Inferential statistics is a branch of statistics that deals with making inferences about a population based on a sample. It is used in machine learning to make predictions about the performance of a model on new data. It is also used in performance testing to make inferences about the performance of a system under different workloads.
In machine learning, inferential statistics is used to:
- Choose the right model: Inferential statistics can be used to evaluate different machine learning models and choose the one that is most likely to generalize well to new data.
- Tune the hyperparameters: The hyperparameters of a machine learning model are the parameters that control the model's behavior. Inferential statistics can be used to tune the hyperparameters of a model to improve its performance.
- Make predictions: Inferential statistics can be used to make predictions about the performance of a machine learning model on new data.
In performance testing, inferential statistics is used to:
- Identify performance bottlenecks: Inferential statistics can be used to identify the parts of a system that are causing performance problems.
- Determine the impact of changes: Inferential statistics can be used to determine the impact of changes to a system on its performance.
- Plan for future workloads: Inferential statistics can be used to plan for future workloads and ensure that the system can handle them.
Some of the most common inferential statistical methods used in machine learning and performance testing include:
- Hypothesis testing: Hypothesis testing is used to test whether there is a statistically significant difference between two sets of data.
- Confidence intervals: Confidence intervals are used to estimate the range of values that are likely to contain the true value of a population parameter.
- ANOVA: ANOVA is used to compare the means of three or more groups.
- Chi-square test: The chi-square test is used to test whether there is a statistically significant difference between the observed and expected distributions of data.
Here are some brief overviews of z-test, t-test, chi-square test, and ANOVA, along with examples of how they can be used in performance testing:
- Z-test: A z-test is a statistical test that is used to compare a sample mean to a known population mean. It is a parametric test, which means that it assumes that the data is normally distributed. The z-test can be used to test for a significant difference between the sample mean and the population mean.
For example, you could use a z-test to compare the average response time of a web application before and after a performance improvement. If the z-test results are statistically significant, then you can conclude that the performance improvement has resulted in a significant decrease in the average response time.
- T-test: A t-test is a statistical test that is used to compare the means of two samples. It is a parametric test, which means that it assumes that the data is normally distributed. The t-test can be used to test for a significant difference between the means of the two samples.
For example, you could use a t-test to compare the average response time of a web application for two different user groups. If the t-test results are statistically significant, then you can conclude that there is a significant difference in the average response time for the two user groups.
- Chi-square test: A chi-square test is a statistical test that is used to compare the distribution of observed values to a theoretical distribution. It is a non-parametric test, which means that it does not make any assumptions about the distribution of the data. The chi-square test can be used to test for a significant difference between the observed and theoretical distributions.
For example, you could use a chi-square test to compare the distribution of response times for a web application to a uniform distribution. If the chi-square test results are statistically significant, then you can conclude that the distribution of response times is not uniform.
- ANOVA: ANOVA stands for analysis of variance. It is a statistical test that is used to compare the means of three or more samples. It is a parametric test, which means that it assumes that the data is normally distributed. ANOVA can be used to test for a significant difference between the means of the three or more samples.
For example, you could use ANOVA to compare the average response time of a web application for three different browsers. If the ANOVA results are statistically significant, then you can conclude that there is a significant difference in the average response time for the three browsers.
Here are some examples of how z-test, t-test, and chi-square test can be used in machine learning and performance testing:
- Z-test: A z-test can be used to test whether the average response time of a web application is different from a specified value. For example, you could use a z-test to test whether the average response time of a web application is different from 1 second.
- T-test: A t-test can be used to test whether the average response time of a web application is different for two different user groups. For example, you could use a t-test to test whether the average response time of a web application is different for users in the United States and users in Europe.
- Chi-square test: A chi-square test can be used to test whether the distribution of response times for a web application is different from a uniform distribution. For example, you could use a chi-square test to test whether the distribution of response times for a web application is different from a normal distribution.
Here are some more specific examples:
- In machine learning, a z-test can be used to evaluate the performance of a machine learning model on a new data set. For example, you could use a z-test to test whether the accuracy of a machine learning model on a new data set is different from the accuracy of the model on the training data set.
- In performance testing, a t-test can be used to compare the performance of two different versions of a system. For example, you could use a t-test to test whether the average response time of a web application is different for the current version of the application and the previous version of the application.
- A chi-square test can be used to test whether the distribution of users on a website is different from a uniform distribution. For example, you could use a chi-square test to test whether the distribution of users on a website is different from a normal distribution.
Photo by Artem Podrez
