Course Syllabus [ version 1.

0 on 11 January 2021]

Data Analytics in Business

MGT 6203 Online

Spring 2021
PROFESSORS:
Frederic Bien, PhD, MS.QCF
Email: [email protected]
Office: 496 (or 4161) in Scheller College of Business

Class Time and Location: Online in Canvas and EdX

Office Hours in BlueJeans.com: Thursday 8:30-9:30 pm (Eastern) for OMSA/Canvas

students, or Tuesday 8:30-9:30 pm for MicroMaster/EdX students, or by appointment.

TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
1. Akshay Gangavalli (Lead TA) (MSQCF)
2. Madhur Adlakha (Assistant Lead TA for OMSA students in Canvas) (MSQCF)
3. Ronak Patel (Assistant Lead TA for Micromaster students in EdX) (OMSA)

TAs
Please check our Piazza.com Forums in the first week of class for complete list.

Teaching Assistants are very important in this course, as you will find out in Monday
evening office hours (7:00-8:00 pm for EdX, or 8:30 to 9:30 pm for Canvas, Eastern).
TAs provide instructions and tips for R code for homework and self-assessments.

You can ask questions at any time in Piazza online forums. TAs will answer your
questions and sometimes other students in the class may answer you. All students are
encouraged to participate in online discussions in Piazza for this course. We can see the
activity level of students in Piazza. Typically more active students do better in the course.

GUEST LECTURES BY:

Prof. Sridhar Narasimhan, Prof. Jonathan Clarke, Prof. Bob Myers from GeorgiaTech
Scheller College of Business

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 1

COURSE BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The primary objective of this course is to teach the scientific process of transforming data
into insights for making better business decisions.
This course covers basic methodologies, algorithms, and challenges related to analyzing
business data. We will also study applications of data analysis in:
1) Finance & Investments
2) Marketing & Advertising
3) Operations & Logistics.

PREREQUISITE

• Calculus and Linear Algebra

• Probability and Statistics
• Background in programming and willingness to learn R
• Introductory course in Analytics Modeling

COURSE GOALS

After taking this course, students will be able to:

• approach business problems data-analytically. Students should be able to think
carefully and systematically about whether and how data and business analytics
can improve business performance.
• develop business analytics ideas, do projects to analyze data using business
analytics software, and generate relevant business insights for decision-making.

TEXTBOOKS
• Required: (ISLR) Introduction to Statistical Learning with Applications in R, by
Gareth James, Daniela Witten, Trevor Hastie & Robert Tibshirani. Publ. Springer,
New York (2017). ISBN: 978-1461471370. Download it for free at
www.statlearning.com = http://faculty.marshall.usc.edu/gareth-james/ISL/. It is
available for purchase in paper form at Amazon.com, BN.com, Ebay.com, etc.

• You will need to purchase and download seven case studies from Harvard
Business School online library. Here is a link to a package to buy online:
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/782538

• Suggested additional book (not required): Data Mining for Business Analytics:
Concepts, Techniques, and Applications in R, by Galit Shmueli, Peter C.
Bruce, Inbal Yahav, Nitin R. Patel, Kenneth C. Lichtendahl Jr. Publ.
Wiley, Hoboken, NJ (2018). ISBN: 978-1118879368. Available for purchase
from Amazon.com, BN.com, Ebay.com, etc. See also the website for this book:
www.dataminingbook.com/book/r-edition

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 2

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Today businesses, consumers, communities and societies create or manage massive

amounts of data as a by-product of their activities. Companies in every industry are using
data analytics to add to, or replace, intuition and guesswork in their decision-making. As
a result, business managers can use their data troves and analytical skills to discover new
patterns and insights, and/or to run controlled experiments to test various hypotheses.

This course prepares students to understand business analytics and become leaders in
these areas in business organizations. This course teaches the scientific process of
transforming data into insights for making better business decisions. It covers the
methodologies, issues, and challenges related to analyzing business data.

This course will illustrate key processes of analytics by allowing students to apply
business analytics algorithms and methodologies to various business problems. (Data
collection and definition are also critical steps for understanding of phenomena and
predictions. We won’t have time to discuss data collection in this course unfortunately.)

The use of carefully selected examples places business analytics techniques in context
and teaches students how to avoid the common pitfalls, emphasizing the importance of
applying proper business analytics techniques. The course will also show that often there
can be more than one “good answer” or one “good choice”. We need to be discerning in
the type of data that we choose to analyze and how we analyze it.

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

Please follow GeorgiaTech’s computer ownership guide at http://sco.gatech.edu/.

Make sure that you have admin rights on your laptop since occasionally you will need to
install R, RStudio, many packages in R, and other software like Radiant, maybe Gephi.
Note that tablets, Chromebooks, and old laptops may not work well for this class at this
time. (As we move the course toward use of R notebooks, eventually they will work.)

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

We will be learning business analytics with the help of open-source and free software
applications that are provided for educational use. Please follow instructions provided in
their respective websites and install the following software in your personal laptop:
a. R: https://www.r-project.org/
b. RStudio: https://www.rstudio.com/

There are many resources on how to learn R. We will discuss some in the course.
• R for Datascience: http://r4ds.had.co.nz/
• RStudio Education: https://education.rstudio.com/
• Swirl: www.SwirlStats.com
• DataCamp: www.DataCamp.com/courses/free-introduction-to-r

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 3

 c. We’ll also introduce Radiant: https://radiant-rstats.github.io/docs/install.html -
a convenient and free user interface to analytics and basic programming in R.

COMMUNICATION

Instructor/TA Communication: All course announcements will be made via Canvas or

EdX. You are expected to check Canvas/EdX a few times per week for important course-
related information. By following the instructions provided in Canvas/EdX, you can
ensure that you do not miss important instructions, announcements, etc. If you want, you
can adjust your Canvas/EdX account settings to receive important information directly to
your email account or cellphone. To get started, log into the Canvas/EdX, click on this
course, and see the section entitled “Before You Begin: Instructions for Getting Started.”

Content Questions and Help: Because questions can often be addressed for the good of
the group, please do not email your questions directly to the instructor. Instead, course
and content questions will be addressed on an online chat platform called Piazza.com.

Get an account in Piazza today. These online forums will be a VERY valuable source of
information and hints about the course and problem sets. Note that you can set your post
to “Private” to ask questions to the instructor and TA about issues unique to you.

Office Hours. Office hours will be conducted every week by the instructor and TAs.
These sessions will be both an opportunity for you to ask questions and the TAs may
discuss course logistics and content. Not all sessions may not be recorded. The ones that
are recorded will be available via Canvas or via links posted in Piazza (for EdX students).

Please note that many students see great benefits for this course in attending online office
hours via videoconference. Monday evenings office hours are taught mainly by our TAs,
who are particularly helpful to learn programming skills.

Office hours with the course instructor/professor (on Tuesday or Thursday, depending if
you are an EdX student or OMSA student) are focused on discussing business ideas and
additional material for the course; also to go over topics covered in the video lectures.

These videoconferences are part of the course. You’ve already paid for them with your
tuition. We recommend you try to attend them as often as you can and PARTICIPATE.
You can learn faster by being an active participant in online office hours and in Piazza
online forums… You can attend them silently without sharing audio & video.

STUDENT EFFORT

Students are expected to devote about 10 to 12 hours per week of studying time to
complete this course requirements. (That’s about 1.5 to 2 hours per day!) This guideline
encompasses all class activities, including reading the textbook and supplementary
resources, watching lesson videos, participating in office hours and forum discussions,

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 4

completing homework assignments, and studying for exams. Of course, students can
spend as much time as necessary, but it is important to be careful not to fall behind.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS, EXAMS AND GRADING

Grades will be assigned on the following basis:

Ten Self-Assessment Quizzes 15%

(1.5% each. The first SA 0 does not count toward your course grade.)

Three Homework Assignments 35%

(first two at 10% each and third one at 15%)

Midterm Exam – Theory Part 1 8%

Midterm Exam – Computation Part 2 12%

Final Exam – Theory Part 1 10%

Final Exam – Computation Part 2 20%

Typically, the following grading scale will be used in the course:

• 90 – 100%: A
• 80 – 89%: B
• 70 – 79%: C
• 60 – 69%: D
• 0 – 59%: F

Scores will be rounded to the nearest integer. Please note that 80 – 89.49% yields a B,
and a total score of 89.50% would round to 90% and get an A, while anything less than
89.5 yet more than 89 will still get a B. Similar rounding applies for the other grades.

Additional curving of the grades may be possible, depending how the course progresses
and based on the disparity of test questions and students during this semester.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Please refer to the Course Schedule (a separate document) for week by week details. See
also postings in Canvas for GeorgiaTech students and in EdX for MicroMasters students.

READINGS

The assigned pre-readings are crucial to your success in this course. Exams may include
some material in readings that are not covered in the in-class lessons. Moreover,
watching the video lessons alone will not sufficiently prepare you for the exams.

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 5

Coding takes practice. It is a bit like a sport, and you must practice! Try the programming
exercises provided in lecture slides and in R Labs. Do the homework and online quizzes.

LESSONS

Video lessons for this course will be provided in EdX which offers a nice video platform.

GT Students: For more details on creating and linking your EdX account, log into
Canvas, go to this course’s Canvas site, and complete all the steps in the section titled
“Welcome to Data Analytics for Business.”

Please USE THE SAME EMAIL ADDRESS in CANVAS and in EdX. This is important
because Vocareum uses your email address in EdX as your username; to transmit your
grade automatically back to Canvas, in all 3 systems need to use the same email address.

ASSIGNMENTS

There will be three individual assignments to be submitted. Each assignment will have a
theory part 1, and computation part 2. The first two assignments are worth 10% of the
overall course grade, the third assignment is worth 15% of the overall course grade.

Theory part 1 of each assignment will be worth 40% of that assignment’s score, and
Computation part 2 will be worth 60% of that assignment’s score.

(The raw points for each assignment may vary. One assignment could have a total of 100
points and another a total of 20 points, but both carry the weights indicated in this
syllabus, as far as the overall course total score is concerned.)

You will have two weeks to work on the first two assignments, and three weeks on the
third one. Each assignment should be submitted on Canvas for GT students/EdX for
MicroMasters students by Wednesday at 11:59 pm EST on the days noted in the
Course Schedule. Each assignment must be submitted no later than the deadline.

Submission after this time (regardless of whether it is by minutes, hours or days) will
received a score discount, unless you have exceptional circumstances that our TAs were
made aware of beforehand, and you were granted in advance in writing a postponement.

Students are responsible for making sure that their individual assignments are submitted
in a timely manner according to the course guidelines. Homework assignments will be
released two weekends in advance, giving students opportunities to browse the
assignment and organize their week and weekend’s plans accordingly. It’s important to
turn your homework on time for peer-grading; see below.

Students will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions in advance of the due dates to
the TAs. Please participate in online discussions in our Piazza.com forums. You are
encouraged to participate, both to ask questions and to answers other students’ questions.

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 6

Office hours will be scheduled every week on Monday evenings with TAs, and Tuesday
or Thursday evenings with the instructor, to address your questions about the course and
its assignments. During these “office hours”, we will also answer any open questions.

PEER-GRADED HOMEWORK

Most of the work in this course, incl. homeworks, will be due on Wednesday evenings.
The theory part of each assignment will be auto-graded via multiple choice questions.

The computational part of the three homework assignments will be peer-graded. This
means that you will have to look at the work of three randomly assigned students, and
your review will yield a grade for their work. The median of the three grades received on
a homework will be assigned as the student’s grade for that homework.

You will have five and a half days, from Friday morning till next Wednesday evening, to
perform your peer-grading task. You must review carefully your classmates work. This
process is part of the learning in this course: to understand how other people solve or did
not solve questions asked in this course, and to express your opinions on their work.

You must turn in your three reviews on time. Your homework assignment will be
penalized by a point discount if you do not turn in your peer reviews on time. The penalty
is 30% of the grade for your own homework; it is automatically debited by our platform.
Please be aware of this.

Peer-grading adds work to the students, and it also adds a lot of learning. You’ll get to
see other ways of thinking about problems, coding them and presenting them. It can feel
a bit annoying, yet it helps your learning and trains you to become a data analytics
manager later on – managers have to be able to review other people’s work.

Midterm Exam and Final Exam will require you to “knit your R code” and submit an “R
markdown PDF file”. We will show you how to do this in the course. You can also read
ahead at https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/authoring_quick_tour.html

We will use Vocareum for the computational parts of our three homework assignments.
It helps standardize coding and grading by providing a cloud-based environment for
programming in R, and it allows to run easily other people’s code during reviews. This
platform is based on the concept of Jupyter Notebooks. Some of you may have already
used it in other GeorgiaTech courses. If not, no worry - you’ll learn it here.

QUIZZES / SELF-ASSESSMENTS

There will be ten Self-Assessments or quizzes that will be graded. These “SAs” will be
worth each 1.5% of your grade, for a total of 15% of your course grade.

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 7

These quizzes will be given in Canvas for GT Students and EdX for MicroMasters
students. You will have the opportunity to take them twice (2x) only if you wish to
improve your scores. Be sure to write down your incorrect answers to not repeat them.

One of the early Self-Assessments may be peer-graded to give you a chance to learn and
practice your peer-grading skills.

EXAMS

The Midterm Exam will account for 20% of your course grade. The Final Exam will
account for 30% of your overall course grade.

The Midterm Exam will cover Weeks 1 through 6 of the course. The Final Exam will be
cumulative in scope and cover all of the course materials. The exams will cover concepts
discussed in the readings, the lectures, and in the homework assignments.

Theory part 1 of each exam will be comprised of multiple-choice questions. Exams will
be strictly-timed with proctoring software. No open books, notes, web browsers, or
similar resources are allowed, unless otherwise stated by your professor. The use of
mobile phones and tablet devices is also prohibited. The questions will be mostly
theoretical.

Computation part 2 of each exam will be comprised of application questions that require
the use of R. In addition to answering multiple-choice questions in Part 2, you will have
to upload your R code as a “knitted R markdown file” in PDF format.

The midterm and final exams must be submitted on Canvas for GT students/EdX for
MicroMasters students by 11:59 pm EST on the days noted in the course schedule.
Any submission after this time (regardless of whether it is by minutes, hours, or days)
will not be accepted. There is no flexible period for taking the exams. If you have to work
or travel on days an exam is due, please arrange to complete your work early. It is the
student’s responsibility to monitor their time and allow enough time to submit their
exam before time is up.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is considered a serious offense. You are not allowed to copy and paste or
submit materials created or published by others, as if you created the materials. All
materials submitted and posted must be your own original work.

STUDENT HONOR CODE

You are responsible for completing your own work. All students are expected and
required to abide by the letter and the spirit of the Georgia Tech Honor Code. The
teaching assistants and I will also abide by these honor codes. I am very serious about
this expectation because ethical behavior is extremely important in all facets of life.

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 8

To review the Georgia Tech Honor Code, please visit http://osi.gatech.edu/content/honor-
code . Any OMS Analytics degree student suspected of behavior in violation of the
Georgia Tech Honor Code will be referred to Georgia Tech’s Office of Student Integrity.
Please see also the GeorgiaTech Honor Advisory Council: http://www.honor.gatech.edu.

Students with Learning Differences:

This course offers accommodations to students with learning differences. If you need an
online classroom accommodation, please contact GeorgiaTech’s ADAPTS office at
http://www.adapts.gatech.edu and let us know about your need and accommodation.

General Comments
• The Modules of this course follow a logical sequence
• You are responsible for completing your own work.
• Graded assignments should be completed by their due dates
• Self-Assessment tests must be completed within the time allotted

Attendance Policy
• Attendance in online office hours is not required, but it is recommended. You will
learn better by being present, participating, and your questions in office hours
could help other students learn better. You can participate without sharing video,
and while being muted. In general it is better to mute your microphone until you
have a question or comment to make; afterward, mute your computer again.

• Log in regularly into Canvas/EdX to check what’s new and complete your work,
and so you do not have to spend a lot of time reviewing and refreshing yourself
regarding the content.

Communication

• All students can and should ask questions. Online you can also all answer your
fellow learners’ questions in the course discussion forums. Often, discussions
with fellow learners are the sources of key pieces of learning.

Netiquette

• Netiquette refers to etiquette that is used when communicating on the Internet.

Review the Core Rules of Netiquette. When you are communicating via email,
discussion forums or synchronously (real-time), please use correct spelling,
punctuation and grammar consistent with the academic environment and
scholarship.

• Conner, P. (2006-2014). Ground Rules for Online Discussions, Retrieved

4/21/2014 from http://teaching.colostate.edu/tips/tip.cfm?tipid=128

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 9

 • Learners who do not adhere to this guideline may be removed from the course.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

We highly recommend that you avoid disclosing any confidential information in your
assignments and discussion forum posts (including intellectual property and "third party"
confidential information, such as information in relation to your employer that is not
publicly available).

Although you are encouraged to draw on real-world experience, posting material or

sharing links to material that is harassing, intimidating, or defamatory, or encourages or
condones piracy or infringes on intellectual property rights is not appropriate.
GeorgiaTech reserves the right to remove any postings that contravene the well-being of
other students or goes against accepted integrity standards.

We would urge you to use only first names (or pseudonyms) wherever possible. You are
entirely responsible for ensuring that you do not disclose any information that is
protected by confidentiality undertakings – we will ensure that all information is treated
in accordance with our privacy policy, but we will not sign any separate confidentiality
agreements or non-disclosure agreements.

If, during the program, you disclose or create any intellectual property (for example,
trading names, designs, written materials, know-how and other products of your
independent thought, creativity and intellectual effort), then you accept all and any risks
in relation to disclosure, including the risk that a fellow participant will use this
intellectual property without your consent, or that disclosure weakens or erases any legal
protections.

We won't use any intellectual property created by you and submitted in, or forming part
of, your assignments without your written consent.

Our discussion forums operate on the basis of the Chatham House Rule: “Participants
are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the
speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.” Please ensure that you
take account of this Rule when posting on the discussion forum and using information
learnt from discussion forum posts. https://www.chathamhouse.org/chatham-house-rule

Please also note that this Syllabus is subject to changes during the semester to adapt to
the needs of instruction. Changes, if any, will be communicated in advance in Piazza
online forums and in Canvas for OMSA students, or in EdX for MicroMaster students.

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 10

 Data Analysis in Business (MGT 6203) : Course Outline - Spring 2020
***Course Outline is subject to change during the semester to adapt to the needs of instruction***

Release Dates
Weeks Course Topics (All on Friday except
where noted)
Module 1: Basics of Statistics and Regression
Week Statistical Learning and R Code Programming
0/1 Thursday 14 January 2020
Jan 14/18 Linear Regression: Simple and Multiple. Real Estate Example.
Week 2
Indicator Variables and Interaction Terms. Friday 22 January
Jan 25
Week 3 Nonlinear Transformations and Log Models. Customer
Friday 29 January
Feb 1st Analytics Example.
Week 4
Logistic Regression. Customer Default Example Friday 5 February
Feb 8
Week 5 Treatment Effect, Randomized Controlled Experiments, and
Friday 12 February
Feb 15 Natural Experiments.
Module 2: Finance & Investments
Week 6
Introduction, and Measuring Risk and Return. Friday 19 February
Feb 22
Week 7
Measuring Risk Adjusted Performance Friday 26 February
Mar 1st
Week 8
Factor Investing Friday 5 March
Mar 8
Opens Fri 12 Mar at 5 pm
Midterm Exam: Parts 1 & 2 due on Sun 21st March Closes Sun 21 Mar 23:59
(Eastern Standard Time)
Module 3: Marketing & Advertising
Week 9
Marketing & Advertising : Traditional and Digital Friday 12 March
Mar 15
Week 10
Implementing Integrated Digital Marketing Friday 19 March
Mar 22
Week 11
Intro to Predictive Marketing Across Channels Friday 26 March
Mar 29
Module 4: Operation Management / Logistics
Week 12
Introduction and Managing Queues Friday 2 April
Apr 5
Week 13
Statistical Process Control Friday 9 April
Apr 12
Week 14
Forecasting Demand Friday 16 April
Apr 19
Week 15 Inventory Management
Friday 23 April
Apr 26 (Last 2 days of classes Mon-Tue, then Wed = Reading Period)
Opens Wed 28 Apr at 8 am.
Week 16
Final Exam: Parts 1 & 2 due Wednesday 5 May 2021 Closes Wed 5 May 23:59
May 3rd
(Eastern Standard Time)

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 11

 Data Analytics in Business (MGT 6203)
Assignment Release and Due Dates – Spring 2020
Week Activity Assignment Peer Assessment
Release Date Due Date Release Date Due Date
Week 0 Self-Assessment 0 Fri Jan 15 @ Wed Jan 20
Thu Jan 14 (Ungraded) 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST
Week 1 Self-Assessment 1 Fri Jan 22 @ Wed Feb 3 @
Mon Jan 18 5:00 pm EST 23:59 EST
Week 2 Self-Assessment 2 Fri Jan 29 @ Wed Feb 10
Jan 25 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST
Week 3 Graded Homework #1 Thu Feb 4 @ Wed Feb 17 Fri Feb 19 @ Wed Feb 24
Feb 1st 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST 8:00am EST @ 23:59 EST
Week 4 Self-Assessment 3 Fri Feb 12 @ Wed Feb 24
Feb 8 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST
Week 5 Self-Assessment 4 Fri Feb 19 @ Wed Mar 3
Feb 15 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST
Graded Homework #2 Thu Feb 25 @ Wed Mar 10 Fri Mar 12 @ Wed Mar 17
Week 6 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST 8:00am EST @ 23:59 EST
Feb 22 Self-Assessment 5 Fri Feb 26 @ Wed Mar 10
5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST
Week 7 Self-Assessment 6 Fri Mar 5 @ Wed Mar 17
Mar 1st 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST
Week 8 Prepare for Midterm Fri Mar 12 @
Mar 8 exam 5:00 pm EST
Week 9 Turn in Midterm exam Sun Mar 21
Mar 15 @ 23:59 EST
Graded Homework #3 Thu Mar 25 Wed Apr 14 Fri Apr 16 @ Wed Apr 21
Week 10 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST 8:00am EST @ 23:59 EST
Mar 22 Self-Assessment 7 Fri Mar 26 @ Thu Apr 7 @
5:00 pm EST 23:59 EST
Week 11 No new work assigned
March 29
Week 12 Self-Assessment 8 Fri Apr 9 @ Wed Apr 21
Apr 5 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST
Week 13 Self-Assessment 9 Fri Apr 16 @ Tue Apr 27
Apr 12 5:00 pm EST @ 23:59 EST
Week 14 Self-Assessment 10 Tue Apr 20 Tue Apr 27
Apr 19 @ 5:00 pm @ 23:59 EST
Week 15 No new work assigned
Apr 26-27
Week 16 Final Exam Wed Apr 28 Wed May 5
Apr 26 to @ 8:00 am @ 23:59 EST
May 5 EST

**Course Outline is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction. **
Please refer also to the Course Schedule that provides a detailed view on these dates.

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 12

 Data Analytics in Business : MGT6203 - Course Schedule - Spring 2021
(updated 7 January)

Week/Topic Release Dates Weekly Topic Course Activities Due Dates

Module 1: Basics (Weeks 1-5)

Read: ISLR, Sections 2.1,

Week 0: Thu Thu 14 January 2021 Learning the basics 2.3. Practice exercises
14 January 8:00 am EST of programming in TASK: Ungraded Self-
2021 = 13:00 UTC R Assessment (SA) #0 opens
Fri 15 January at 5:00 pm

Read: ISLR, Sections 3.1,

Week 1: Mon Fri 15 January 2021 Linear Regression & 3.2
SA 0 due Wed 20 Jan at
18 January 8:00 am EST TASK: Graded Self-
Real Estate Example midnight (23:59 EST)
2021 = 13:00 UTC Assessment (SA) #1 opens
Fri 22 January at 5:00 pm

Customer Analytics Read: ISLR, Section 3.3

Fri 22 January 2021
Week 2: Mon 8:00 am EST =
using Indicator
25 January Variables and TASK: Self-Assessment 2
13:00 UTC
Interaction Terms opens Mon 29 Jan at 5 pm

Interpreting Nonlinear
Models (click on this link)
Fri 29 January 2021 Nonlinear TASK: Graded Homework
Week 3: Mon SA 1 due Wed 3rd Feb at
8:00 am EST = Transformation 1 opens on Thu 4 Feb at 5
1st February midnight (23:59 EST)
13:00 UTC Models pm. (Part 1 in usual
platform. Part 2 : go to
edX, then to Vocareum)

Fri 5 February 2021 Logistic ISLR, Section 4.3

Week 4: Mon Regression. SA 2 due Wed 10 Feb at
8:00 am EST =
8 February 13:00 UTC Customer Default TASK: Self-Assessment 3 midnight (23:59 EST)
opens Fri 12 Feb at 5 pm
example

Treatment Effect, Difference in Difference

Fri 12 February Randomized Estimation
Week 5: Mon 2021 Controlled TASK: Peer-grading Hwk Graded Homework #1 due
15 February 8:00 am EST = Experiments, and 1 starts Fri 19 Feb at 8 am Wed 17 Feb at 23:59 EST
13:00 UTC Natural TASK: Self-Assessment 4
Experiments opens Fri 19 Feb at 5 pm

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 13

 Module 2: Finance (Weeks 6-8)

Read: Warren Buffett risk

and return case
Fri 19 February SA 4 and Peer-grading
TASK: Graded Homework
Week 6: 2021 Introduction, and scores for Hwk 1 are both
2 opens Thu 25 Feb at 5
Mon 22 Measuring Risk due at Wed 24 Feb at
8:00 am EST = pm (Part 1 in usual
February and Return midnight (23:59 EST)
13:00 UTC platform. Part 2 : go to
edX, then to Vocareum)
TASK: Self-Assessment 5
opens Fri 26 Feb at 5 pm

Fri 26 February Read: Assessing Buffett’s

Week 7: 2021 Alpha or this technical
Measuring Risk paper Buffet’s Alpha. SA 4 due Wed 3 March at
Mon 1st
8:00 am EST = Adjusted midnight (23:59 EST)
March TASK: Self-Assessment 6
13:00 UTC Performance
opens Fri 5 March at 5 pm

Read: The Greatest Factor

Investor of All Times? Homework #2, Parts 1 &
See these explanatory 2 due Wed 10 March at
Fri 5 March 2021 23:59 EST (submit Part 2
Week 8: slides, and rebuke of the
8:00 am EST = original article. in Vocareum, via edX)
Mon 8
Factor Investing
March 13:00 UTC
Think about: What drives
Warren Buffett’s alpha? SA 5 due same day Wed
10 March at 23:59 EST
TASK: Peer-grading Hwk
2 starts Fri 12 April 8 am

Midterm Exam

Part 1: theoretical, is
Opens
proctored; 3-hour limit Midterm Test Parts 1 & 2
Week 9: Friday 12 March Test on the first 8 Part 2: computational, is due Sunday 21st March at
Mon 15 Mar 2021 at 5:00 pm weeks of material open books, start & stop ok midnight (23:59 EST)
EST = 21:00 UTC

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 14

 Module 3: Marketing (Weeks 9-11)
Read: (from Course Pack) SA 6 and Peer-grading
Fri 12 March 2021
Week 9: Marketing and Advertising Experiments at scores for Hwk 2 are both
Mon 15 8:00 am EST = the Ohio Art Company
Advertising due Wed 17 Mar at 23:59
March 13:00 UTC
EST

Read: (from Course Pack)

Star Digital: Assessing the
Effectiveness of Display
Advertising

Fri 19 March 2021 Implementing TASK: Homework 3 opens

Week 10: Rest after the midterm. ☺
Mon 22 8:00 am EST = Integrated Digital Thu 25 March at 5 pm EST
(Part 1 in usual platform. No work due this week.
March 13:00 UTC Marketing
Part 2 : go to edX, then to
Vocareum)

TASK: Self-assessment 7
opens Fri 26 March at 5 pm

Read: (from Course Pack)

Fri 26 March 2021 Implementing Chase Sapphire: Creating a
Week 11: Predictive Millennial Cult Brand No work due this week,
Mon 29 8:00 am EST =
Marketing Across but work on Hwk 3
March 13:00 UTC
Channels TASK: Start working on
Hwk 3. It’s a longer one.

Module 4: Operation Management (Weeks 12-15)

Read: The Supply Chain
Economy and the Future of
Good Jobs in America.
(click on link)

Fri 2 April 2021 (Course Pack): Operations

Week 12: 8:00 am EST =
Introduction and Management Reading: SA 7 due Wed 7 April at
Mon 5 April Managing Queues Managing Queues 23:59 EST
13:00 UTC
TASK: Self-Assessment 8
opens Fri 9 April at 5 pm

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 15

 (Course Pack) Read:
Statistical Process Control Homework #3, Part 1 & 2
Fri 9 April 2021 due Wed 14 April at
Week 13: midnight (23:59 EST)
Statistical Process TASK: Self-Assessment 9
Mon 12 8:00 am EST =
Control opens Fri 16 April at 5 pm (Remember to go in edX
April 13:00 UTC
to submit Part 2 in
TASK: Peer-grading Hwk Vocareum)
3 starts Fri 16 April 8 am

SA 8 and Peer-grading
Fri 16 April 2021 (Course Pack): Time Series
Week 14: Forecasting
scores for Hwk 3 are both
Mon 19 8:00 am EST = due Wed 21 April at
Demand TASK: Self-Assessment 10
April 13:00 UTC 23:59 EDT
opens Tue 20 April at 5 pm

Week 15:
Fri 23 April 2021 (Course Pack): Managing SA 9 and SA 10 are both
Mon 26
Inventory
April (two- 8:00 am EST = Inventories--Reorder Point due Tuesday 19 April at
Management
day week 13:00 UTC System 23:59 EST
only)

Official GeorgiaTech Reading Period: Wed 28 April

Final Exam

Opens About 1/3 of the questions

Wednesday 28 Cumulative Test will be on material from
Final Final Exam due Wed 5
April 2021 at 8:00 based on the Whole before the midterm, and 2/3
Exam May 2021 at 23:59 EST
am EST = 13:00 Course of the questions will be
UTC from after the midterm.

*This is subject to change during the semester to adapt to needs of instruction* 16