This post is an introduction to constrained optimization aimed at data scientists and developers fluent in Python, but without any background in operations research or applied math. We'll demonstrate how optimization modeling can be applied to real problems at Stitch Fix. At the end of this article, you should be able to start modeling your own business problems.
Experimenter beware: Running tests with low power risks much more than missing the detection of true effects.
As data scientists tasked with segmenting clients and products, we find ourselves in the same boat with species taxonomists, straddling the line between lumping individuals into broad groups and splitting into small segments. The approach for drawing the boundaries needs to take into account signals from the data while maintaining sharp focus on the project needs. A balance between lumping and splitting allows us to make the best data-driven decisions we can with the resources we have...
Data scientists are not always equipped with the requisite engineering skills to deploy robust code to a production job execution and scheduling system. Yet, forcing reliance on data platform engineers will impede the scientists autonomy. If only there was another way. So today, we're excited to introduce Flotilla, our latest open source project...
Wow! We are so honored to be ranked #13 on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies List. And, we’re thrilled to be ranked #1 on Fast Company’s Data Science List.
It's really gratifying to see Data Science becoming a primary means of strategic differentiation ...
This past December marked three years since I joined Stitch Fix Engineering. In that short time, I’ve witnessed the bulk of the growth that we’ve experienced as a company since our founding. For example, in December 2014 there were roughly 10 engineers and now we number nearly 100. It was a time when those of us at our SF headquarters used to be able to sit around a small conference room table for our all hands meetings. Similarly, we needed just a slightly larger table when our remote engineers (roughly 50% of our team) came to SF for a week during our once-quarterly Engineering summits.
On the Stitch Fix Algorithms team, we’ve always been in awe of what professional stylists are able to do, especially when it comes to knowing a customer’s size on sight. It’s a magical experience to walk into a suit shop, have the professional shopping assistant look you over and without taking a measurement say, “you’re probably a 38, let’s try this one,” and pull out a perfect-fitting jacket. While this sort of experience has been impossible with traditional eCommerce, at Stitch Fix we’re making it a reality.
The lights are dimmed, bingo cards are dealt, and the scent of popcorn (well, melted butter..) spreads through the corridors... It’s time for usability movie night, and everyone’s invited!
I’ve been lax in updating the “Patterns of Service-oriented Architecture” series, so here’s a new one on a time-honored and critical technique: Database Transactions. This is a powerful feature of most SQL databases that allows you to apply a series of changes to the database in an “all or nothing” type of approach.
Recently Increment published an issue about what it is like being a developer at a number of great companies like Fastly, Lyft, and DigitalOcean. We thought it would be fun to create a blog post answering the same questions about what it’s like at Stitch Fix.
