# Time-aware experiments

> Time-aware experiments - Set basic and advanced options for creating time-aware experiments; iterate
> quickly to evaluate and select the best forecasting models.

This Markdown file sits beside the HTML page at the same path (with a `.md` suffix). It summarizes the topic and lists links for tools and LLM context.

Companion generated at `2026-05-06T18:17:10.056894+00:00` (UTC).

## Primary page

- [Time-aware experiments](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/create-time-aware/index.html): Full documentation for this topic (HTML).

## Sections on this page

- [Feature considerations](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/create-time-aware/index.html#feature-considerations): In-page section heading.

## Related documentation

- [NextGen UI documentation](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/index.html): Linked from this page.
- [Workbench](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/index.html): Linked from this page.
- [Predictive experiments](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/index.html): Linked from this page.
- [Create experiments](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/index.html): Linked from this page.
- [basic setup](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/create-time-aware/ts-create-basic.html): Linked from this page.
- [Time-aware predictions](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/create-time-aware/ts-datetime.html): Linked from this page.
- [Time-aware predictions with feature transformations](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/create-time-aware/ts-pred-transforms.html): Linked from this page.
- [time-aware wrangling](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/dataprep/wrangle-data/build-recipe/ts-wrangling.html): Linked from this page.
- [Time series forecasts](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/create-time-aware/ts-forecasting.html): Linked from this page.
- [feature derivation](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/reference/pred-ai-ref/ts-reference/feature-eng.html): Linked from this page.
- [Unsupervised experiment setup](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/create-time-aware/ts-unsupervised.html): Linked from this page.
- [time-aware](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/classic-ui/modeling/time/whatis-time.html): Linked from this page.
- [framework](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/reference/pred-ai-ref/ts-reference/ts-framework.html): Linked from this page.
- [Model comparison](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/manage-experiments/compare-models.html): Linked from this page.
- [Eureqa](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/classic-ui/modeling/analyze-models/describe/eureqa-classic.html): Linked from this page.

## Documentation content

Time-aware modeling is based on Date/time as the partitioning method.Supervised learning uses the other features in your dataset to make forecasts and predictions.Unsupervised learning, by contrast, uses unlabeled data to surface insights about patterns in your data.

The following types of time-aware modeling are available. For all supervised learning methods, use the [basic setup](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/create-experiments/create-time-aware/ts-create-basic.html) to create an experiment.

| Type | Description | Usage |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Time-aware predictions (Supervised) | Assigns rows to backtests chronologically and makes row-by-row predictions. Provides no feature engineering. | Use when forecasting is not needed. |
| Time-aware predictions with feature transformations (Supervised) | Assigns rows by forecast distance, builds separate models for each distance, and then makes row-by-row predictions. Recommended to combine with time-aware wrangling, which provides transparent and flexible feature engineering. | Use when: Forecasting is not needed, but you want predictions based on forecast distance.Dataset is larger than 10GB.Full transparency of the transformation process is desired.. |
| Time series forecasts (Supervised) | Forecasts multiple future values of the target using the DataRobot automated feature derivation process to create the time series modeling dataset. | Use when: Dataset is smaller than 10GB.Full transformation process, preprocessor -> extractor -> postprocessor, for all features is required. |
| Unsupervised experiment setup | Builds clustering models that surface insights about patterns in your data or performs anomaly detection to identify outliers. | Use without specifying a target. |

> [!NOTE] Note
> There is extensive material available about the fundamentals of [time-aware](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/classic-ui/modeling/time/whatis-time.html) modeling. While those instructions largely represent the workflow as applied in DataRobot Classic, the reference material describing the [framework](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/reference/pred-ai-ref/ts-reference/ts-framework.html), [feature derivation process](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/reference/pred-ai-ref/ts-reference/feature-eng.html) for time series forecasts, and more are still applicable.

## Feature considerations

Consider the following when working with date/time partitioned projects in Workbench:

- You cannot create feature lists on derived features.
- Model comparison is not supported.
- Eureqa model insights are not available.