What analytics classes teach the task method, like stats 1 does?

[sxking2]

I am looking for e- learning classes that use the task method. I have taken Stats1 and went on to predictive modeling but it switched to code teaching, no task options, early in the class. 

I would like to learn how to use each or many of the tasks. I found the enterprise group, but it does not focus on analytics as I had hoped.

Thank you, Sherri 

[SAS_Cares · Accepted solution]

Great question! Without knowing what class you're working on it is hard to provide a definitive answer. SAS analysts have to learn to write code or understand code well enough to change it. All of our "task" oriented tools like SAS Enterprise Guide or SAS Studio are designed to provide many of the functions of the underlying SAS procedures. However, the tasks were never intended to provide all of the flexibility and functionality that is available when writing code.
Past a beginning level, if a course shows the use of code for a particular set of procedures or types of analysis, the course is designed that way because the instructors and course developers determined that the course objectives could not be met by only using tasks. For example, if you were looking at the Statistics 2 class or the Predictive Modeling using Logistic Regression class, those classes typically teach most of the topics using the level of SAS programming skills that we teach in SAS Programming 1 and SAS Programming 2. This means that the student will have a good understanding of the LIBNAME statement, writing simple programs for data manipulation, importing data, having a basic understanding of PROC SQL and a basic understanding of using SAS Macro variables. On the other hand, if you are taking the Applied Analytics using SAS Enterprise Miner course, that class uses the concept of nodes that each perform a task (but not quite in the same way as Enterprise Guide or Enterprise Miner). And, even in Enterprise Miner classes, we show how to insert and change code because it is not always possible to accomplish all the needed changes for analysis using point and click methods.

If you want more specific advice about training available or a sequence of courses for your chosen topic, you can email curriculumconsulting@sas.com and our instructors will help with course recommendations and content questions.

[ballardw]

For what little it may be worth, if by "tasks" you mean the menu items in the program then you are always limited by what the program developers provide as "tasks". It is not unlikely that real world solutions will not be completely available in the provided items and so you there is a point that you will need to understand how to extend solutions by code.

As an example of the limitations of menu driven solutions I worked with one program to develop report tables. My customers almost always wanted something that was just not available when working through the menus. So I used the menu to generate the basic code for the desired table and then add to that to get the desired appearance. What I learned in that software package was that 1) not all of the options available in the code were available in the menu, 2) the menu could develop things not documented for the code and 3) the documentation for the code had many things not even addressed in the menus.