Debugging machine learning systems is a critical skill for building reliable, trustworthy, and high-performing AI solutions. This course teaches you how to identify, diagnose, and resolve issues throughout the machine learning lifecycle, helping you create models that are accurate, efficient, explainable, and production-ready.

Debugging Machine Learning Models with Python

Debugging Machine Learning Models with Python

Instructor: Packt - Course Instructors
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What you'll learn
Improve data quality and eliminate data flaws
Assess and enhance model performance
Develop and optimize deep learning models with PyTorch
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August 2026
17 assignments
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There are 17 modules in this course
This module guides learners through advanced debugging techniques in machine learning, focusing on identifying data flaws and improving model reliability. Participants will explore different types of machine learning models, learn to interpret error messages, and apply strategies for debugging both code and model predictions.
What's included
1 video7 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
7 readings•Total 36 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Types of Machine Learning Modeling•6 minutes
- Debugging in Software Development•6 minutes
- Traceback•6 minutes
- Incremental Programming•6 minutes
- Flaws in Data Used for Modeling•4 minutes
- Model and Prediction-Centric Debugging•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Foundations of Machine Learning and Debugging•16 minutes
This module guides learners through the complete machine learning workflow, from data collection and preprocessing to model evaluation and deployment. Participants will gain practical skills in data wrangling, handling missing values, scaling features, and designing robust testing strategies. By the end, learners will understand how to structure and execute a machine learning project in real-world settings.
What's included
1 video7 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
7 readings•Total 35 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Data Collection•4 minutes
- Data Wrangling•6 minutes
- Feature Imputation for Filling in Missing Values•5 minutes
- Data Scaling•6 minutes
- Designing an Evaluation and Testing Strategy•5 minutes
- Testing the Code and the Model•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Machine Learning Life Cycle Fundamentals•16 minutes
This module introduces key principles and practices for developing responsible AI systems, focusing on fairness, security, transparency, and accountability. Learners will examine sources of bias, explore privacy and integrity challenges, and discover strategies for building trustworthy machine learning models.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 27 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Measurement or Labeling Bias•6 minutes
- Output Integrity Attacks•4 minutes
- Transparency in Machine Learning Modeling•4 minutes
- Accountable and Open to Inspection Modeling•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Ethical Considerations in AI Development•16 minutes
This module guides learners through evaluating machine learning models using key performance metrics, visualization techniques, and validation strategies. You will explore how to diagnose bias and variance, assess clustering results, and conduct error analysis to identify and address efficiency issues. By the end, you'll be equipped to systematically improve model performance and reliability.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 30 minutes
- Introduction•7 minutes
- Probability-based Performance Metrics•6 minutes
- Clustering•4 minutes
- Bias and Variance Diagnosis•4 minutes
- Model Validation Strategy•4 minutes
- Error Analysis•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Evaluating Machine Learning Model Performance•16 minutes
This module introduces practical strategies to boost the effectiveness and generalizability of machine learning models. Learners will explore data augmentation, hyperparameter tuning, and regularization, as well as techniques for handling limited or lower-quality data. By the end, you'll be equipped to enhance model performance through improved data processing and optimization methods.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 31 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Grid Search•5 minutes
- Synthetic Data Generation•7 minutes
- Improving Pre-training Data Processing•4 minutes
- Benefitting from Data of Lower Quality or Relevance•4 minutes
- Regularization to Improve Model Generalizability•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Enhancing Machine Learning Model Effectiveness•16 minutes
This module introduces key concepts and techniques for making machine learning models more transparent and understandable. Learners will explore both local and global explainability methods, including hands-on practice with SHAP and counterfactual analysis in Python. By the end, you'll be able to interpret model predictions and assess feature contributions to improve model trustworthiness.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 23 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Local Explanation Using SHAP•6 minutes
- Summaries of Counterfactuals•5 minutes
- Global Explanation•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Interpreting Machine Learning Models•16 minutes
This module introduces key concepts and practical tools for reducing bias and promoting fairness in machine learning models. Learners will examine sources of bias, explore fairness metrics, and utilize Python libraries to assess and improve model fairness in real-world scenarios.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 19 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Proxies for Sensitive Variables•6 minutes
- Bias in Production•5 minutes
- Fairness Assessment and Improvement in Python•3 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Fairness and Bias in Machine Learning Models•16 minutes
This module introduces strategies to mitigate risks in machine learning projects by leveraging test-driven development, differential testing, and experiment tracking. Learners will discover how to use tools like Pytest fixtures to streamline testing and ensure model reliability. The module also covers best practices for documenting and tracking experiments to support robust, reproducible results.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 14 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Pytest Fixtures•4 minutes
- Tracking Machine Learning Experiments•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Testing and Risk Management in Software Development•16 minutes
This module introduces essential strategies for ensuring machine learning models perform reliably in production environments. Learners will explore integration testing of ML pipelines, infrastructure testing, and techniques for monitoring and validating live model performance using Python tools. Emphasis is placed on maintaining model quality and detecting issues post-deployment.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 18 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Integration Testing of Machine Learning Pipelines•5 minutes
- Monitoring and Validating Live Performance•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Testing and Debugging in Production Systems•16 minutes
This module introduces the principles and practices of ensuring reproducibility in machine learning projects by leveraging data and model versioning. Learners will discover how effective version control enhances collaboration, traceability, and reliability throughout the machine learning pipeline.
What's included
1 video2 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
2 readings•Total 10 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Data Versioning•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Ensuring Reliable Machine Learning Workflows•16 minutes
This module delves into the challenges of data and concept drift in machine learning, highlighting their impact on model reliability. Learners will gain hands-on experience using Python libraries such as Alibi Detect and Evidently to identify and address drifts, ensuring robust model performance.
What's included
1 video2 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
2 readings•Total 10 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Detecting Drifts•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Monitoring and Managing Drift in Machine Learning Models•16 minutes
This module introduces the fundamentals of deep learning and the PyTorch framework, emphasizing neural network construction and practical model development. Learners will explore key optimization algorithms and discover how hyperparameter tuning can enhance model performance. By the end, you'll gain hands-on insights into building and refining deep learning models.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 17 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Optimization Algorithms•7 minutes
- Hyperparameter Tuning for Deep Learning•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Advanced Deep Learning Concepts•16 minutes
This module delves into advanced deep learning methods for handling images, text, and graph data using CNNs, transformers, and GNNs in PyTorch. Learners will gain practical experience with data preprocessing, model development, and leveraging pre-trained models for various data types. The module emphasizes hands-on techniques for transforming and augmenting data to improve model performance.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 30 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Convolutional Neural Networks for Image Shape Data•6 minutes
- Image Data Transformation and Augmentation for CNNs•4 minutes
- Tokenization•5 minutes
- Language Modeling Using Pre-Trained Models•4 minutes
- Graph Neural Networks•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Deep Learning Innovations•16 minutes
This module introduces cutting-edge developments in machine learning, focusing on generative modeling, reinforcement learning, and self-supervised learning. Learners will explore practical applications, including prompt engineering and PyTorch implementations, to understand how these advancements are shaping modern AI.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 21 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Prompt Engineering for Text-Based Generative Models•6 minutes
- Reinforcement Learning•4 minutes
- Self-Supervised Learning (SSL)•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Modern Machine Learning Innovations•16 minutes
This module delves into the critical distinction between correlation and causality in machine learning, highlighting why understanding causation is essential for building reliable models. Learners will explore causal modeling techniques and gain hands-on experience with Python libraries such as DoWhy and bnlearn to perform causal inference and reduce bias in their analyses.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 14 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Assessing Causation in Machine Learning Models•5 minutes
- Causal Modeling Using Python•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Correlation and Causality in Data Analysis•16 minutes
This module introduces key techniques for safeguarding machine learning systems and user data, including encryption methods, differential privacy, and federated learning. Learners will gain foundational knowledge of how these approaches enhance security and privacy in real-world machine learning applications.
What's included
1 video2 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
2 readings•Total 11 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Homomorphic Encryption•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Security and Privacy in Machine Learning Concepts•16 minutes
This module introduces the concept of integrating human feedback into machine learning workflows to improve model accuracy and reliability. Learners will discover how domain experts and non-experts contribute to the iterative development of machine learning systems in practical settings.
What's included
1 video1 reading1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
1 reading•Total 8 minutes
- Human-in-the-Loop Machine Learning - The Reading•8 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Human-in-the-Loop Machine Learning Fundamentals•16 minutes
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can preview the first video and view the syllabus before you enroll. You must purchase the course to access content not included in the preview.
If you decide to enroll in the course before the session start date, you will have access to all of the lecture videos and readings for the course. You’ll be able to submit assignments once the session starts.
Once you enroll and your session begins, you will have access to all videos and other resources, including reading items and the course discussion forum. You’ll be able to view and submit practice assessments, and complete required graded assignments to earn a grade and a Course Certificate.
If you complete the course successfully, your electronic Course Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Course Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
This course is currently available only to learners who have paid or received financial aid, when available.
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
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