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Feature Mapping and Feature Group Type

Learning Objectives​

  • Feature Mappings: Understanding feature mappings and their importance.
  • Feature Group Types: Overview of different feature group types and their uses.

Watch the Tutorial​

Feature Mapping and Feature Group Types​

Overview​

Feature group types and feature mapping are used to tell Abacus.AI the role of a feature group, primarily for modeling purposes. The available feature group types change depending on the project type you're working with.

Understanding Feature Group Types​

What are Feature Group Types?​

Feature group types define the role and structure of data within a project. Each project type in Abacus.AI has:

  • Required feature group types: Mandatory for model training
  • Optional feature group types: Added to increase model performance

The available feature group types vary based on the specific use case and project type.

Before training a model - regardless of the project type, you need to ensure you have the correct Feature Group types and Feature Group mappings.

Non Extensive list of Feature Group Types by Project Type​

1. Predictive Modeling Projects​

Available Feature Group Types:

  • Custom Table (can be used for training)
  • Prediction Metrics Input

Key Characteristics:

  • Custom table is sufficient for training models
  • Only requires defining a target column
  • Feature mapping options include:
    • Target column definition
    • Feature ignore settings
  • The model will predict the target and ignore specified features during training

Why It's Different: Predictive modeling encompasses many different use cases that only require a target column, without needing to define special features like other project types.

2. Demand Forecasting Projects​

Available Feature Group Types:

  • Time Series Data (mandatory)
  • Attributes Data (optional)

Specific Feature Mappings for Time Series Data:

  • Item ID
  • Demand
  • Date

Important Considerations:

  • Time series data has specific feature mappings only applicable to demand forecasting
  • If you choose a custom table, you won't have access to these specialized feature mappings
  • Without proper feature mappings, you won't be able to train a model effectively

3. Personalization Projects​

Available Feature Group Types:

  • Project-specific feature group types with specialized mappings
  • Custom table option available

Key Characteristics:

  • Requires special feature definitions specific to personalization use cases
  • Feature mappings are tailored to recommendation and personalization scenarios

How Feature Mapping Works​

Definition​

Feature mapping defines the specific role of each column in your feature group, telling Abacus.AI how to interpret and use the data during model training.

Steps to Configure Feature Mapping:​

  1. Select the appropriate feature group type for your project
  2. Define the target column (what you want to predict)
  3. Specify any features to ignore during training
  4. Configure project-specific mappings (e.g., Item ID, Demand, Date for demand forecasting)

Relationship to Project Types:​

  • Feature mapping options are directly associated with the project type
  • Different project types expose different feature mapping options
  • The feature group type you choose determines which mappings are available