This is the recommended template for a Project Proposal for a freelance Machine Learning project. This is my personal choice, and definitely depending on project requirements, you might need to explicitly modify change/modify/add to this list. One size does not always fit all for Machine Learning projects. But anyway this could be a good starting point.

Steps for a Machine Learning Project

I propose these steps below.

  1. Data Exploration: I will explore the data features, target variables and get an understanding of how they are related
  2. Exploratory Data Analysis: I will draw correlation plots, and find ranges, outliers from the data and do Exploratory Data Analysis
  3. Feature Selection/Engineering: I will identify, select/generate features for the models
  4. Cross Validation, Hyper Parameter Tuning, and Building Models: I will run cross-validation technique to search for best hyperparameters for each models
  5. Model Selection, Performance Evaluation, and Delivery: I will provide charts for each model’s performance graphically and deliver the code and report.

Milestones and Deliverables

I would also recommend you split the Machine Learning project deliverables in 3 milestones.

First Milestone: Step 1,2,3 above.
Second Milestone: Step 4
Third Milestone: Step 5