Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®)
Program
Presenter
Month, Day Year
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What is Certification?
Credentialing - official recognition of a process of
meeting a set of defined standards, generally via
education, training, experience, and testing.
• Licenses - mandatory credentials granted by
government to regulate practice of a profession.
• Certifications - voluntary credentials granted in
industry attesting to attainment of knowledge/skills,
often required or preferred by employers.
Source: Department of Labor / Department of Defense Study on Coordination of
Job Training Standards with Certification Standards, September 2005
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Who is INFORMS?
• Institute for Operations Research and Management
Science; founded in 1952
• Mission: lead in the development, dissemination and
implementation of knowledge, basic and applied research
and technologies in operations research, the management
sciences, and related methods of improving operational
processes, decision-making, and management.
• 11,000 members (50% academic, 30% practitioner, 20%
student)
• Highly educated (51% earned PhD, 96% earned or
pursuing MS or higher)
• Global (79% North America, 10% Europe, 7% Asia)
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INFORMS and Analytics
• Definition: Analytics is the scientific process of
transforming data into insight for making better
decisions.
• Analytics-Related Initiatives
–
–
–
–
Analytics Certification
Continuing Education Courses
Analytics Maturity Model
Engagement with Industry, Government, and Academia
“Analytics doesn’t take anything away from Operations
Research (OR). Outside our community, OR seen as a
toolkit but Analytics seen as a process.”
-Anne Robinson, Verizon
President of INFORMS
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Certified Analytics Professional
(CAP®) Program Goals
• Advance the use of analytics by introducing
standards of quality
• Identify individuals with appropriate breadth
of knowledge
• Encourage continued competency
• Be software and vendor neutral
• Be available to all who are eligible
• Be eligible for accreditation (ISO/IEC 17024
& NCCA standard)
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Analytics Certification Board
• Semi-independent governing body; assumed responsibility for
development of the certification program in July 2013.
• Members include:
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Scott Nestler, CAP, US Army (Chair)
Polly Mitchell-Guthrie, SAS (Vice Chair)
Tom Davenport, Babson College
Bill Franks, Teradata
Jeanne Harris, Accenture
Terry Harrison, CAP, Penn State University
Lisa Kart, CAP, Gartner
Kathy Kilmer, Disney
Don Kleinmuntz, Kleinmuntz Associates
Jack Levis, UPS
Paul Messinger, CAP, University of Alberta
Jonathan Owen, General Motors
Melissa Moore, INFORMS Exec. Director
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The “Shape” of Analytics Certification
The idea of “T-shaped skills” has been promoted since at
least the early 1990s. The “T” represents breadth of skills,
across the top, with depth in one area represented by the
vertical bar. T-shaped professionals can more easily work
in interdisciplinary teams than those with less breadth and
can be more effective than those without depth.
- Analyzing the Analyzers,
an O’Reilly Strata publication, 2013
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Job Task Analysis
Developed by people who are:
• Highly regarded in their field
• Diverse in geography, sector,
organization type, and
application area
Domain
Task
• Representative of descriptive,
predictive, and prescriptive
segments
Knowledge
5 E’s: Components of CAP® Certification
• Education:
Degree Level
Degree Area
Experience
MS/MA or
higher
Related Area
3 years
BS/BA
Related Area
5 years
BS/BA
Non-Related Area
7 years
• Experience:
• Exam:
Tests skills and knowledge in the 7 domains of the Job Task
Analysis
• Effectiveness:
• Ethics:
Soft skills confirmed by employer or client
Must agree to a Code of Ethics
See: www.INFORMS.org/Certification
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Exam Format
• 100 multiple choice test questions
– Sample questions on website in Candidate Handbook &
CAP Study Guide
•
•
•
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Only 1 correct response
3 Hours to complete
Paper and pencil format at specific sites
Computer-Based Testing began May 2014
– Tests administered globally at 700+ sites
• 4 function calculator provided
• Delivered in proctored environment
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Maintaining the CAP® Designation
• Certification requires that
knowledge be kept current
• Recertification every 3 years
• Based on earning at least 30
PDUs
• 1 Professional Development
Unit (PDU) = 1 hour of activity
• PDUs can be maintained
online at INFORMS
PDU Category
PDUs Allowed
Education/Training
programs
1 PDU/hour of activity:
must earn 8
Self-directed
learning
1 PDU/hour of activity:
maximum of 10
Creating new
analytics knowledge
1 PDU/hour of activity:
maximum of 10
Volunteer service
1 PDU/hour of activity:
maximum of 10
Analytics
professional work
experience
5 PDUs/year of
employment
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Contact Info
Web: www.informs.org/certification
Email: certification@informs.org
Phone: 443-757-3500
Certification Manager: Louise Wehrle
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