MLA-C01 Data Preparation for Machine Learning Practice Question
A company is building a time series forecasting model using SageMaker DeepAR. The raw data is a CSV with columns: timestamp, item_id, and value. What is the correct data format required for DeepAR training?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume DeepAR can accept raw CSV data like other SageMaker built-in algorithms (e.g., XGBoost), but DeepAR is a specialized time series algorithm that requires a specific JSON Lines structure with 'start' and 'target' fields, not a simple tabular format.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
JSON Lines files with 'start', 'target', and optional fields per time series
DeepAR requires time series data to be provided in JSON Lines format, where each line represents a single time series with a 'start' timestamp (in ISO 8601 format), a 'target' array of values, and optional fields like 'cat' for categorical features. This structured format allows DeepAR to handle variable-length sequences and missing values natively, which is not possible with simple CSV or wide-format data.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
JSON Lines files with 'start', 'target', and optional fields per time series
Why this is correct
DeepAR's training data format is JSON Lines with start timestamp and target array.
- ✗
A wide-format CSV where each column is a different time series
Why it's wrong here
DeepAR expects the data in long format with one row per time step.
- ✗
Parquet files with a schema containing timestamp, item_id, and value
Why it's wrong here
DeepAR does natively support Parquet for training input; it uses RecordIO or JSON Lines.
- ✗
A single CSV file with columns: timestamp, item_id, value
Why it's wrong here
DeepAR requires JSON Lines, not CSV.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every MLA-C01 question from scratch — 835 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MLA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MLA-C01 exam.