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Reproducibility

Updated May 13, 2023 ·

Overview​

Reproducibility ensures that machine learning models produce consistent and reliable results. It allows others to replicate experiments, verify findings, and collaborate effectively.

  • Reduces bias and improves research integrity
  • Builds confidence in model accuracy
  • Supports collaboration and knowledge sharing

Using MLflow​

MLflow is an open-source tool for tracking and managing ML experiments. It helps log dependencies, code versions, and experiment settings, which makes it easy to reproduce ML workflows.

  • Tracks code, models, and metrics
  • Supports collaboration with shared experiment logs
  • Integrates with tools like scikit-learn

Example: MLflow with Scikit-Learn​

MLflow makes tracking model training simple. Below is an example of using MLflow to log a RandomForest model.

import mlflow
import mlflow.sklearn
from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier
from sklearn.datasets import load_iris
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split

# Load data
X, y = load_iris(return_X_y=True)
X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2, random_state=42)

# Start MLflow run
with mlflow.start_run():
    model = RandomForestClassifier(n_estimators=100)
    model.fit(X_train, y_train)
    
    # Log model and parameters
    mlflow.sklearn.log_model(model, "model")
    mlflow.log_param("n_estimators", 100)

    # Log metrics
    accuracy = model.score(X_test, y_test)
    mlflow.log_metric("accuracy", accuracy)

print("Model logged with MLflow!")

MLflow logs the model, parameters, and accuracy, making it easy to track and compare runs.

Tracking Code with MLflow​

MLflow helps track code versions and changes, and ensures experiments can be exactly reproduced.

  • Logs code used in experiments
  • Helps debug and troubleshoot issues
  • Identify version of code used to produce results
  • Enables comparison of different model versions

Model Registry​

A model registry stores and manages different versions of ML models along with metadata.

  • Logs model versions and performance metrics
  • Allows easy rollback to previous models
  • Used for comparing models and repdocuing ML pipelines
  • Ensures consistency in production deployments

Experiment Reproducibility​

MLflow logs key elements of an experiment:

  • Input data
  • Code and dependencies
  • Model settings and results

This allows others to validate findings and replicate results reliably.

Importance of Documentation​

Clear documentation is essential for reproducibility.

  • Include input data, code, and settings
  • Keep records updated and accessible
  • Ensure others can understand and build upon your work

By following these principles, ML experiments become reliable, transparent, and easy to reproduce.