Google Professional-Machine-Learning-Engineer - Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer

According to the official exam guide1, one of the skills assessed in the exam is to “explain the predictions of a trained model”. Vertex AI provides feature attributions using Shapley Values, a cooperative game theory algorithm that assigns credit to each feature in a model for a particular outcome2. Feature attributions can help you understand how the model calculates the predictions and debug or optimize the model accordingly. You can use Forecasting with AutoML or Tabular Workflow for Forecasting to generate and query local feature attributions2. The other options are not relevant or optimal for this scenario. References:

Professional ML Engineer Exam Guide

Feature attributions for forecasting

Google Professional Machine Learning Certification Exam 2023

Latest Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer Actual Free Exam Questions

Option A is incorrect because it does not separate the training dataset into two tables based on the features, which is necessary to train the two models separately and accurately.

Option B is incorrect because it does not separate the training dataset into two tables based on the features, and because it uses the same monitoring-config-from parameter for both models, which would not account for the different feature selections.

Option C is incorrect because it deploys the models to two separate endpoints, which would increase the management effort and complexity of the pipeline.

Option D is correct because it separates the training dataset into two tables based on the features, which would enable the two models to be trained separately and accurately. It also deploys both models to the same endpoint, which would simplify the pipeline and reduce the management effort. It also submits a Vertex Al Model Monitoring job with a monitoring-config-from parameter that accounts for the model IDs and training datasets, which would enable the skew detection to work properly for each model.

AI Platform supports hyperparameter tuning for PyTorch models using custom containers. This allows you to use any Python dependencies and libraries that are not included in the pre-built AI Platform Training runtime versions. You can also use a pre-trained model such as ResNet as a base for your custom model. To run a hyperparameter tuning job on AI Platform using custom containers, you need to do the following steps:

Create a Dockerfile that defines the container image for your training application. The Dockerfile should install PyTorch and any other dependencies, copy your training code and configuration files, and set the entrypoint for the container.

Build the container image and push it to Container Registry or another accessible registry.

Create a YAML file that defines the configuration for your hyperparameter tuning job. The YAML file should specify the container image URI, the training input and output paths, the hyperparameters to tune, the metric to optimize, and the tuning algorithm and budget.

Submit the hyperparameter tuning job to AI Platform using the gcloud command-line tool or the AI Platform Training API.

References:

Hyperparameter tuning overview

Using custom containers

PyTorch on AI Platform Training

The best option to minimize storage and computational overhead is to use the TRANSFORM clause in the CREATE MODEL statement in the SQL query to calculate the required statistics. The TRANSFORM clause allows you to specify feature preprocessing logic that applies to both training and prediction. The preprocessing logic is executed in the same query as the model creation, which avoids the need to create and store intermediate tables. The TRANSFORM clause also supports quantile bucketization and MinMax scaling, which are the preprocessing steps required for this scenario. Option A is incorrect because creating a component in the Vertex AI Pipelines DAG to calculate the required statistics may increase the computational overhead, as the component needs to run separately from the model creation. Moreover, the component needs to pass the statistics to subsequent components, which may increase the storage overhead. Option B is incorrect because preprocessing and staging the data in BigQuery prior to feeding it to the model may also increase the storage and computational overhead, as you need to create and maintain additional tables for the preprocessed data. Moreover, you need to ensure that the preprocessing logic is consistent for both training and inference. Option C is incorrect because creating SQL queries to calculate and store the required statistics in separate BigQuery tables may also increase the storage and computational overhead, as you need to create and maintain additional tables for the statistics. Moreover, you need to ensure that the statistics are updated regularly to reflect the new data. References:

BigQuery ML documentation

Using the TRANSFORM clause

Feature preprocessing with BigQuery ML

Option A is correct because importing the TensorFlow model with BigQuery ML, and running the ml.predict function is the easiest way to execute a batch prediction on a large BigQuery table with a custom TensorFlow model, and store the predicted results in another BigQuery table. BigQuery ML allows you to import TensorFlow models that are stored in Cloud Storage, and use them for prediction with SQL queries1. The ml.predict function returns a table with the predicted values, which can be saved to another BigQuery table2.

Option B is incorrect because using the TensorFlow BigQuery reader to load the data, and using the BigQuery API to write the results to BigQuery requires more effort to build the inference pipeline than option A. The TensorFlow BigQuery reader is a way to read data from BigQuery into TensorFlow datasets, which can be used for training or prediction3. However, this option also requires writing code to load the TensorFlow model, run the prediction, and use the BigQuery API to write the results back to BigQuery4.

Option C is incorrect because creating a Dataflow pipeline to convert the data in BigQuery to TFRecords, running a batch inference on Vertex AI Prediction, and writing the results to BigQuery requires more effort to build the inference pipeline than option A. Dataflow is a service for creating and running data processing pipelines, such as ETL (extract, transform, load) or batch processing5. Vertex AI Prediction is a service for deploying and serving ML models for online or batch prediction. However, this option also requires writing code to create the Dataflow pipeline, convert the data to TFRecords, run the batch inference, and write the results to BigQuery.

Option D is incorrect because loading the TensorFlow SavedModel in a Dataflow pipeline, using the BigQuery I/O connector with a custom function to perform the inference within the pipeline, and writing the results to BigQuery requires more effort to build the inference pipeline than option A. The BigQuery I/O connector is a way to read and write data from BigQuery within a Dataflow pipeline. However, this option also requires writing code to load the TensorFlow SavedModel, create the custom function for inference, and write the results to BigQuery.

References:

Importing models into BigQuery ML

Using imported models for prediction

TensorFlow BigQuery reader

BigQuery API

Dataflow overview

[Vertex AI Prediction overview]

[Batch prediction with Dataflow]

[BigQuery I/O connector]

[Using TensorFlow models in Dataflow]

 The best option for building a recommendation system without any user event data is to use simple heuristics based on content metadata. This is a type of content-based filtering, which recommends items that are similar to the ones that the user has interacted with or selected, based on their attributes. For example, if a user selects a comedy movie from the US released in 2020, the system can recommend other comedy movies from the US released in 2020 or nearby years. This approach does not require any machine learning, but it can leverage the existing metadata of the videos to provide relevant recommendations. It also allows the system to start collecting user event data, such as views, likes, ratings, etc., which can be used to train a more sophisticated machine learning model in the future, such as a collaborative filtering model or a hybrid model that combines content and collaborative information. References:

Recommendation Systems

Content-Based Filtering

Collaborative Filtering

Hybrid Recommender Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

Option A is not the best answer because it requires storing the pickled model in Cloud Storage, which may incur additional cost and latency for loading the model. It also requires building a Flask-based app, which may not be necessary for a simple data preprocessing step.

Option B is not the best answer because it requires building a Flask-based app, which may not be necessary for a simple data preprocessing step. It also requires packaging the app and the pickled model in a custom container image, which may increase the size and complexity of the image.

Option C is not the best answer because it requires packaging the pickled model in a custom container image, which may increase the size and complexity of the image. It also does not leverage the Vertex built-in container image, which may provide some optimizations and integrations for XGBoost models.

Option D is the best answer because it leverages the Vertex built-in container image, which may provide some optimizations and integrations for XGBoost models. It also allows storing the pickled model in Cloud Storage, which may reduce the size and complexity of the image. It also allows building a custom predictor class based on XGBoost Predictor from the Vertex AI SDK, which may simplify the data preprocessing step and the prediction logic.

The most likely problem is that the tables that you created to hold your training and validation records share some records, and you may not be using all the data in your initial table. This is because the RAND() function generates a random number between 0 and 1 for each row, and the probability of a row being in both the training and validation tables is 0.2 * 0.8 = 0.16, which is not negligible. This means that some of the records that you use to validate your model are also used to train your model, which can lead to overfitting and poor generalization. Moreover, the probability of a row being in neither the training nor the validation table is 0.2 * 0.2 = 0.04, which means that you are wasting some of the data in your initial table and reducing the size of your datasets. A better way to split your data into training and validation sets is to use a hash function on a unique identifier column, such as the following queries:

CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE ‘myproject.mydataset.training‘ AS (SELECT * FROM ‘myproject.mydataset.mytable‘ WHERE MOD(FARM_FINGERPRINT(id), 10) < 8); CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE ‘myproject.mydataset.validation‘ AS (SELECT * FROM ‘myproject.mydataset.mytable‘ WHERE MOD(FARM_FINGERPRINT(id), 10) >= 8);

This way, you can ensure that each row has a fixed 80% chance of being in the training table and a 20% chance of being in the validation table, without any overlap or omission.

References:

Professional ML Engineer Exam Guide

Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Machine Learning Engineer Professional Certificate

Google Cloud launches machine learning engineer certification

BigQuery ML: Splitting data for training and testing

BigQuery: FARM_FINGERPRINT function

The best option for parametrizing the model training in Kubeflow Pipelines is to add a ContainerOp to the pipeline that spins a Dataproc cluster, runs a transformation, and then saves the transformed data in Cloud Storage. This option has the following advantages:

It allows the data transformation to be performed as part of the Kubeflow Pipeline, which can ensure the consistency and reproducibility of the data processing and the model training. By adding a ContainerOp to the pipeline, you can define the parameters and the logic of the data transformation step, and integrate it with the other steps of the pipeline, such as the model training and evaluation.

It leverages the scalability and performance of Dataproc, which is a fully managed service that runs Apache Spark and Apache Hadoop clusters on Google Cloud. By spinning a Dataproc cluster, you can run the PySpark transformation on the Parquet files stored in the Hive table, and take advantage of the parallelism and speed of Spark. Dataproc also supports various features and integrations, such as autoscaling, preemptible VMs, and connectors to other Google Cloud services, that can optimize the data processing and reduce the cost.

It simplifies the data storage and access, as the transformed data is saved in Cloud Storage, which is a scalable, durable, and secure object storage service. By saving the transformed data in Cloud Storage, you can avoid the overhead and complexity of managing the data in the Hive table or the Parquet files. Moreover, you can easily access the transformed data from Cloud Storage, using various tools and frameworks, such as TensorFlow, BigQuery, or Vertex AI.

The other options are less optimal for the following reasons:

Option A: Removing the data transformation step from the pipeline eliminates the parametrization of the model training, as the data processing and the model training are decoupled and independent. This option requires running the PySpark transformation separately from the Kubeflow Pipeline, which can introduce inconsistency and unreproducibility in the data processing and the model training. Moreover, this option requires managing the data in the Hive table or the Parquet files, which can be cumbersome and inefficient.

Option B: Containerizing the PySpark transformation step, and adding it to the pipeline introduces additional complexity and overhead. This option requires creating and maintaining a Docker image that can run the PySpark transformation, which can be challenging and time-consuming. Moreover, this option requires running the PySpark transformation on a single container, which can be slow and inefficient, as it does not leverage the parallelism and performance of Spark.

Option D: Deploying Apache Spark at a separate node pool in a Google Kubernetes Engine cluster, and adding a ContainerOp to the pipeline that invokes a corresponding transformation job for this Spark instance introduces additional complexity and cost. This option requires creating and managing a separate node pool in a Google Kubernetes Engine cluster, which is a fully managed service that runs Kubernetes clusters on Google Cloud. Moreover, this option requires deploying and running Apache Spark on the node pool, which can be tedious and costly, as it requires configuring and maintaining the Spark cluster, and paying for the node pool usage.

Developing ML models with AI Platform for image segmentation on CT scans requires a lot of computation and experimentation, as image segmentation is a complex and challenging task that involves assigning a label to each pixel in an image. Image segmentation can be used for various medical applications, such as tumor detection, organ segmentation, or lesion localization1

To minimize the computation costs and manual intervention while having version control for the code, one should use Cloud Build linked with Cloud Source Repositories to trigger retraining when new code is pushed to the repository. Cloud Build is a service that executes your builds on Google Cloud Platform infrastructure. Cloud Build can import source code from Cloud Source Repositories, Cloud Storage, GitHub, or Bitbucket, execute a build to your specifications, and produce artifacts such as Docker containers or Java archives2

Cloud Build allows you to set up automated triggers that start a build when changes are pushed to a source code repository. You can configure triggers to filter the changes based on the branch, tag, or file path3

Cloud Source Repositories is a service that provides fully managed private Git repositories on Google Cloud Platform. Cloud Source Repositories allows you to store, manage, and track your code using the Git version control system. You can also use Cloud Source Repositories to connect to other Google Cloud services, such as Cloud Build, Cloud Functions, or Cloud Run4

To use Cloud Build linked with Cloud Source Repositories to trigger retraining when new code is pushed to the repository, you need to do the following steps:

Create a Cloud Source Repository for your code, and push your code to the repository. You can use the Cloud SDK, Cloud Console, or Cloud Source Repositories API to create and manage your repository5

Create a Cloud Build trigger for your repository, and specify the build configuration and the trigger settings. You can use the Cloud SDK, Cloud Console, or Cloud Build API to create and manage your trigger.

Specify the steps of the build in a YAML or JSON file, such as installing the dependencies, running the tests, building the container image, and submitting the training job to AI Platform. You can also use the Cloud Build predefined or custom build steps to simplify your build configuration.

Push your new code to the repository, and the trigger will start the build automatically. You can monitor the status and logs of the build using the Cloud SDK, Cloud Console, or Cloud Build API.

The other options are not as easy or feasible. Using Cloud Functions to identify changes to your code in Cloud Storage and trigger a retraining job is not ideal, as Cloud Functions has limitations on the memory, CPU, and execution time, and does not provide a user interface for managing and tracking your builds. Using the gcloud command-line tool to submit training jobs on AI Platform when you update your code is not optimal, as it requires manual intervention and does not leverage the benefits of Cloud Build and its integration with Cloud Source Repositories. Creating an automated workflow in Cloud Composer that runs daily and looks for changes in code in Cloud Storage using a sensor is not relevant, as Cloud Composer is mainly designed for orchestrating complex workflows across multiple systems, and does not provide a version control system for your code.

References: 1: Image segmentation 2: Cloud Build overview 3: Creating and managing build triggers 4: Cloud Source Repositories overview 5: Quickstart: Create a repository : [Quickstart: Create a build trigger] : [Configuring builds] : [Viewing build results]