Analytics Certification FAQs
What is professional certification?
Certification is a voluntary process through which an organization grants recognition to an individual after verifying that he or she has met minimum criteria, typically including education/training, experience and passing an assessment/examination.
What is the Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) credential?
The CAP credential is offered by INFORMS, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, in order to provide analytics professionals with a means to distinguish themselves and demonstrate to employers, colleagues and the public that they are competent analytics professionals. Those attaining certification will be able to list “CAP” after their names.
Why is INFORMS offering analytics certification?
We have found there is strong market desire for analytics certification among employers. They need help with identifying and developing qualified analytics professionals. INFORMS, as the largest association in the world for those in analytics, operations research and the management sciences and dedicated to advancing the profession, is in the best possible position to offer it.
Why should I get certified?
There are many good reasons to become certified. Certification can advance your career by setting you apart from the competition, enabling you to derive personal satisfaction from accomplishing a key career goal, helping to improve your overall job performance by setting you on a course for continual professional development, and recognizing the investment you have made in your career.
Who qualifies for this certification?
The CAP credential is designed for general analytics professionals in early- to mid-career. Students, generally, will not qualify. Specific eligibility criteria include attainment of at least a BS or BA degree, three to seven years of professional analytics work experience depending on your degree field and level, and confirmation of acceptable “soft skills” by your current or a previous employer. Eligible candidates may then take the assessment examination. Passing the examination and meeting all of the eligibility requirements qualifies you as a CAP – Certified Analytics Professional.
Are there possible substitutions to the eligibility requirements?
No. You must meet all requirements as described above. See the Candidate Handbook for more information.
What are the criteria used to validate experience?
Analytics work experience will be validated by an audit process executed by INFORMS staff.
How do I verify my soft skills?
You will send the “Confirmation Statement on Analytics Soft Skills” form to your current or a previous employer who will confirm your acceptable demonstration of “soft skills” and return the form to INFORMS. Soft skills to be confirmed include: partnering with business clients, framing problems with stakeholders, working in project teams, interviewing subject matter experts, eliciting information from groups, and communicating results to decision makers.
Self-employed consultants may request a soft skills confirmation statement from a recent client.
Contacts for many of the projects I have worked on in recent years are no longer available. How do I document my soft skills?
Individuals who are unable to contact a past employer may submit a detailed written summary of a recent analytics project describing in detail the application of soft skills in the successful completion of the project and in the implementation of its findings. See the Candidate Handbook for more information or contact INFORMS.
How do I get certified?
Start with the Candidate Handbook and review "Timeline and Steps for the Certification Process". In general, you should make sure you meet all eligibility requirements (contact INFORMS if you are unsure), fill out and submit the INFORMS application form, remit payment, submit a photocopy of your official college transcript and send it to INFORMS, send the confirmation of soft skills form to your current or a recent employer and ask them to complete the confirmation statement and send it to INFORMS as soon as possible. INFORMS reviews all application materials and notifies you of your scheduled examination location, date and time.
What is the cost to be certified?
The certification fee is $495 for individual INFORMS members and $695 for individual non-members. Bundled rates with INFORMS meetings are also available. contact INFORMS for more information.
Can you tell me what material I need to review or course I should take to prepare for the exam?
There is no examination preparation syllabus, and we do not require you to take a prep course to qualify for the examination. As long as your application is approved, you are eligible to take the examination. We strongly recommend that you review the Analytics Job Task Analysis (JTA) which is also posted on the website. Analytics certification is intended to measure the knowledge analytics professionals apply on the job. However, the Candidate Handbook lists several reference books that may be useful in examination preparation. For the convenience of candidates, INFORMS also provides a list of analytics-related continuing education courses that are available in the marketplace. Candidates may wish to consider taking a course in any area in which they feel they may be deficient.
Do you have examples of examination questions?
Yes. In the Candidate Handbook we provide sample questions. The examination will be comprised of 100 four-option, multiple-choice questions covering seven domains of analytics practice: business problem framing, analytics problem framing, data, methodology (approach) selection, model building, deployment, and model lifecycle management.
Is the examination vendor-neutral?
Yes.
Is there a body of knowledge in certification I can study?
There is not at this time. The Job Task Analysis serves as the outline of the body of knowledge needed to perform analytics work. INFORMS may develop a body of knowledge in analytics in the future.
Do I need to be a member of INFORMS to get certified?
No. Certification is offered to all eligible analytics professionals regardless of the membership status with INFORMS.
May analytics professionals from outside the U.S. sit for the examination?
Yes. However, the certification exam will only be offered in the U.S. in 2013 and in the English language. We do not yet have plans to offer the examination outside of the U.S., but our long-range plans are to do so.
How long does this certification last?
Once certified, your credential is good for three years. You will need to demonstrate achievement of minimum professional development activity during this three-year period to renew your certification for another three-year period.
How do I recertify?
All CAP certificants will be required to achieve a total of 30 Professional Development Units over the three-year renewal period. The PDUs may be achieved in several different categories including: formal professional education courses, self-directed learning, creating new analytics knowledge or content, volunteer service, and analytics professional work experience. In general one hour of activity equals one PDU. There are various thresholds and limits for PDUs in the various categories. See the Candidate Handbook for more information.
Where and when will the certification examination be offered?
In 2013, analytics certification will be held on April 7 preceding the INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research, April 7-9, San Antonio, Texas, USA, and on October 5 preceding INFORMS Annual Meeting, October 6-9, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Other sites will be announced as they become available.
Can I take the certification examination online?
No, the certification is a proctored, in-person examination only.
How do I sign up for the examination?
You may apply for the certification examination by completing the CAP Certification Application and Agreement online or PDF, remitting payment to INFORMS, securing a photocopy of your college transcript and sending to INFORMS, and sending the confirmation of soft skills form to your current or a recent employer and asking them to complete and return to INFORMS.
After I submit my application, how long do I have to wait to find out if I’m approved to sit for the examination?
INFORMS will render a decision on your eligibility within seven business days of receipt of the application, payment, and all completed supporting documentation.
Once my application is approved and I am registered for an examination, when do I find out about the examination administration details such as exact location, room, directions, time, etc.?
Within seven business days of approval. This information will come with your letter advising the outcome of your eligibility review.
If I'm not able to sit for the examination within the specified timeframe, do I have to reapply and pay again?
It depends. If you notify INFORMS at least ten (10) business days before your scheduled examination, you will be rescheduled for the next available examination at no additional cost to you. If you notify INFORMS less than ten (10) business before your examination, you will be required to pay the full certification/examination fee in order to reschedule the exam. You will not receive a refund. You will not have to reapply under either scenario.
How many questions are on the examination?
The CAP consists of 100 four-option, multiple-choice questions.
How long will I have to complete the examination?
Candidates will be given three hours to complete the examination.
What kinds of questions are on the examination?
All the questions are multiple-choice with four possible answers. Some questions are based on "comprehension" (e.g., definition, recall, etc.) and others are based on "situational analysis" (e.g. given a scenario, which is the best course of action) where the candidate must perform analysis to arrive at the answer.
What is the examination based on?
The examination is based on the Job Task Analysis (JTA) that INFORMS subject matter experts developed and had validated by a random sampling of practicing analytics professionals. The JTA defines the current knowledge, skills, and abilities that must be demonstrated by analytics professionals. The JTA serves as the “blueprint” for the content of the CAP examination.
What is the minimum score necessary to pass the exam?
Passing scores are developed using a “criterion-referenced” methodology. There is no grading on a “curve” and candidates are not competing with each other. The specific methodology used is a modified-Angoff technique, which relies on the judgments of subject-matter experts to determine an acceptable level of knowledge, skill, and ability in analytics. The actual passing score is confidential.
Do you need to pass in each knowledge area or is passing based on the total score?
Pass/fail decisions are based on the total score only.
Is a test taker better off skipping questions when uncertain of the correct answer or answering them all despite any uncertainty?
There is no additional penalty for incorrect answers. Therefore, it is to your advantage to answer every question even when uncertain of the correct answer.
How will I know if I passed the examination?
Candidates will be notified within 20 business days of completion of examination. Notification will be by mail or e-mail to your preferred address. Those who fail the examination will be provided with additional information indicating performance in each of the seven domains covered by the examination.
How many times can I take the examination?
Candidates who do not pass have the option of retaking the examination up to two (2) additional times during the first year following the approval of their application. Candidates who take the examination a second or third time will be expected to pay the reexamination fee cited in the fee section of the Candidate Handbook.
If I fail the exam, can I have it re-scored?
Candidates who wish to have their examination results hand scored after the initial scoring process may request this service by contacting INFORMS certification staff and paying a $75 fee.
