H2O.ai Data science sensitivity analysis

H2O.ai Data science sensitivity analysis

H2O.ai Data science sensitivity analysis

Machine-learning based interactive data exploration and forecasting tool.

Role

UX Director

UX Director

UX Director

Industry

Business intelligence / ML

Business intelligence / ML

Business intelligence / ML

Duration

4 months

4 months

4 months

Problem statement

Prior to LLMs, sensitivity analysis (aka “what if” analysis) enabled users to interactively explore their data and model different hypothetical scenarios to assess impacts or outcomes.  For example, a banker might ask "what will happen to my total assets under management if there's a recession next quarter?"

This is typically a regression use case; users score a trained model on one or more rows of data and compare the prediction ("y-hat") vs ground truth ("y"). Users can filter, select and partition data; set new data values; selectively change data to simulate different circumstances or outcomes and compare models (we used an ensemble approach based on XGBoost).  This lets them see how changes cause the model predictions to change compared to the original data.

Process and deliverables

I used interviews and participatory design sessions to generate a body of research which I synthesized into PRDs and which informed our target personas. I worked closely with SMEs and Data Scientists to architect the product and translate the user research findings into user journeys, wireframes and other design deliverables for implementation.

Usability testing, outcomes and future work

I began testing interactive prototypes with our target persona before dev began. This helped the team refine and prioritize features and de-risk the product during implementation. I conducted final summative usability testing with the actual product. The product was well-received, establishing H2O.ai as a "leader" in the augmented analytics category in Gartner's "magic quadrant".

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Copyright 2025 by Zac Taschdjian

Copyright 2025 by Zac Taschdjian

Copyright 2025 by Zac Taschdjian