workflows (version 1.1.4)

workflow: Create a workflow

Description

A workflow is a container object that aggregates information required to fit and predict from a model. This information might be a recipe used in preprocessing, specified through add_recipe(), or the model specification to fit, specified through add_model().

The preprocessor and spec arguments allow you to add components to a workflow quickly, without having to go through the add_*() functions, such as add_recipe() or add_model(). However, if you need to control any of the optional arguments to those functions, such as the blueprint or the model formula, then you should use the add_*() functions directly instead.

Usage

workflow(preprocessor = NULL, spec = NULL)

Value

A new workflow object.

Arguments

preprocessor

An optional preprocessor to add to the workflow. One of:

• A formula, passed on to add_formula().

• A recipe, passed on to add_recipe().

• A workflow_variables() object, passed on to add_variables().

spec

An optional parsnip model specification to add to the workflow. Passed on to add_model().

Indicator Variable Details

Some modeling functions in R create indicator/dummy variables from categorical data when you use a model formula, and some do not. When you specify and fit a model with a workflow(), parsnip and workflows match and reproduce the underlying behavior of the user-specified model’s computational engine.

Formula Preprocessor

In the modeldata::Sacramento data set of real estate prices, the type variable has three levels: "Residential", "Condo", and "Multi-Family". This base workflow() contains a formula added via add_formula() to predict property price from property type, square footage, number of beds, and number of baths:

set.seed(123)
library(parsnip)
library(recipes)
library(workflows)
library(modeldata)
data("Sacramento")
base_wf <- workflow() %>%
  add_formula(price ~ type + sqft + beds + baths)

This first model does create dummy/indicator variables:

lm_spec <- linear_reg() %>%
  set_engine("lm")
base_wf %>%
  add_model(lm_spec) %>%
  fit(Sacramento)

## == Workflow [trained] ================================================
## Preprocessor: Formula
## Model: linear_reg()
## 
## -- Preprocessor ------------------------------------------------------
## price ~ type + sqft + beds + baths
## 
## -- Model -------------------------------------------------------------
## 
## Call:
## stats::lm(formula = ..y ~ ., data = data)
## 
## Coefficients:
##      (Intercept)  typeMulti_Family   typeResidential  
##          32919.4          -21995.8           33688.6  
##             sqft              beds             baths  
##            156.2          -29788.0            8730.0

There are five independent variables in the fitted model for this OLS linear regression. With this model type and engine, the factor predictor type of the real estate properties was converted to two binary predictors, typeMulti_Family and typeResidential. (The third type, for condos, does not need its own column because it is the baseline level).

This second model does not create dummy/indicator variables:

rf_spec <- rand_forest() %>%
  set_mode("regression") %>%
  set_engine("ranger")
base_wf %>%
  add_model(rf_spec) %>%
  fit(Sacramento)

## == Workflow [trained] ================================================
## Preprocessor: Formula
## Model: rand_forest()
## 
## -- Preprocessor ------------------------------------------------------
## price ~ type + sqft + beds + baths
## 
## -- Model -------------------------------------------------------------
## Ranger result
## 
## Call:
##  ranger::ranger(x = maybe_data_frame(x), y = y, num.threads = 1,      verbose = FALSE, seed = sample.int(10^5, 1)) 
## 
## Type:                             Regression 
## Number of trees:                  500 
## Sample size:                      932 
## Number of independent variables:  4 
## Mtry:                             2 
## Target node size:                 5 
## Variable importance mode:         none 
## Splitrule:                        variance 
## OOB prediction error (MSE):       7058847504 
## R squared (OOB):                  0.5894647

Note that there are four independent variables in the fitted model for this ranger random forest. With this model type and engine, indicator variables were not created for the type of real estate property being sold. Tree-based models such as random forest models can handle factor predictors directly, and don’t need any conversion to numeric binary variables.

Recipe Preprocessor

When you specify a model with a workflow() and a recipe preprocessor via add_recipe(), the recipe controls whether dummy variables are created or not; the recipe overrides any underlying behavior from the model’s computational engine.

Examples

library(parsnip)
library(recipes)
library(magrittr)
library(modeldata)

data("attrition")

model <- logistic_reg() %>%
  set_engine("glm")

formula <- Attrition ~ BusinessTravel + YearsSinceLastPromotion + OverTime

wf_formula <- workflow(formula, model)

fit(wf_formula, attrition)

recipe <- recipe(Attrition ~ ., attrition) %>%
  step_dummy(all_nominal(), -Attrition) %>%
  step_corr(all_predictors(), threshold = 0.8)

wf_recipe <- workflow(recipe, model)

fit(wf_recipe, attrition)

variables <- workflow_variables(
  Attrition,
  c(BusinessTravel, YearsSinceLastPromotion, OverTime)
)

wf_variables <- workflow(variables, model)

fit(wf_variables, attrition)