Printed from: Society of Decision Professionals
  https://www.decisionprofessionals.com/
Print Page
Print

Certifications Offered

 

After becoming an SDP member, individuals may apply for certification as a decision analysis Associate, Practitioner, Lead Practitioner, or Fellow. SDP Certification is a rigorous, standardized process including competency level evaluation, assessment of experience, and (at levels beyond Associate) recommendations and review of industry involvement and published materials. If a member would like to apply for SDP Certification, please contact us to guide you through the process below:

There are four levels within the SDP's career ladder; Associate, Practitioner, Lead Practitioner, and Fellow. The levels are described across the following key areas:

  1. Process and Facilitative Leadership
  2. Decision Analysis and Modeling
  3. Creativity and Problem Solving
  4. Information Gathering and Value Assessment
  5. Education and Training
  6. Project Management
  7. Experience and Election Process

ASSOCIATE CERTIFICATION CATEGORY REQUIREMENTS

   Download the Associate certification level application HERE

    The Associate certification can be achieved, pending election by the SDP Certification Council, by at least one of the following:

    • Attendance at an in-house training programme on Decision Making/Decision Analysis
    • Completion of at least one Decision Making / Decision Analysis course in an undergraduate course
    • Completion of at least one Decision Making / Decision Analysis course in a post graduate programme
    • Completion of third-party training course(s) in Decision Analysis and / or Decision Quality and / or equivalent
    All training options need to be equivalent to 16 hours or more of training and cover a curriculum to match the elements identified in the criteria below

    In lieu of the training options, the applicant can demonstrate the skills gained on-the-job through practical experience (matching the criteria outlined below).

    Practitioner Certification Category Requirements

    Download the Practitioner certification level application HERE

    • Practitioners must be elected by 2 Lead Practitioners (or Fellows) in good standing and a customer
    • Practitioners must submit the three references to the Society
    • The recommenders will attest to the fact that the applicant fits the "Practitioner” description below.

    Lead Practitioner Certification Category Requirements

    Download the Lead Practitioner certification level application HERE

    • Lead Practitioners must be elected by 1 Fellow and 2 Lead Practitioners (or Fellows) in good standing
    • Lead Practitioners must submit the three references to the Society
    • The recommenders will attest to the fact that the applicant fits the "Lead Practitioner” description below

    Fellow Certification Category Requirements

      Download the Fellow certification level application HERE

    • Fellows must submit a letter to the Society demonstrating their qualifications
    • Fellows must be elected by three other fellows in good standing
    • The recommenders will attest to the fact that the applicant fits the "Fellow” description below

    How to apply for SDP Certification

    Please note that there is no fee for certification, it is a benefit of membership in the Society of Decision Professionals. There is no requirement for certification to be a member of the Society. Because of the effort by Society volunteers, certification can only be assessed for candidates who are members.

    For more information on how to apply, click HERE to download a pdf.

    The following is a description of the Associate, Practitioner and and Lead Practitioner along with links to the application forms. The Fellow designation follows thereafter.
    Criteria Associate
    		Practitioner Lead Practitioner
    Process and Facilitative Leadership
    Dimensions :
    • Effectiveness of application of decision support
    • Complexity of the problem
    • Planning for implementation of the decision
    		 "Has a working knowledge of how to frame and structure a decision problem.”
    This includes being able to:
    • Understand and articulate what makes a good quality decision.
    •  Understand the basics of decision processes, including framing, and generation of alternatives.

    "Has a working knowledge of how to frame and structure a decision problem.”
    This includes being able to:

    • Understand and articulate what makes a good quality decision.
    • Understand the basics of decision processes, including framing, and generation of alternatives.
    • Help a team identify the steps needed to implement a course of action.

    		 " Effective in leading team members and decision makers on engagements of high analytical and organizational complexity and uncertainty. Can also guide a team to solution even when there is a lack of clarity on what the frame is."
    This includes being able to:
    • Challenge both the team and decision makers to ensure they understand the implications of the frame they are setting.
    • Be an outstanding facilitator: even in highly charged situations participants should walk away with the feeling that the meeting they have attended was highly productive and have a clear sense of what the next steps are.
    • Capture the essence of the problem at hand; anticipate which processes will work best for each situation.
    • Help a team in planning for implementation during the process.
    Decision Analysis and Modelling
    Dimensions:
    • Application of structured analysis
    • Understanding of decision analysis, including how the theory fits with the theoretical foundations of other relevant subjects / disciplines e.g. finance, engineering.
    • Deriving and interpreting insights from the analysis
    • Quality assurance
    		 "Understands how to use simple structured decision-modelling tools to help gain agreement on which alternative to pursue." 
    This includes being able to:
    • Be aware of a variety of decision analytic techniques. 
    • Recognise the role of uncertainty plays in good decision making.
    • Interpret common decision analysis results and can draw key insights.
    		"Can independently carry out structured analysis on problems where standard or well know approaches are applicable."
    This includes being able to:
    • Know the fundamentals well enough to get help when needed i.e. understands the limitations of the various techniques and when they should not be applied.
    • Challenge the quality of the data.
    • Be able to spot if the analysis doesn't make sense (can perform quality assurance on own models).
    • Understand the results of the analysis and can draw key insights.
    		 "Can lead any modelling and decision analysis activity even when standard or well known approaches are not applicable i.e. can develop and use novel approaches."
    This includes being able to:
    • Show creativity in design and the ability to identify, find, work with and / or develop advanced techniques.
    • Direct and provide quality assurance in analysis of complex problems carried out by a multi-person team, including helping others formulate analyses, do sanity checks, and challenge assumptions (e.g., willing to challenge team members and decision makers to ensure they are making high quality decisions).
    • Derive insights, interpret them, and explain the process and results to senior decision makers.
    Creativity and Problem Solving
    Dimensions :
    • Creativity in approaching problems
    • Pro-activity in problem solving
    		 Not required
    		"Proactive problem solver in areas related to own technical and industry background."
    This includes being able to:
    • Develop creative solutions on engagements of medium complexity.
    • Consider problems and solutions with a systems mindset.
    		 "Develops or inspires teams to develop novel solutions to opportunities."
    This includes being able to:
    • Develops creative solutions on engagements of high complexity.
    • Translate skills into new areas of application outside of own technical and industry background.
    Information Gathering & Value Assessment
    Dimensions :
    • Integrity of information knowledge
    • Clarity of values, tradeoffs, and value metrics
    		 "Basic understanding of uncertainty and the value of information in decision making."
    This includes being able to:
    •  Understand how to reflect uncertainty in information assessments. 
    • Understand when additional information will add value in a cost-efficient manner. 
    • Recognize that biases and human behaviour can impact decisions.
    		"Is capable of leading information and value assessment sessions which have clearly defined information and values"
    This includes being able to:
    • Account for biases and understand information structures
    • Direct the assessment around the main drivers of value and uncertainty
    • Clarify distinctions
    • Help decision makers understand the values & metrics and make clear tradeoffs among them
    		 "As well as leading information and value assessment sessions, is capable of judging the quality of information, uncertainty and resulting value, and quickly identifying any underlying drivers"
    This includes being able to:
    • Identify hidden issues and unclear motivations
    • Recognise when information quality is poor or biased, provide trustworthy guidance about why the information is poor and help teams to re-assess or re-calibrate that information
    • Provide guidance to resolve complex tradeoffs among values (e.g. financial and non-financial, quantitative and qualitative, direct and indirect)
    Education and Training
    Dimensions :
    • Training and mentoring of others
    • Own expertise and experience
    		 Not required
    		"Is keen to improve own and others decision analysis skills."
    This includes being able to:
    • Train newcomers in the basics of the profession.
    • Be open to learning and experimenting with innovations to the tools and process.
    		 "Is improving the decision making capabilities of decision practitioners, project teams and decision makers."
    This includes being able to:
    • Train and lead practitioners in the advanced topics of the field.
    • Coach and mentor more junior members of profession.
    • Introduce the profession into new application areas by raising awareness with decision makers and project teams.
    • Train decision makers and project leaders on the principles of decision quality and decision analysis.
    • Develops and adjusts tools and concepts to fit new practice areas.
    Project Management
    Dimensions :
    • Understanding of project management concepts
    • Application of project management concepts
    		 Not required
    		"Is comfortable operating within the requirements of a project and proactive in understanding his/her role."
    This includes being able to:
    • Understand the basics of project management concepts, including managing people, time, money, and scope.
    • Be supportive of others and communicates well.
    		 "Can successfully design, supervise, and lead a large project or several small projects concurrently."
    This includes being able to:
    • Have a deep understanding and experience of project management concepts.
    • Earn the trust and loyalty and inspires others to greater performance.
    Education, Experience and Election Process The Associate certification can be achieved by at least one of the following: 
    • Attendance at an in-house training programme on Decision Making/Decision Analysis
    • Completion of at least one Decision Making / Decision Analysis course in an undergraduate course
    • Completion of at least oneDecision Making / Decision Analysis course in a post graduate programme
    • Completion of third-party training course(s) in Decision Analysis and / or Decision Quality and / or equivalent

    All training options need to be equivalent to 16 hours or more of training and cover a curriculum to match the elements identified in the criteria below.

    In lieu of the training options, the applicant can demonstrate the skills gained on-the-job through practical experience (again these should match the criteria above).
    		Graduate in a technical/business subject including a decision analysis component or formal decision analysis training. At least 1 year full-time equivalent experience of applying Decision Analysis.
    Elected by 2 Lead Practitioners or Fellows and a customer of their services.    		 Same as Practitioner requirement plus evidence of continuing learning. This may be self-study, conference attendance, or additional courses in decision analysis or closely related areas. At least 3 years full-time equivalent experience of applying Decision Analysis
    Elected by 3 Lead Practitioners or Fellows, with at least one Fellow, and a customer of



    Fellows

    As well as the "Practitioner" and "Lead Practitioner" designations the society will also include "Fellow" level membership. A Fellow, in addition to meeting all the Lead Practitioner requirements, will also need to accumulate enough experience, be elected by other fellows, be a role model for the society's members, and help improve the decision analysis practice. So, to be designated as fellow, members need to:

    Have 5 FTE Experience & Are Elected by Fellows

    Fellows need at least 5 years full-time equivalent experience in applying Decision Analysis. They need to be elected by at least three other fellows.

    Be Role Models

    Fellows need to be role models for members of the society - with other members wanting to emulate their decision analysis capabilities. Examples of what it means to be a role model include:

    • Capable of walking into any situation, even in the most destructive of meetings, taking hold of the meeting and resolving the issues
    • Considered the DA subject matter expert among their colleagues
    • Widely respected by the society's members for their knowledge and experience

    Help Improving the Practice

    Fellows need to help undertake activities that will improve the decision analysis practice. Examples of how they may improve the practice include:

    • Developing and cascading new approaches, tools, and methods to improve the application of DA.
    • Leading communities of practice to share best practice between organizations.
    • Actively coaching and mentoring all levels of the profession to create the society's next generation.
    • Raising the professional standards of the profession.
    • Participating in external events and conferences to promote the profession

     


All Content Rights Reserved , Society of Decision Professionals
Captavi - SaaS CMS Platform ©