In my experience, yes. Data science is highly creative/improvisational and the resulting artifacts of work reflect that. FWIW, normal science is pretty similar.

In my experience, yes. Data science is highly creative/improvisational and the resulting artifacts of work reflect that. FWIW, normal science is pretty similar. The clear step 1, step 2, ..., you see in scientific publications is effectively retcon done for the benefit of the reader's understanding.