I saw a video by Justin from Sportsbookreview and he was explaining the 5 steps of creating a Blackbox Model. I use a very crude version right now, but I was wondering if anybody has actually created their own from conception through testing and creating a final product?

How long did it take?
How far back do you take your data?
What kind of mean testing and advanced testing did you use?

I ask this because I don't have $4,000 to pay someone to do it for me, plus I think it would be mostly fun to try and create my own model.

Thanks.

I found this reference: The Journal of Quantitative Analysis of Sports, but couldn't find a decent website. Anybody ever refer to this journal?