Enhancements to the data mining workbench include new capabilities to develop and deploy optimised suites of segmented ensemble models, which marry decision trees and scorecards to capitalise on the predictive interactions across customer sub-segments. These advancements enable companies to improve the productivity of analytic staff, make more profitable decisions based on more precise risk estimates and ultimately shorten time to value and increase return on investment.

Specifically, FICO Model Builder 7.2 combines advanced analytic science with business expertise — automating the discovery of optimal segmentation schemes and accelerating the refinement of subpopulation models to compare different ways of segmenting the population. It features a revamped segmentation discovery algorithm that improves runtime, scalability and accuracy, while giving analysts unprecedented control to manage and direct their search for the most powerful segmentation scheme. In addition, FICO Model Builder 7.2 automates deployment of the complete ensemble model, including variable generation logic, model selection and reason codes assignment, for implementation within FICO applications or other systems. All of these features lead to more precise risk estimates, increased staff productivity and improved organisational profitability.

"Financial institutions have long valued segmented ensembles for their ability to capture predictive analytics in a transparent, easily understood form," said James Taylor, CEO of Decision Management Solutions, and a leading expert in the use of predictive analytics. "This structured combination of decision trees and scorecards is a powerful and practical example of an ensemble model. Model Builder 7.2 makes it easy to find the best segmentation and quickly build the most effective ensemble."

"In the data mining community, we're all excited about the advances from number-crunching ensemble modelling techniques," said Andrew FlFlint, senior director of product management at FICO. "To take full advantage of ensembles for the closely managed decisions in lending, underwriting and pricing, creditors and insurers require great transparency and control over the ensemble modelling process. Our customers strongly value the deep user controls that Model Builder 7.2 brings to these modern analytic algorithms."

FICO Model Builder combines industry breakthroughs in scorecard development functionality with a highly visual interface and 64-bit certification to solve very large modelling problems. Using Model Builder, teams are able to rapidly explore data, build complete predictive models, and easily generate production-ready score execution as a stand-alone scoring system or within business rules flows.