logo.gif The leading source for professional development COURSES in statistics
 ÖÐÎÄ Course Login
Home > Our Courses >



Introduction to Quantitative Risk Analysis

Dr. Huybert Groenendaal

Aim of Course:

This course will cover the most important principles, techniques and tools in Quantitative Risk Analysis. The focus of the course is on how to conduct accurate and effective risk analyses, including framing a risk analysis problem, best practices of risk modeling, selecting the appropriate distribution, using data and expert opinion, and presenting risk analysis results. In addition, the course will cover an introduction to probability and statistics theory and various stochastic processes, which is critically important to provide course participants with a solid understanding of quantitative risk analysis.

The course will also get the participants comfortable with risk analysis modeling environments (in this case ModelRisk with Excel, but the lessons and techniques apply equally well to other modeling environments). The course will finally also cover common mistakes and how to prevent making them.

Who Should Take This Course:

Anyone in business, government and science with an interest in quantitative risk analysis such as professionals needing to perform quantitative risk analysis in areas not limited to for example finance, business development, economics, operations, engineering, six sigma, project risk analysis, marketing, epidemiology and microbiology.

For those enrolled in a Program of Advanced Statistical Studies, this is a required or elective course in the following Programs:

  • Data Mining - elective
  • Statistics in Business & Marketing - elective

Course Program:

The course is structured as follows

SESSION 1: Introduction to Risk Analysis
  • Core ideas of risk analysis
  • Going from data to knowledge to a decision-making tool
  • Introduction to statistical descriptors
    • Mean, mode, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, percentiles
  • Probability concepts
SESSION 2: Probability Theory
  • Graphical representations of risk events: Venn diagrams, fault trees and event trees
  • Introduction to risk modeling
    • Monte Carlo simulation, ModelRisk and Excel
    • Brief tutorial on ModelRisk
    • Calculation vs. simulation - the pros and cons of Monte Carlo
SESSION 3: Building Risk Analysis Models
  • Most commonly used probability distributions
  • Good practices in risk modeling
  • Common mistakes and how to prevent them
SESSION 4: Presenting Results
  • Typical risk analysis results, their presentation and interpretation
  • Example quantitative risk analyses, including:
  • Project costs risk analysis
    • Engineering
    • Marketing
    • Operations
    • Financial risk analysis
    • Health and Epidemiology

The Instructor:

Dr. Huybert Groenendaal is a Partner at Vose Consulting. For over two decades, Vose Consulting has provided clients worldwide with the highest quality risk analysis techniques and methods. Dr. Groenendaal helps and consults clients in industry and government on projects that include financial investment evaluations, project risk analysis, forecasting, operations, transportation logistics, epidemiology and more. A list of past experience and clients of Vose Consulting can be found here. Dr. Groenendaal also organizes and teaches "Quantitative Risk Analysis", "Project Risk Analysis", and "Corporate Risk Analysis" courses and workshops worldwide and has taught on risk analysis in the executive MBA program of the University of Texas at Dallas.

Organization of the Course:

The course takes place over the internet, at statistics.com. During each course week, you participate at times of your own choosing - there are no set times when you must be online. Course participants will be given access to a private discussion board. In class discussions led by the instructor, you can post questions, seek clarification, and interact with your fellow students and the instructor. The course is scheduled to take place over 4 weeks, and typically requires 15 hours per week. At the beginning of each week, you receive the relevant material, in addition to answers to exercises from the previous session. During the week, you are expected to go over the course materials and work through exercises. Discussion among participants is encouraged. The instructor will provide answers and comments.

Certificates and Grades:

You may be interested only in learning the material presented, and not be concerned with grades or certificates. Or you may be enrolled in a statistics.com Program in Advanced Statistical Studies that requires demonstration of proficiency in the subject, in which case your work will be assessed for purposes of issuing a grade. Or you may require only a "Certificate of Course Completion," along with professional development credit in the form of Continuing Education Units (CEU's). As you begin the class, you will be asked to specify your category.

Credit:

This course offers continuing education units (CEU's). For those successfully completing the course (generally this means marks of 50% or better on the homework), 5.0 CEU's and a certificate will be issued by statistics.com, upon request.

Dates:

Apr. 9 - May. 7, 2010
Oct. 1 - Oct. 29, 2010
Click here to be notified of future course offerings.

Participants gain access to the online materials on the first day of the course, and typically spend about 15 hours per week (at their convenience). You retain full access to course materials, including discussion board, for two weeks after the course closing date.

Level:

novice/intermediate

Prerequisite:

All models are developed using Excel and ModelRisk. It is therefore essential that all participants are reasonably proficient in Excel. Furthermore, some basic understanding of probability is required, akin to the "Basic Concepts" course.

Course Text:

Course participants will be provided with weekly digital reading material, as well as the required course text. The text is actually a risk analysis training and reference software package with videos, example models, quizzes and which is part of the ModelRisk help file. There is an online version of help file available here. If you have any installation problems, please email info {at} vosesoftware.com. The following text is highly recommended as an additional resource. It will give the reader more in-depth understanding of the material: Risk Analysis: A Quantitative Guide, 3rd Edition by David Vose, from Wiley. The new edition has 735 pages, more than 150 example models in Excel and more than 400 illustrations. The book comes with a complimentary 90-day license of ModelRisk for Insurance and Finance. Wiley typically offers statistics.com customers up to 15% discount on this book (and all other statistics titles): enter the code aff15 in the Promotion Code field when prompted during checkout and click the Apply Discount button. (If you are located in Asia, the web procedure for your location may not accept this discount -- try calling your regional Wiley representative.)

Software:

Course illustrations and homework assignments will use ModelRisk, risk analysis and simulation Excel add-in from Vose Software. Download instructions and a limited time free demo license of ModelRisk will be provided to all course participants at the start of the course.

Registration:

Register Online - $469
Register Online (academic) - $369 (you must be affiliated with a college, university or high school)

Add $50 service fee if you require a prior invoice, or if you need to submit a purchase order or voucher, pay by wire transfer or EFT, or refund and reprocess a prior payment. Please use this printed registration form, for these and other special orders.

Note: Courses may fill up at any time and registrations are processed in the order in which they are received. Your registration will be confirmed for the first available course date, unless you specify otherwise.