"Data science" has become nearly a household phrase, but disagreement still remains about the skills a successful practitioner should have. One area of expertise whose importance is difficult to overstate is communication, specifically with a non-technical audience.

The strategy we've adopted at Bonobos results in an approach that we refer to as "data products". Our team produces solutions that sometimes rely on machine learning, and sometimes are mostly engineering-focused, but in every case their primary function is to meet a specific source of demand by addressing a particular (frequently internal) customer pain point.

Using this approach, the tools of traditional product management can be directly applied by data scientists to ensure the efficiency of their efforts and the adoption of their solutions.