Full course description
Course Overview
This course explores the systematic process of designing business experiments, giving you the tools to test ideas, measure impact, and make data-driven decisions with confidence. As part of the Data Science and Business Analytics Program, this course builds on prior foundations in exploratory data analysis, visualization, and hypothesis testing. You will learn to distinguish observational studies from experiments, understand the advantages of experimental methods, and design tests that provide actionable insights. Through hands-on practice and case studies, you will master techniques for selecting control groups, testing differences in populations, and applying A/B testing to real-world business scenarios. By the end, you will be able to design experiments that cut through uncertainty and directly inform strategy.
Why enroll in this course?
Business leaders and analysts increasingly rely on experimentation to guide decisions in situations such as testing a new product, marketing campaign, or pricing strategy. This course equips you with the frameworks and practical skills to design and interpret experiments that go beyond intuition, helping you reduce risk and uncover what really drives outcomes. If you want to strengthen your ability to apply data science in a business context, this course will give you the confidence and credibility to design meaningful experiments that support evidence-based decision-making.
What will you learn?
By the end of the module, you will have learned to:
- Differentiate between observational studies and experimental studies
- Design business experiments and select appropriate control groups
- Detect differences in population means and proportions using statistical testing
- Prepare and analyze data using exploratory techniques before experimentation
- Apply hypothesis testing methods with both independent and paired samples
- Calculate sample sizes and understand their impact on experiment reliability
- Conduct A/B testing through a detailed case study, including pitfalls to avoid
Structure
The course is completely self paced. It will take you approximately 20 hours to complete all four modules. Activities include, video lessons, readings, and self reflection activities. Upon successful completion of this course, you will receive a certificate of completion.
Smith Executive Education Homepage | Contact us: rhsmith-execed@umd.edu