Questions and Answers
What does aCAP stand for?
Associate Certified Analytics Professional
What does CAP stand for?
Certified Analytics Professional
What is the focus of the Certified Analytics Professional program?
What are the Five E's in the CAP program?
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What type of questions does the CAP examination consist of?
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How many domains does the CAP exam cover?
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The guide provides direct answers for the CAP exam.
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What does INFORMS serve?
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INFORMS commissioned a study in 2020 to evaluate the need for embracing the analytics community.
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Who conducted the study commissioned by INFORMS in 2010?
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What is analytics defined as by INFORMS?
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INFORMS established the analytics certification program to advance the use of analytics by setting _____ for the profession.
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What is the vision of the Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®) program?
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Who was not a member of the Analytics Certification Job Task Analysis Working Group?
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What is the approximate weight for Domain III: Data?
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The five E’s of the Certified Analytics Professional are ethics, education, experience, evaluation, and effectiveness.
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What are the five pillars of the Certified Analytics Professional?
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The JTA serves as the test blueprint for _____ development.
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What should you avoid when discussing initial assumptions with your team?
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The preliminary assumptions should be treated as finalized views.
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What is important to communicate to stakeholders regarding the assumptions and approach?
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The act of breaking down a higher-level requirement to multiple lower-level requirements is called ______.
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What is a key metric of success mentioned in the content?
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What must be done to transform soft data into hard data?
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What type of data is preferred in analysis?
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The process of ensuring all facets of a business problem are incorporated in metrics is crucial to ______.
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Why is it important to obtain stakeholder agreement?
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Which of the following is a common practice assumption that needs to be regularly validated?
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Data gathering should only be conducted when the decision is already known.
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What does the 'Hawthorne effect' suggest regarding measurement?
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The scientific process of transforming data into ______ for making better decisions is known as analytics.
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What types of statistics can be useful for data analysis?
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Which of the following is NOT a method for handling missing values?
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It is important to check for correlations between fields when cleaning data.
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A field should be created to record ______________ for each observation.
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What is the purpose of a data warehouse?
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List one consideration to check for during final data quality checks.
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The term _____________ is used to describe a centralized source for data.
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What does the term 'data mart' refer to?
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Randomly imputing a missing value can lead to biases in the analysis.
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What is the first step of an analytics project?
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Which of the following is one of the five W's used to frame a business problem?
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The _____ analysis helps identify stakeholders' interests related to a project.
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The problem statement should be refined only after the analytics solution has been implemented.
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What should be obtained from stakeholders before proceeding with an analytics project?
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What is a critical factor in determining whether a problem is amenable to an analytics solution?
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What does refining a problem statement involve?
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What are the business benefits defined after setting the problem statement?
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The analyst's role is only to solve the business problem.
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What is one goal of developing a proposed set of drivers and relationships to outputs?
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When would information be valuable?
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What is u* in the context provided?
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The probability of getting favorable information is represented by _____ (q).
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What does the formula $q u* + (1 - q) u$ represent?
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Collecting information can only improve our utility.
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What factors affect the critical value u*?
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What is the role of a control group in measurements?
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The cost to collect data is always negligible.
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What is an important aspect of sampling plans?
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What can the exponential family of distributions help with?
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What should be identified when cleaning data?
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Gathering more information becomes pointless when the potential payoff, _____ (H), is small.
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Study Notes
Certification Overview
- Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®) and Associate Certified Analytics Professional (aCAP™) are key certifications in the analytics field.
- The first study guide for the CAP program was developed by a committee of experienced professionals.
Examination Format
- Consists of 100 multiple-choice questions; each question has one correct answer.
- Questions are vendor and software neutral, assessing underlying knowledge necessary for analytics processes.
- Exam covers seven domains: business problem framing, analytics problem framing, data, methodology selection, model building, deployment, and model lifecycle management.
Benefits of Certification
-
For Individuals:
- Enhances career prospects and distinguishes from competitors.
- Fosters personal satisfaction from achieving a significant career milestone.
- Aids in improving job performance and ongoing professional development.
- Recognizes professional investment and commitment to the analytics field.
-
For Employers:
- Assists in identifying and nurturing qualified analytics talent.
- Demonstrates adherence to industry-standard analytics practices to stakeholders.
- Provides a structured career path that encourages employee growth.
- Signals company investment in employee development and knowledge.
The Five E's
- Certification is based on adherence to the Five E's:
- Ethics: Commitment to a code of ethics in analytics practices.
- Effective Soft Skills: Mastery of communication and interpersonal skills.
- Experience: Relevant professional experience in analytics.
- Education: Necessary academic qualifications in the field.
- Exam: Successful completion of the CAP exam.
INFORMS and Analytics
- The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) comprises over 11,000 members, including notable figures like Nobel Prize laureates.
- INFORMS focuses on applying scientific methods to enhance decision-making and management practices across various sectors.
- INFORMS initiated the analytics certification program following research highlighting the need for standards and professional development in analytics.
Understanding Analytics
- Defined as the scientific process of transforming data into actionable insights for better decision-making.
- Encompasses an end-to-end process starting from recognizing business problems to evaluating solutions derived from analytics.
- Aimed at raising the standards of practice and professionalism within the analytics field.### INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®) Program
- Vision is to advance analytics for global transformation by establishing professional standards.
- Mission focuses on enhancing the analytics profession through a rigorous certification program and continuous competence.
Certification Details
- Suitable for semi-professionals and professionals but not for amateurs.
- Exam comprises 100 multiple-choice questions, initially administered on paper with a potential shift to computer-based testing for future assessments.
Job Task Analysis (JTA)
- JTA defines the duties, responsibilities, and essential knowledge for analytics professionals.
- Structured into four elements: domains of practice, tasks performed, required knowledge, and domain weights.
- Serves as a blueprint for exam development linking practical job tasks to certification standards.
Domains and Their Weights
- Business Problem Framing: 12%-18%
- Analytics Problem Framing: 14%-20%
- Data: 18%-26%
- Methodology Selection: 12%-18%
- Model Building: 13%-19%
- Deployment: 7%-11%
- Model Life Cycle Management: 4%-8%
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
- KSAs represent the current competencies required for effective analytics practice.
- Validated based on frequency of use and importance.
- Dynamic document subject to updates reflecting changes in the analytics field.
Examination Construction
- Developed by a panel of experts ensuring high-quality, fair, and reliable assessment.
- Adheres to strict guidelines avoiding biases and ensuring transparency.
- Regular reviews for relevancy and effectiveness in measuring candidates' knowledge.
The Five E’s of CAP® Credential
- Ethics: Adherence to a code of ethics is mandatory for all CAP® candidates.
- Education: A bachelor’s degree is required; experience needed varies with education level.
- Experience: Work experience must complement educational qualifications for certification eligibility.
- Examination: Comprehensive testing confirms knowledge of essential analytics practices.
- Effectiveness: Analysts must skillfully apply knowledge to achieve organizational goals.
Chapter Focus: Business Problem Framing
- Framing the business problem is the first step in an analytics project.
- Key tasks include:
- Receiving problem statements and assessing usability requirements.
- Identifying relevant stakeholders and their perspectives.
- Evaluating if the problem can be effectively addressed through analytics.
- Refining the problem statement and setting clear constraints.
- Defining business benefits and reaching stakeholder consensus on the problem.
Important Considerations
- Understand that initial problem statements may vary based on each representative’s perspective.
- Clarify definitions of terms as meanings can differ between organizations.
- Recognize the importance of diverse viewpoints to uncover the root issues impacting the business.### Business Opportunity Framing
- The five W's framework: who, what, where, when, why, helps to effectively frame business opportunities and problems.
- Who: Stakeholders are individuals or groups that affect or are affected by a project; they play a critical role in project success.
- What: Identifies the specific problem or function the project addresses.
- Where: Determines the physical and spatial context of the problem or function.
- When: Considers the timing of when the problem occurs or when the project needs completion.
- Why: Explores the underlying reasons for the problem or function’s necessity.
Stakeholder Analysis
- Critical for understanding the interests and constraints of all stakeholders involved.
- Facilitates identification of potential issues that could jeopardize project success.
- Helps in creating communication plans and strategies for stakeholder management.
- Assists in ways to mitigate negative impacts from stakeholders.
Analytics Solution Feasibility
- Evaluate whether a problem can be solved using analytics before committing resources.
- Key questions include: Is the data available? Can the problem be modeled? Will the organization accept the solution?
- Reassess the problem statement if an analytics solution seems unfeasible due to control limits or tool constraints.
Refining the Problem Statement
- Enhance accuracy and relevance of the problem statement for stakeholders and analytic tools.
- Define constraints (analytical, financial, political) that govern the project.
- Simplify overly complex problems by reducing constraints or clarifying objectives to ensure feasibility.
Defining Initial Business Benefits
- Establish initial business benefits quantitatively (e.g., financial metrics) or qualitatively.
- Develop a business case for the project, focusing on critical drivers such as profit margins and performance metrics.
- For example, improving on-time performance from 68% to 98% could significantly impact profitability.
Obtaining Stakeholder Agreement
- Essential to secure consensus on the refined problem statement and initial benefits before progressing.
- This process may require multiple iterations for stakeholder concurrence.
- Final agreement outlines project’s objectives, approach, and resource commitments.
Translating Business Problems into Analytics Problems
- Decode the business problem statement into actionable analytics components.
- Essential steps include identifying desired results, necessary actions, and anticipated organizational changes.
- Use quality function deployment (QFD) and Kano’s requirement model for formal problem decomposition.
Developing Input/Output Relationships
- Identify input/output functions that relate key drivers to outputs.
- Gather stakeholder insights on factors that affect the problem, avoiding assumptions.
- Preliminary assumptions should be documented and understood as subject to revision.
Stating Assumptions and Boundaries
- Clearly articulate assumptions underlying problem definitions to establish boundaries.
- Regularly review organizational assumptions for validity.
- Trim complexities that have a marginal effect on outcomes to streamline the problem-solving approach.
Defining Metrics of Success
- Establish key metrics to measure progress toward solutions, recognizing the relationship between measurement and improvement.
- Metrics need to encompass all aspects of the business problem to ascertain success effectively.
Formalizing Stakeholder Agreement
- Engage stakeholders to ensure mutual understanding of assumptions, problem framing, and metrics.
- Ensure comprehensive discussions and documentation of all project parameters (budget, timeline, goals).
- Avoid reliance solely on written communication; facilitate discussions for thorough agreement.
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Description
Prepare for the Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) and Associate Certified Analytics Professional (aCAP) examinations with this comprehensive study guide. Cover essential topics, key concepts, and test-taking strategies to enhance your chances of success in analytics certification. Perfect for professionals looking to validate their skills and knowledge in the field of analytics.
