Courses (71)
KCI provides applied management and professional development education in several disciplines. The extensive Portfolio of Seminars addresses a variety of business interests and needs. We provide various seminars and courses for public and in-house training. These courses are focused on contemporary topics, issues, and skills needed by many organizations. Our courses are designed to provide a broad understanding and clear application focus for all participants.
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KCI On-line Courses (0)
KCI offers a series of on-line courses with very experienced professionals and educators to facilitate the best knowledge transfer of real-life experiences. The courses offer tremendous insights into contemporary approaches to the areas of your interest.
Course Experts (2)
Business Analysis (12)
Business analysis depends on the successful application of applying different types of analytics: financial, quantitative, and descriptive (qualitative).
KCI's courses are focused upon building the skills necessary to operating within an organization utilizing any of one of these skills.
Information Technology (IT) (20)
Today's Information Technology (IT) and Management Information Systems (MIS) environments have to address the management of the entire organization's environment as a collection of interacting automated/manual information systems. These systems are so critical to the "digital" organization that KCI has a series of courses designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the key elements needed to manage IT or MIS.
Some of these offerings can be packaged into a designed certification program for your organization.
Process Management (6)
Process performance and improvement are two keys in improving an organizations's operations. They form the basis of efficiently and effectively delivery of both product and service to customers. Various approaches are used to accomplish focus on process performance and improvement. Somoe of the areas include: process analytics, process modeling and mapping techniques, process management and project organization.
KCI's course offerings provide the understanding which approaches provide the foundation for developing, implementing or improving an organizations' business processes and its overall performance.
Enterprise Performance Management (4)
Performance of the organization depends on setting direction and then executing to meet that direction. Organization or enterprise performance management includes the skills an disciplines you need to do both. Strategic business thinking is required to enable an organization to properly understand, assess, and make decisions on both direction and execution. Additionally major usage of technology, skills and policies will impact the organizational performance.
Auditing and Risk Management (3)
Auditing and risk management is a very critical element of maintaining today's organization. In the ever-changing business environment, encountering risk is inevitable. The ability to manage these increasingly significant risks now represent the difference between a thriving organization and one that is struggling to deal with the challenges facing it.
KCI offers different courses focusing on practical forms of auditing and risk management approaches.
Architecture (22)
Understanding the structure of an organization today means understanding the relationships between the various elements of the organization, its partners, or other businesses. Each organization utilizes different viewpoints that are part of the normal operations of running the organization. Looking at it from an architectural perspective, it may include: the business environment, the perceived market needs, product / service architecture, the process architecture, and supporting architectures.
KCI courses address builiding the understanding of how to integrate these architectural perspectives.
Neural Net Analytics for Managers and Analysts
Neural nets and related AI analytics of machine learning are an important emerging tool today. There are tools available today that provide for developing a neural net solution from the extract, transform and load stage through the model building stage and finally ending with the running and solution presentation stage. Many of the tool suites require data scientist professionals to develop the application. However, several tools have emerged that simplify the use of neural nets so a manger can more easily take advantage of their value without the intervention of a specialist.Neural nets provide an alternative view of factors (called features in NN parlance) that influence some single objective value or grouping of values. With a neural net you get predictive results based on past factors.
The KCI preferred tool for easy neural net analysis, analytics and management support is the Predictor and Classifier tools available as part of the AI Trilogy suite from Ward Systems Group. These are developed, tested and simple neural nets that can be used for many of the analytical needs in an organization.
AI Trilogy is a basic neural net modeling management tool that provides managers and analysts with entry into the world of neural need application without the need to be a coder. The Predictor and Classifier nets use an excel spreadsheet as input. Most of the time the data is extracted from operational or other systems, cleaned and formatted for a neural net input and then used to train the net. Neural nets can show bias based on the data used to train them. Prediction and classification come from adding hypothetical feature values and observing the result generated based on the training set.
Like business analytics tools, neural net tools require focused workflows to get the most use out of them. KCI provides several workflows for key types of analysis typical of managers today.
Using AI Trilogy
AI Trilogy solutions can be applied from various perspectives, for example, at a high level (understanding the influence of external factors such as social trends on your strategies) or at a more detailed level (comparing a neural net analysis of process performance factors with a statistical approach).
Here are three of the solutions that most organizations seek on a regular basis. Each of these AI Trilogy insights are used to guide the user by providing the neural net steps and features needed by following easy to use workflows.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are hot topics today. Along with big data and analytics in general these present a daunting challenge to management. Just how much of AI do you need? Should it be done with big data? Does it need a billion rows of data? Can you really use the 100+ machine learning algorithms out there? Do you have a skilled staff, including data scientists, to identify which issues are best for you to address? Can your managers use these technologies to help them manage better?
Organizations require an answer to these types of questions when considering moving into these technologies. However, much of this, but not all, is overkill for many organizations. Managers, analysts and consultants need a basic and core set of analytics that they can apply to a variety of problems and opportunities in an organization. Along with a core set of analytics, a rational and realistic plan should be in place to realize the value and benefits from change efforts.
Some key insights about AI
A little background here helps. There are 6 basic type of artificial intelligence technologies that all the methods can be grouped under:
- Statistical Machine Learning
- Simple Predictive Neural Nets
- Deep Learning
- Expert Systems
- Decision predictive techniques
- Knowledge leverage
- Avoid launching enterprise wide project. Past experience with very new technologies shows this is dangerous and fraught with failures. Indications are that complex problems are still difficult to solve with deep learning neural nets and have led to a number of failures. Small projects on the other hand have a high degree of success.
- Have a clear objective for each project
- Develop an AI risk profile for your AI portfolio
- Grow your skills as you increase your AI use
- Get good help and make sure there is knowledge transfer
- Professional team training in AI and ML
- On the job training and mentoring for project teams
- Tool selection and matching to need
- Focus on AI requirements and plan
- AI Risk analysis
- Knowledge transfer
Business Analysis and Modeling Certification:
There are various types of business analysis that can be used to aid in decision-making. An organization may want to examine a number of techniques that will enhance their over-all decision-making abilities. Sometimes the analysis leads to a digital solution and sometimes to a change in the structure of the business. This certification is designed to assist someone to be versed in these areas:
- Essential Data Analysis - Quantitative Methods for Business *
- Advanced Quantitative Methods (regression, correlation, sensitivity analysis) * *
- Core Methods of Business Analysis – Financial, Quantitative and Descriptive Analysis *
- Decision analysis (decision tables, decision trees, influence diagrams)
- Business modeling and Linear programming
- Industrial Dynamics (feedback models for business)
- Operations research for business
Business analysts typically use analytic techniques to improve business performance. Effective business analysis depends on successful application of three different types of analytics: financial, quantitative and descriptive.
Real advantage comes from applying these analysis techniques to external and strategic interests. In these applications, insights from analysis form the basis for the development of requirements for process change, acquisition or development of applications, package deployment or services articulation.
Analytic techniques are also used for support of decisions in business organizations. They determine the response to the business ecosystem in terms of opportunity and threat neutralization. Opportunities here include merger, acquisition, divestiture, privatization, consolidation, and outsourcing. Analytic methods are important for realizing the opportune results of restructuring efforts.
The implications of business analysis often lead to the assessment of change that impacts the organization. Business analysis also includes topics of operational due diligence, performance measurement, knowledge management, product architecture, process architecture, competitive intelligence, and business intelligence.
In summary, business analytics are a combination of various strategies, techniques, methods, and tools used to improve the organization’s or enterprise's performance. Our professional courses in business analytics can help you identify the predictive and diagnostic analysis you need to undertake to understand your current and future business problems and opportunities.
Business Systems Certification:
Developing the digitized part of the organization requires an understanding of the structure of the business (the architecture) and the digital capability that can enable superior performance. The business systems certification is intended to provide the skills that bridge the linkage between the operational people part of the business and the digital part of the business.
- Business Requirements Analysis *
- Business Systems Analysis *
- Business Systems Development I *
- Business Systems Development II *
- Enterprise Architecture and Business Modeling
- Cloud Computing – The Business View
- Adding Business Value through SaaS
- Enterprise Business Data Management (documents, signals, data field analysis)
Andrew J. (AJ) Walters is the V.P. of Delivery Services for Information By Design, LLC.
He was an Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Technology, College of Technology, Purdue University where he taught courses in network technologies, systems integration, application development and object-oriented programming. Prior to joining the Purdue faculty, AJ. was Senior Manager of Applications Support and Integration for Honeywell Aerospace where he was responsible for applications and technology support for the Global Hardware Product Group portfolio of applications that serviced the distribution, engineering, manufacturing, and business support functional areas.
Mr. Miller is a senior instructor with Knowledge Consultants, Inc. and has over 30 years of IT experience primarily in banking, securities and insurance as well as experience in retail, telecommunication and pharmaceutical industries. He started in his career computer operations, programming and systems design, and then moving on to consulting roles in enterprise architecture and business intelligence. Michael’s previous consulting roles include National Director of Enterprise Architecture and Business Intelligence, Executive Consultant CRM COE, and Principal - Management Consultant.
He holds four master degrees (Business Administration, Project Management, Telecommunications Management and Information Systems Management) and has done over two years of doctoral work in Knowledge Management. He is a board member of the Data Management Association – Chicago Chapter, a Certified Business Process Management Professional (ABPMP) and a Certified TOGAF Enterprise Architect. He is presently a Global Information Architect for a major global bank.
Insight into the business
Business analysis depends on successful application of three different types of analytics, financial, quantitative and descriptive. These three legs of the analysis triangle provide a guideline to successful analysis. Business analysis is process and operational focused and hence has an internal focus. These techniques may also be applied to an external view such as for merger, acquisition, divestiture, privatization, consolidation and outsourcing. Business analysis also leads to the development of requirements for process change, application acquisition (application development, package deployment or services articulation) and assessment of change impact. Business analysis also includes topics of operational due diligence, performance measurement, knowledge management, product architecture, process architecture, competitive intelligence and business intelligence.
KCI offers service that include analysis of operations, product architecture analysis for platform identification, requirements development for business systems as well as computer applications and competitive intelligence capability development.
- Business Intelligence
- Data analysis and analytics with KPIs, KRIs and KIIs
- Econometrics and environmental scanning
- Simulation for processes and problem solving
- Performance Management
IT Management Certification:
These courses are designed for the individual whose career path is focused on Information Technology management. Courses cover both the internal IT perspective and the external IT perspective focusing on the alignment with the business needs and direction.
- Strategic IT manager (focuses on the business link and IT) *
- Effective IT management (focuses on the functions and services of IT) *
- Strategic IT Planning *
- Effective data management (documents, signals, data field analysis)
- Enterprise Architecture and Business Modeling
- Cyber forensics and security
- Metadata management
- Technology Forecasting for business and IT
- IT Performance Management
- Management Information Systems
- Change Management for Information Technology
A Hands On Approach
Description:
Scorecard approaches have received considerable attention as a means to assess both operational and strategic performance of an organization. The balanced scorecard approach has had very good reception and success in assisting management with a way to improve the value to shareholders through an organized view of measures in the enterprise. Further, the approach connects in a logical manner to the strategic needs and direction of the enterprise. Understanding strategic impact is a key to the successful use of scorecards.
This course includes some background on various scorecard approaches used in the past and present. The balanced scorecard approach is covered in considerable detail as the current scorecarding technique to gain widespread use and global success. Finally, the economy is changing in many ways and the balanced scorecard approach must change with it to be relevant. This course also introduces the attendee to the potential changes that may happen in the very near future.
The key difference in this course and others on balanced scorecard is that there are sample workshop type implementations using Excel and other tools to indicate the issues in the use and automation of scorecard capabilities and constructing simple scorecard dashboards.
Duration: 4 days
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How to build an Effective Transfer of Knowledge
Description:
Knowledge is of little value if it ‘walks out the door’. To be effective it must be transferred from the source to the destination. The source can be consultants, the web, YouTube videos, seminars, conferences and professional education courses. The most difficult is the transfer of knowledge from an expert to someone in an organization. Effective use is made possible by understanding the knowledge process and connecting the result of knowledge filtering to the execution processes of the organization.
Some of the key steps to successful knowledge transfer and use include:
- Identifying and capturing essential knowledge
- Sorting out the knowledge into categories for future use
- Positioning knowledge at the point of use
- Enabling the transfer through careful mentoring
These steps help to build the solid foundation for knowledge transfer.
Duration: 3 days
Financial, Quantitative and Descriptive Analysis
Description:
Business analysis depends on successful application of three different types of analytics, financial, quantitative and descriptive. These three legs of the analysis triangle provide a guideline to successful analysis. Business analysis is process and operational focused and hence has an internal focus. These techniques may also be applied to an external view such as for merger, acquisition, divestiture, privatization, consolidation and outsourcing. Business analysis also leads to the development of requirements for process change, application acquisition (application development, package deployment or services articulation) and assessment of change impact. Business analysis also includes topics of operational due diligence, performance measurement, knowledge management, product architecture, process architecture, competitive intelligence and business intelligence.
Duration: 4 days
Implementing Knowledge Management Systems
Description:
This course provides participants the basic tools necessary to assess, plan and implement a knowledge management capability in an enterprise. The techniques described in the course are useful for bridging the gap between expectations and reality, providing a means to leverage existing knowledge efforts and increase value by focusing the efforts on projects with quick payback. Tools and technology considerations provide an opportunity for IT excellence in the management and delivery of knowledge to users.
Duration: 3 days
What Managers need to Know
Description:
Managers today are struggling with the ideas of knowledge management, the value of knowledge management and how to achieve effective knowledge transfer. Being able to effectively direct and manage the knowledge effort requires at least a basic understanding of the approach, concept and issues with implementing a knowledge strategy. A core idea to knowledge management at this time is the use of the learning organization to evaluate and leverage the knowledge in an enterprise.
The ideas of knowledge repository and knowledge processes need exploration as well as knowledge process outsourcing. Here the value lies as well as who can benefit from the knowledge asset is also important. With these ideas a manager can prepare an effective knowledge management plan with proper business justification of the knowledge effort and a means of tracking results.
Many managers in an organization can benefit from this course if only to give some appreciation of the value of their knowledge in their organizations and how that knowledge fits with the rest of the enterprise.