Introduction to Quantitative Risk Analysis

taught by Huybert Groenendaal
and Greg Nolder

Brief Description:

This course will cover the most important principles, techniques and tools used in modeling in Quantitative Risk Analysis.

Instructor(s):
Level: intermediate

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 indcluding, but not limited to, finance, business development, economics, operations, engineering, six sigma, project risk analysis, marketing, epidemiology and microbiology.

Dates:
September 21, 2012 to October 19, 2012April 12, 2013 to May 10, 2013
risk Click here to be reminded of future sessions of this course.

Registration:
Please read the syllabus tab, noting the prerequisites, text and software requirements.

Register Online -$499
Register Online -$399 (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.

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. Multiple course registrations may be entitled to tuition discounts; read more.

Share This :

Introduction to Quantitative Risk Analysis

taught by Huybert Groenendaal
and Greg Nolder

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 probability 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 a solid understanding of quantitative risk analysis.

The course will also familiarize participants with risk analysis modeling environments in Excel (course participants can use ModelRisk from Vose Software, @RISK from Palisade, or Crystal Ball from Oracle), but the lessons and techniques apply equally well to other modeling environments). The course will also cover common mistakes made when doing quantitative risk analysis and how to avoid them.

This course is a core requirement or elective in the following Program(s) in Analytics and Statistical Studies (PASS):

• Business Analytics

• Engineering Statistics

• Environmental Science

Prerequisite(s):

If you are unclear as to whether you have mastered the requirements, try these placement tests here.

All models are developed using Excel, and the following Excel Monte Carlo add-ins: ModelRisk, @RISK and Crystal Ball. It is therefore essential that all participants be reasonably proficient in Excel, including the use of Excel functions.

Course Program:

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, @RISK, Crystal Ball and Excel
  • Brief tutorial on ModelRisk, @RISK, and Crystal Ball
  • 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

HOMEWORK:

Homework in this course consists of short answer questions to test concepts, guided data analysis problems using software, and guided data modeling problems using software.

Organization of the Course:

This course takes place over the internet at the Institute for 4 weeks. 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 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, work through exercises, and submit answers. Discussion among participants is encouraged. The instructor will provide answers and comments, and at the end of the week, you will receive individual feedback on your homework answers.

Credit:
Students come to the Institute for a variety of reasons. As you begin the course, you will be asked to specify your category:

1. You may be interested only in learning the material presented, and not be concerned with grades or a record of completion.
2. You may be enrolled in PASS (Programs in Analytics and Statistical Studies) that requires demonstration of proficiency in the subject, in which case your work will be assessed for a grade.
3. You may require a "Record of Course Completion," along with professional development credit in the form of Continuing Education Units (CEU's).  For those successfully completing the course, 5.0 CEU's and a record of course completion will be issued by The Institute, upon request.

Course Text:

Course participants will be provided with weekly digital reading material, as well as the required course text.   Depending on the preferred Monte Carlo simulation Excel add-in, the following three texts can be used:

1. For ModelRisk, the text is freely available at http://www.vosesoftware.com/vosesoftware/ModelRiskHelp/
2. For @RISK, the course text is ModelAssist for @RISK, which is freely available at http://www.epixanalytics.com/ModelAssist.html
3. For Crystal Ball, the course text is ModelAssist for Crystal Ball, which is freely available at http://www.epixanalytics.com/ModelAssist.html

Note that this training package/online book is separate from the course software packages (see note about ModelRisk, @RISK and Crystal Ball below). There is also an optional recommended text, for those needing to retain a reference book after the course: Risk Analysis: A Quantitiative Guide by David Vose, from Wiley. 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:

Assignments in this course will require the use of spreadsheet-based Monte Carlo simulation software. Course illustrations and homework assignments will use ModelRisk, @RISK and Crystal Ball. Illustrations and model homework answers will be available for these three programs, but the instructors will be able to answer questions about all three packages. ModelRisk, @Risk, and Crystal Ball will be made available to course participants at no charge - download instructions and a limited time free demo license will be provided to all course participants at the start of the course.

Register Now

Yes, I want to register for:

Introduction to Quantitative Risk Analysis

taught by Huybert Groenendaal
and Greg Nolder

Instructor(s):
Dates:
September 21, 2012 to October 19, 2012April 12, 2013 to May 10, 2013
Course Fee: $499
Academic Rate: $399

Before registering, please read the syllabus tab, noting the prerequisites, text and software requirements. When you click the register button, you will be taken to our secure transaction page.

I am affiliated with an academic institution
I am not affiliated with an academic institution