Confirmation of Soft Skills
An important trait of a Certified Analytics Professional is the demonstrated achievement of an acceptable
level of “soft skills,” in addition to the knowledge, skills, and abilities covered by the CAP® examination
process. These soft skills include, but are not limited to, the following:
•
Ability to communicate with a client/employer regarding the framing of an analytics problem.
•
Understanding of the background of the client/employer regarding its organization and specific
industry focus.
•
Ability to explain the findings of the analytics process in sufficient detail to ensure clear
understanding by the client/employer.
The CAP® program relies on a confirmation by a person in a supervisory capacity that the candidate possesses
the skills enumerated above. The confirmation process requires that all applicants obtain documentation
of their acceptable soft skills proficiency in the official confirmation form (see Appendix A for the Employer
Confirmation Statement.) It requires the signature of a current or previous supervisor of analytics work who
is not a relative of the candidate and is designed for current or previous employers of individuals hired to
provide professional analytics services.
Individuals who can show that they are unable to contact a past employer, client, or acceptable substitute,
may submit a 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. Candidates choosing this
option should contact INFORMS staff for additional information. Representatives of the INFORMS Analytics
Certification Board may also, in some cases, require a telephone interview with a candidate in addition to the
written summary to assess an applicant’s soft skills.
About the Professional Job Task Analysis Process
The Job Task Analysis (JTA) study defines the current knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that must be
demonstrated by analytics professionals to effectively and successfully provide these services. KSAs are
validated according to their frequency of use and importance. The JTA also serves as a “blueprint” for
the content (performance domains) of the INFORMS CAP® examination.
INFORMS upholds stringent guidelines for the construction and implementation of the examination
development and administration process. An 11-member panel of subject matter experts (SMEs) was
selected to develop the first JTA for the CAP® credential. This group was called the Analytics Certification
Job Task Analysis Working Group.
The following leaders in the analytics profession comprised the first panel selected to participate in this
important project:
•
Arnold Greenland (IBM Global Business Services)
•
Bill Klimack (Chevron)*#
•
Jack Levis (UPS)*#
•
Daymond Ling (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce)N
•
Freeman Marvin (Innovative Decisions, Inc.)
•
Scott Nestler (U.S. Army)#
•
Jerry Oglesby (SAS)
•
Michael Rappa (North Carolina State/Institute for Advanced Analytics)#
*
INFORMS Board Member
Tim Rey (Dow Chemical)
#
Credentialing Task Force Member
Rita Sallam (Gartner)N
N
Nonmember of INFORMS
Sam Savage (Stanford/Vector Economics)
•
•
•
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