In these modern times, my utility bill has a bar chart so I can see how my current consumption compares to my historical usage. I decided to create my own version of this utility bill bar chart, and make a few improvements along the way. If you're into SGplot bar
If you're curious what makes SAS a great workplace, one answer always rises to the top - our people. It's no secret that the people who work here are some of the best and brightest - not to mention the most passionate, accountable, authentic and curious people you'll ever meet.
In this 'Rosetta Graph' example, I demonstrate how to control bar chart colors in Gchart and SGplot. But first, here's a little diversion... some artwork in my office here at SAS. There's a *lot* of artwork hanging around at SAS, but this particular painting wasn't created by the SAS artists
It’s that time of year again — picnics, parties, and backyard cookouts. The smells of summer are starting to permeate the air — fresh cut grass, honeysuckles, sunscreen, and the aroma your neighbors’ dinner floating from their grill into your nose.
For linear regression models, there is a class of statistics that I call deletion diagnostics or leave-one-out statistics. These observation-wise statistics address the question, "If I delete the i_th observation and refit the model, what happens to the statistics for the model?" For example: The PRESS statistic is similar to
June is PRIDE month and there are lots of cool events at SAS and in the community that you can attend to celebrate and learn and have fun. In this blog I am going to share some tips on being an ally-- not just in June, but all year round.
Sometimes the questions are complicated, and the answers are simple. - Dr. Seuss It seems appropriate that this blog include a Dr. Seuss quote about learning when discussing a new simple, yet deceivingly powerful initiative to help SAS customers with their journey to discover as much as possible about our
This article is a follow-on to a recent post from Jeff Owens, Getting started with SAS Containers. In that post, Jeff discussed building and running a single container for a SAS Viya runtime/IDE. Today we will go through how to build and run the full SAS Viya stack - visual
Banks see open source as a hotbed of innovation – and a governance nightmare. Do the rewards outweigh the risks? Open source software used to be treated almost as a joke in the financial services sector. If you wanted to build a new system, you bought tried and tested, enterprise-grade
Recoding variables can be tedious, but it is often a necessary part of data analysis. Almost every SAS programmer has written a DATA step that uses IF-THEN/ELSE logic or the SELECT-WHEN statements to recode variables. Although creating a new variable is effective, it is also inefficient because you have to
How intelligent decisioning solutions can help you stay relevant in the era of digital banking Fierce competition, advances in technology, and consumer expectations for hyperpersonalised services are forcing the financial services sector to evolve. To adapt to rapid market developments, many banks and insurers are launching ambitious digital transformation projects.
Soccer (or football) fans everywhere will turn their eyes to France over the next month to cheer on amazing women from 24 countries contending on the global stage. These women compete at the highest level in an area that for too long was viewed as a man’s game. In many
For my third 'Rosetta Graph' example, I will focus on a simple pie chart. Hopefully this example will show you how to convert your SAS/Graph Proc Gchart pies into almost-identical Proc SGpie pies. And speaking of almost-identical pies, here are two beautiful pies my friend Beth made - which one
Want to learn SAS programming but worried about taking the plunge? Over at SAS Press, we are excited about an upcoming publication that introduces newbies to SAS in a peer-review instruction format we have found popular for the classroom. Professors Jim Blum and Jonathan Duggins have written Fundamentals of Programming
A family of curves is generated by an equation that has one or more parameters. To visualize the family, you might want to display a graph that overlays four of five curves that have different parameter values, as shown to the right. The graph shows members of a family of
You've probably heard of the famous Rosetta Stone. It had the same decree written on it in both ancient Egyptian and Greek, and was an essential key to help modern historians decipher and translate the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. To help the 'old timers' (like me) shift from using SAS/Graph to the
My colleague, Lisa, and I were comparing notes the other day. Both of us starting working in our teens (14 and 15 respectively) during the academic year as well as the summers. I worked at Sears in the drapery and bedspread department. I’ll never forget my first boss—Mr. Arnold. He
Two sayings I’ve heard countless times throughout my life are “Work smarter, not harder,” and “Use the best tool for the job.” If you need to drive a nail, you pick up a hammer, not a wrench or a screwdriver. In the programming world, this could mean using an existing
The hype around artificial intelligence has never been higher – and retail is one industry where it has a chance to make a major impact on profits. But as hype and misunderstandings continue to build, it's become harder than ever to keep sight of the true disruptive potential of AI. I
Statistical programmers and analysts often use two kinds of rectangular data sets, popularly known as wide data and long data. Some analytical procedures require that the data be in wide form; others require long form. (The "long format" is sometimes called "narrow" or "tall" data.) Fortunately, the statistical graphics procedures
Knowing how to visualize a regression model is a valuable skill. A good visualization can help you to interpret a model and understand how its predictions depend on explanatory factors in the model. Visualization is especially important in understanding interactions between factors. Recently I read about work by Jacob A.
Human behavior is fascinating. We come in so many shapes, sizes and backgrounds. Doesn’t it make sense that any tests we write also accommodate our wonderful differences?
Note: This is the second post in a series featuring analytics leaders in the utility industry. St. Louis is home to Anheuser Busch, the legendary Cardinals baseball team, and Ameren, where analytics rocks. More on this later. Ameren is a large investor-owned utility that serves St. Louis and the surrounding
You've probably heard of the famous Rosetta Stone. It had the same decree written on it in both ancient Egyptian and Greek, and was an essential key to help modern historians decipher and translate the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. To help the 'old timers' (like me) shift from using SAS/Graph to
Interestingly enough, paperclips have their own day of honor. On May 29th we celebrate #NationalPaperclipDay! That well-known piece of curved wire deserves attention for keeping our papers together and helping us stay organized. Do you remember who else deserved the same attention? Clippit – the infamous Microsoft Office assistant, popularly known as ‘Clippy’.
This Mother’s Day I admired two rose bushes as I arrived at my parents' house. There was a yellow bush that we planted the Mother’s Day after my mother’s mom died. And a pink bush that we planted a different year, the Mother’s Day after my father’s mom died. The
It can be hard to get a handle on what artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will actually do. We all understand – in theory, at least – that they could change the way we live and work. In most cases and for most of us, however, the precise
At SAS, we recognize and appreciate the valuable skills and experience that veterans, active military, and military families bring to our workforce. We honor the service and sacrifice of military families, and actively support our employees in their transition from the military to the civilian corporate work environment. Our own
Modern statistical software provides many options for computing robust statistics. For example, SAS can compute robust univariate statistics by using PROC UNIVARIATE, robust linear regression by using PROC ROBUSTREG, and robust multivariate statistics such as robust principal component analysis. Much of the research on robust regression was conducted in the
By now it’s no secret that all kinds of organizations are using analytics to take on some of their biggest opportunities. But what about all the opportunities that have the potential to address important human issues that we have overlooked for one reason or another? Those are exactly the types
