Welcome to the DMH DATA INSIGHTS Ideation Challenge Series. We are launching two parallel tracks looking for meaningful business insights, one with client only data, and one with client data + public data. You can participate in one or both but you need to register and submit to each respectively. Please ensure you are viewing and uploading to the correct one.

Track 1 - Client Only Data: 
https://www.topcoder.com/challenge-details/30055929/?type=develop

Track 2 - Client Data + Public Data: 
https://www.topcoder.com/challenge-details/30055946/?type=develop
 

Goals

In this particular challenge, DMH DATA INSIGHTS - TRACK 2, we seek creative analysis of the provided HEOS activation dataset with incorporated publicly available data. 

Dataset Description

A new dataset can be downloaded here. On this new dataset, the client runs a new query in their database. Therefore, the IP addresses might be refreshed. The missing Macs could have been removed by the engineering team but for the most part everything should be the same. The major differences are: (1) More data has been added. The original data was up to September the latest is run through December; and (2) Email addresses are anonymized based on full email addresses. Therefore, please consider to use this new dataset, although the previous version is also good.

In the provided dataset (that can be downloaded here), there is connection information like MAC address and IP address, location information like zip code and GPS coordinates, product models, and registration information like activation date.

HEOS by Denon product descriptions are available here.

Judging Criteria

The submissions will be evaluated from different aspects:

1.) Relevance (40%)

- Business relevance of correlations (the more the better).

- Creative analysis of data.

- Is it actionable.

2.) Reproductivity (25%)

- If we have a different dataset in the same format as the provided one, we can easily re-conduct your analysis.

- Codes and scripts as well as the instructions are highly recommended.

3.) Readability (25%)

- Easy to understand.

- Tables and figures are highly recommended.

- Self contained. For example, filtering techniques should be well-defined.

4.) Innovativity (10%)

- Innovative publicly available data sources along with methods and models are encouraged.

Requirements to Win a Prize

Final Submission:

- Achieve a passing score in the top 3 in TRACK 2. See the “Judging Criteria” section above.
- Submit a complete report at least 2 pages long outlining your proposal. The required content appears in the “Submission Requirement” section below.

Final Submission Guidelines

Submission Requirement

All submissions should include a document up to 5 pages (2-4 pages are recommended) in word or PDF format to describe your resources, your thought process, all useful links, and justify how your solution satisfies our judging criteria and goals.

More specifically, your document should include (1) Your conclusions and why you get such conclusions; (2) All codes, scripts, and datasets used in your analysis; (3) Where to access the publicly available data?

 

Evaluation criteria

You will be judged on the quality of your ideas, the quality of your description of the ideas, and how much benefit it can provide for the client.  The winner will be chosen by the most logical and convincing reasoning as to how and why the idea presented will meet the objective. 

As an ideation challenge, this contest will be judged subjectively by the client and Topcoder. However, the following criteria will largely be the basis for the judgement: (check Judging Criteria for more details)

Relevance = 40%
Reproductivity = 25%
Readability = 25%
Innovativity = 10%
 

Additional Information

This contest is not rated.

Some ideas on what “meaningful business insights” from the Goals section above, could be (but not limited to) are:

Background

D+M Group, known for their premiere audio/video brands such as Denon, Marantz, and Boston Acoustics launched HEOS by Denon in June of 2014. The HEOS by Denon audio system is a wireless music system that allows you to control all your music effortlessly from anywhere in your home whether listening to different songs in each room, or listening to the same song in  all rooms. 

Since its launch, HEOS has expanded the product line to what is now the complete HEOS system consisting of four speakers - HEOS 1, HEOS 3, HEOS 5, HEOS 7. It also includes the HEOS Amp, HEOS Link pre-amp, HEOS Extend Wi-Fi range extender, HEOS Drive multi-zone amplifier and HEOS HomeCinema soundbar with wireless subwoofer. In a fast-paced tech-savvy world of streaming music, mobile applications, and consumers on the go, the HEOS by Denon system has quickly become a relevant and vital brand in the D+M Group product offering. The D+M Group will continue to expand the brand and grow market share globally as it competes with Bose and Sonos.

The HEOS brand is unique in that every unit is a true IoT (internet of things) device.  This allows D+M to collect product usage information, some consumer listening habits, and geographies where the products are used.  In this challenge, we are sharing 200,000+ lines of HEOS device activation data from around the world.  The question is:  What can we learn from this data set that could enhance and benefit the business value of this product for the D+M Group?

Q&A

Feel free to ask questions by posting in the contest forum.