Creative Thinking and Data Science

With a nerdy name like data science (itself a term that has multiple understood meanings), you might expect a team of data scientists to be the bespectacled nerds in the back room: socially awkward, jargon spewing, and furiously clacking away on their keyboards. This image could not be further from the truth. An effective data science team looks a lot like an effective design team: brainstorming creative ideas, making prototypes, receiving feedback, telling stories, and deeply understanding the needs of others. Building great design teams is an elusive goal, but there is a vast amount written about it that is invaluable if you are building a data science team.