Certified Analytical Professional

The programme is designed for business executives, particularly those who are involved in analysing, interpreting or using data for their companies. Managers and executives in various functional groups e.g. marketing and customer service who seek to push the use of data beyond typical boundaries are strongly encouraged to attend the programme.  They should already have a foundation in quantitative analysis.  For instance, taken statistics and quantitative research modules (e.g. Marketing Research) during undergraduate degree studies.  They should already be familiar with basic statistical concepts (will not be discussed during the workshop) before attending the advanced level programme.

Participants who had attended and successfully completed the HR Analytics Certificate: Using Analytics to Improve People Decisions (Foundation Level) or Analytics for Management Decisions programme offered by SMU Academy would be deemed to have met the entry requirements for this advanced level programme.  Please note that the programme facilitator will not be addressing basic statistical concepts in this programme.  

Why Advanced Analytics

Competency levels may be classified as foundation level, which allows the practitioner to undertake most descriptive data analyses, and advanced level, which allows for analyses that yield predictive and prescriptive insights.  Insights of the latter forms are the most useful and can translate into the greatest competitive advantage for companies.

Programme Objectives

The programme objectives are several-fold:

• To raise the competency level of professionals to an advanced level so that they are able to leverage on an array of analytical techniques and tools to obtain insights that support their organisation’s decision making function.
• To have a strong grounding of data, data types and the various classes of analysis.
• To understand data quality and data sources that impact the quality of insights obtained.
• To provide participants with the ability to undertake various types of multivariate analysis that includes regression modelling, choice modelling and structural equation modelling.  
• To imbue in participants with the ability to think analytically so that they are able to conceptualise organisational challenges and goals in the form of analytical models to be examined.  

Programme Outline

• The application of advanced level analytics in various functional contexts

    – Categorisation of analytics
    – Analytics as a solution to organisational challenges
    – Case studies in the application of analytics
 

• Development of advanced level analytical competencies and the use of three analytical softwares (SPSS, WarpPLS and PERMAP).  The software chosen for this programme complement each other and allows the analyst to provide useful insights for management.  The scope of analyses covered in this programme includes, but are not limited to the following:

    – t-Tests
    – Anova Tests
    – Factor Analysis
    – Multiple Regression Models (with and without latent constructs)
    – Binary Logistic Regression Models
    – Best-Worst Scaling Models
    – Conjoint Models
    – Correspondence Analysis
    – Discriminant Analysis
    – Perceptual Mapping
    – Structural Equation Modelling
 

• Framing of organisational challenges into analytical problems (development of analytical thinking).  This development will be in the form of presentations by the instructor, discussion of cases and reflection by participants on analytical applications.

Participants have to meet a minimum attendance rate of 75% and have to complete all assessment(s) required by the course. Only upon meeting the minimum attendance and passing the assessment will participants be issued a Certificate of Completion.

Participants who fail the assessment will be given a chance for re-assessment at a fee of SGD100.00 (excluding prevailing GST). Each participant is allowed 1 re-assessment. The re-assessment has to be taken within 7 calendar days from the end of the course date.  It will be held on a weekday specified by SMU Academy and conducted during office hours. Please note that re-assessment fees are not supported by SSG Funding.

Participants who meet the minimum attendance rate but do not achieve a pass for the assessment will be issued a Certificate of Participation.

SMU will provide laptops pre-loaded with analytics software to all course participants.