acquire background about the business problem, and begin to outline the steps of your analysis.
What's included
5 videos13 readings1 assignment1 peer review
Show info about module content
5 videos•Total 28 minutes
Introduction to the Capstone Project•7 minutes
What Watershed Owners Care About•7 minutes
Elicitation Interview with Your Project Manager•5 minutes
Elicitation Interview with Watershed's Marketing Director•5 minutes
Elicitation Interview with Watershed's Financial Director•5 minutes
13 readings•Total 125 minutes
Course Overview•10 minutes
Special Thanks!•10 minutes
About the Course Team•10 minutes
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)•10 minutes
Report a problem with the course•5 minutes
Lesson Overview•10 minutes
Elicitation Refresher•10 minutes
Letter from Your Project Manager•10 minutes
What are Project Managers, Anyway?•10 minutes
Background about the Short-term Rental Industry•10 minutes
Lesson Overview•10 minutes
Outlining an SPAP•10 minutes
Requirements and Assumptions•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
Elicitation•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
Your Three Elicitation Interviews•120 minutes
Data Extraction and Visualization
Module 2•2 hours to complete
Module details
The goal of this week is for you to extract the relevant data from the MySQL database you are given access to, and to look at it briefly in Tableau to get sense of what data you have.
What's included
1 video2 readings2 assignments1 ungraded lab
Show info about module content
1 video•Total 2 minutes
Meet Your Data•2 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
How to Meet and Retrieve Your Data•10 minutes
Visualize Your Data to Make Sure You Know What They Are•10 minutes
2 assignments•Total 20 minutes
Verify You Have Extracted the Correct Data•10 minutes
Make Sure You Understand What Your Data Mean•10 minutes
1 ungraded lab•Total 60 minutes
How to Meet and Retrieve Your Data (Jupyter Notebook)•60 minutes
Modeling
Module 3•5 hours to complete
Module details
The goal of this week is for you to create a financial model using Excel to analyze the data you extracted from the database, and to start to predict short-term rents for some of Watershed's existing properties.
What's included
5 videos15 readings5 assignments
Show info about module content
5 videos•Total 20 minutes
Creating a Predictive Model for Short-term Rental Rates•5 minutes
Normalizing Rents to Improve Occupancy Forecasting•5 minutes
Using the Dollars to Percentile Conversion Guide Spreadsheet•2 minutes
Optimizing Rents to Maximize Revenues•5 minutes
Using the Solver Revenue Maximization Guide Spreadsheet•3 minutes
15 readings•Total 150 minutes
Week 3 Learning Goals•10 minutes
Single Workbook Containing Template Spreadsheets 1-3•10 minutes
Single Workbook Containing Guide Spreadsheets•10 minutes
Best Practices for Setting up an Excel Spreadsheet•10 minutes
Using the First Best-Fit Line Template Spreadsheet•10 minutes
First Best Fit Line Template (Spreadsheet 1)•10 minutes
Using the Normalized Data and Model Template Spreadsheet•10 minutes
Normalized Data and Model Template (Spreadsheet 2)•10 minutes
Dollars to Percentile Conversion Guide Spreadsheet•10 minutes
Applying Normalization to the Comparable Properties•10 minutes
Alternative to Solver Template (Spreadsheet 4)•10 minutes
5 assignments•Total 150 minutes
First Best-Fit Line•30 minutes
Normalization•30 minutes
Applying Normalization to the Comparable Properties•30 minutes
Optimization Basics•30 minutes
Optimizing Watershed Rents•30 minutes
Cash Flow and Profits
Module 4•4 hours to complete
Module details
The goal for this week is for you to use your projections about the Watershed properties to estimate cash flows and profits Watershed would experience if it converted properties to short-term rentals.
What's included
3 videos10 readings4 assignments
Show info about module content
3 videos•Total 12 minutes
Estimating Watershed Cash Flow and Profits•4 minutes
Distinguishing Cash Flow from Profits and Losses•5 minutes
Using the Annual Cash Flows and Profits Spreadsheet•3 minutes
10 readings•Total 100 minutes
Week 4 Learning Goals•10 minutes
Single Workbook Containing Template Spreadsheets 5-6•10 minutes
Using the Alternative to Solver Template Spreadsheet•10 minutes
Using the Forecasting Cash Flow and Profits Template Spreadsheet•10 minutes
Forecasting Cash Flow and Profits Template (Spreadsheet 5)•10 minutes
Annual Cash Flows and Profits Guide Spreadsheet•10 minutes
Using the Sorting by Profitability Template Spreadsheet•10 minutes
Sorting by Profitability Template (Spreadsheet 6)•10 minutes
The Value of Considering Cash Flow Risk and Total Cash Required•10 minutes
The Value of Financial Sensitivity Analysis in General•10 minutes
4 assignments•Total 120 minutes
Alternative to Solver•30 minutes
Profitability•30 minutes
Cash Flow Risk and Total Cash Required•30 minutes
Sensitivity Analysis: Measuring Cutoffs at 40% Transaction Fee•30 minutes
Data Dashboard
Module 5•1 hour to complete
Module details
The goal of this week and next week is to build an analytical dashboard in Tableau using the data models and assumptions you have discovered in prior weeks.
What's included
6 videos2 readings
Show info about module content
6 videos•Total 55 minutes
Using Tableau to Perform Sensitivity Analysis•7 minutes
Dashboard for Analyst Use•12 minutes
Dashboard Modification for a Financial Audience•8 minutes
Bar in Bar Graphs in Tableau•13 minutes
Histograms in Tableau•6 minutes
Tables in Tableau•9 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
How to Get Started Making Your Dashboard•10 minutes
Additional charts for your sensitivity analysis•10 minutes
Dashboard for Decision-makers
Module 6•2 hours to complete
Module details
This week complete your dashboard and add design elements so the dashboard is ready for stakeholders (Watershed executives, for example) to use it to test your model's assumptions.
What's included
2 videos5 readings1 assignment
Show info about module content
2 videos•Total 15 minutes
Preparing Your Dashboard for Decision-makers•5 minutes
Jittered Maps in Tableau•10 minutes
5 readings•Total 50 minutes
Lesson Overview•10 minutes
How to Use Jittering to Depict Multiple Data Points in the Same Geographic Location•10 minutes
Turning Your Sensitivity Analysis into a Recommendation•10 minutes
Finalizing Your Dashboard•10 minutes
Tableau Tricks to Try on Your Own (Including R Integration!)•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
Sensitivity Analysis•30 minutes
Final Project
Module 7•4 hours to complete
Module details
This week, design and give a presentation for Watershed executives with your business recommendations, and complete a white paper template. Evaluate 3 peer's dashboards, white papers and presentations.
What's included
2 videos7 readings1 assignment1 peer review
Show info about module content
2 videos•Total 10 minutes
Persuading Decision-makers to Follow Your Recommendations•7 minutes
Congratulations on Joining the Exciting Field of Data Analytics!•3 minutes
7 readings•Total 70 minutes
New Information from Your Project Manager!•10 minutes
White Paper Background Information•10 minutes
About the Final Project•10 minutes
PART I: Tableau Dashboard Instructions•10 minutes
PART 2: White Paper Instructions•10 minutes
PART 3: Presentation Instructions•10 minutes
Share your learning experience•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
A Very Important Question!•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
Final Project Assignment Submission•120 minutes
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