About INFORMS
INFORMS is the world’s largest professional society for those in the field of analytics, operations research
(O.R.), and the management sciences. INFORMS is committed to meeting the professional needs of those
who develop, apply, research, and teach advanced analytics, O.R. and the management sciences. INFORMS
works to promote a broader understanding and recognition of the field by encouraging, facilitating, and
rewarding excellence; communicating appropriate achievements and capabilities; providing lifelong
education and career development opportunities; and attracting the best people.
About the INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®) Program
INFORMS is pleased to announce the development and implementation of a professional certification
program that meets the needs of analytics professionals. The Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®) program
was developed in 2011–2012. The first examination was conducted on April 7, 2013, at the INFORMS Analytics
Conference, April 7–9, in San Antonio, Texas.
INFORMS analytics certification program advances the use of analytics by setting agreed upon standards for
the profession and advances the profession by providing a means for organizations to identify and develop
qualified analytics professionals, by contributing to the career success and continued competence for
analytics professionals, and by improving the credibility and visibility of the analytics profession.
INFORMS defines analytics as the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better
decisions. Analytics is seen as an end-to-end process beginning with identifying the business problem to
evaluating and drawing conclusions about the prescribed solution arrived at though the use of analytics
tools and methodologies. Analytics professionals are skilled at this process.
The CAP® examination measures acceptable performance across seven major areas or domains of practice
that adhere to the analytics end-to-end process: business problem framing, analytics problem framing, data,
methodology selection, model building, deployment, and model life cycle management. See the “About the
Professional Job Task Analysis Process” section for more information about the end-to-end process that is
covered by the exam.
Because analytics is an end-to-end process, the CAP® examination assesses a breadth of knowledge across
the seven domains, but not a depth of knowledge in any one methodology. Those interested in taking the
CAP® examination should consider themselves to be analytics professionals or semi-professionals, and not
analytics amateurs. They should be interested in adhering to the highest standards of good analytics practice
and following a path of continual professional development in analytics. Candidates must have at least three
years of experience in analytics depending on their academic degree. See the “Eligibility Requirements”
section for more information on qualifying for the CAP® examination.
The CAP® program formally began in August 2011, when INFORMS established the INFORMS Certification
Task Force to plan and develop this new analytics certification.
1
®