DataRobot Feature Engineering Skill

This skill provides guidance for working with features in DataRobot, including understanding automated feature engineering, analyzing feature importance, and optimizing feature sets.

Quick Start

Most common use case: Analyze feature importance for a model

1. Get feature importance: model = dr.Model.get(project_id, model_id), then model.get_or_request_feature_impact() to get importance scores
2. Analyze top features: Sort by importance and identify key drivers
3. Export feature list: dr.Project.get(project_id).get_features(), then iterate f.name, f.feature_type, f.importance to document features

Example: "Show me the top 10 most important features for model xyz123"

When to use this skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Understand what features DataRobot creates automatically
• Analyze feature importance for models
• Discover which features drive predictions
• Optimize feature sets for better performance
• Understand feature types and transformations
• Export feature lists and definitions

Key capabilities

1. Feature Discovery

• Understand automated feature engineering in DataRobot
• Review derived features and transformations
• Identify feature types (numeric, categorical, text, date)
• Explore feature relationships and interactions

2. Feature Importance Analysis

• Get feature importance scores for models
• Understand which features drive predictions
• Compare feature importance across models
• Identify redundant or low-value features

Note: Feature Impact scores are unsigned magnitudes - they say how much a feature matters, not which direction it pushes predictions. For direction, use partial dependence via model.get_or_request_feature_effect(source) — Pattern 3 below shows how. Do not state direction in a report without it.

3. Feature Optimization

• Select important features for model performance
• Remove low-importance features to reduce complexity
• Understand feature impact on predictions
• Optimize feature sets for deployment

4. Feature Documentation

• Export feature lists and definitions
• Document feature transformations
• Understand feature derivation logic
• Share feature information with stakeholders

Workflow examples

Example 1: Analyze feature importance

User request: "Show me the top 10 most important features for model xyz123 and explain what they mean."

Agent workflow:

1. Get feature importance scores for the model
2. Sort features by importance (descending)
3. Get top 10 features with their scores
4. Retrieve feature metadata and descriptions
5. Explain what each feature represents and why it's important
6. Provide insights on feature relationships

Example 2: Optimize feature set for deployment

User request: "Create a simplified feature set for deployment abc123, keeping only features with importance > 0.1."

Agent workflow:

1. Get feature importance for the deployed model
2. Filter features by importance threshold (> 0.1)
3. Verify filtered features are sufficient for predictions
4. Document the optimized feature set
5. Update deployment configuration if needed

Using DataRobot SDK

This skill guides you to use the DataRobot Python SDK directly. Install the SDK if needed:

uv pip install datarobot || python -m pip install datarobot

Key SDK Operations

Use these DataRobot SDK methods for feature analysis:

Feature Information:

• model.get_features_used() - List feature names used by a model (bare strings, includes the target)
• model.get_or_request_feature_impact() - Get feature importance scores (computes them first if needed)
• project.get_features() - List features in a project

Feature Analysis:

• feature.name - Feature name
• feature.feature_type - Feature type (Numeric, Categorical, etc.)
• feature.importance - Feature importance score

See the Common Patterns section below for complete examples.

Best practices

1. Review automated features: DataRobot creates many derived features automatically - review them
2. Focus on important features: Pay attention to high-importance features for insights
3. Understand feature types: Different feature types require different handling
4. Feature documentation: Document important features for stakeholders
5. Feature selection: Consider removing very low-importance features for simplicity
6. Feature stability: Consider feature stability over time, not just importance

Common patterns

Pattern 1: Feature importance analysis

import datarobot as dr

# Initialize client
dr.Client()

# Get model and feature importance (Model.get requires both project and model ids)
model = dr.Model.get(project_id, model_id)
feature_impact = model.get_or_request_feature_impact()

# Sort by importance
sorted_features = sorted(
    feature_impact, key=lambda x: x.get("impactNormalized", 0), reverse=True
)

# Get top 10 features
top_features = sorted_features[:10]
for feature in top_features:
    print(f"{feature['featureName']}: {feature.get('impactNormalized', 0):.3f}")

Pattern 2: Feature filtering

import datarobot as dr

# Get model and feature importance (Model.get requires both project and model ids)
model = dr.Model.get(project_id, model_id)
feature_impact = model.get_or_request_feature_impact()

# Filter by importance threshold (> 0.1)
important_features = [f for f in feature_impact if f.get("impactNormalized", 0) > 0.1]

print(f"Found {len(important_features)} features with importance > 0.1")

Pattern 3: Feature effects (direction of impact)

Feature Impact never tells you which way a feature pushes predictions. When a report describes direction ("higher X increases churn"), compute partial dependence first:

import datarobot as dr

model = dr.Model.get(project_id, model_id)
sources = model.get_feature_effect_metadata().sources  # e.g. ["training", "validation"]
fe = model.get_or_request_feature_effect(source=sources[0])  # source is required

for eff in fe.feature_effects[:5]:
    # partial_dependence["data"] is [{"label": <feature value>, "dependence": <prediction>}];
    # direction is how dependence changes across labels — there is no single signed field.
    points = eff["partial_dependence"]["data"]
    print(eff["feature_name"], [(p["label"], p["dependence"]) for p in points[:3]])

Feature types in DataRobot

Numeric Features

• Continuous numeric values
• Automatically scaled and normalized
• Can be used in mathematical operations

Categorical Features

• Discrete categories or labels
• Automatically encoded (one-hot, target encoding)
• Important for many model types

Text Features

• Text data (descriptions, comments)
• Automatically processed with NLP techniques
• Creates multiple text-derived features

Date/Time Features

• Temporal data
• Automatically creates time-based features
• Important for time series models

Understanding feature importance

Feature Impact rows report impactUnnormalized (how much worse the model's error metric gets when the feature is shuffled - not a percentage or share of predictive signal) and impactNormalized (the same value scaled so the largest is 1.0). The thresholds below apply to the normalized score.

Feature importance scores indicate:

• High importance (> 0.1): Feature significantly impacts predictions
• Medium importance (0.05-0.1): Feature contributes to predictions
• Low importance (< 0.05): Feature has minimal impact

Note: Importance thresholds vary by model type and problem domain.

Output rule: Feature Impact is magnitude only, never direction. A report that has not called model.get_or_request_feature_effect(source=...) (Pattern 3) must not claim direction — write "tenure_months is the 4th most impactful feature", not "longer tenure reduces churn". Impact scores are also not shares of predictive signal and cannot be summed into proportions — never write "accounts for 65% of the signal" or "these features carry the majority of the model's predictive power", with or without a number.

Error handling

Common errors and solutions:

• Feature not found: Verify feature name and model compatibility
• ClientError (404) from get_feature_impact: Feature Impact was never computed - use model.get_or_request_feature_impact() instead
• Importance unavailable: Some model types don't provide importance scores
• Feature access errors: Check project and model permissions

SDK Setup

Install DataRobot SDK

uv pip install datarobot || python -m pip install datarobot

Initialize Client

import datarobot as dr

dr.Client()

Resources

• DataRobot Python SDK Documentation
• DataRobot Feature Engineering Documentation
• Feature Importance Guide
• Feature Discovery Documentation