# Intermediate Decision Support Analytics Course Canonical URL: ## Overview Enhance your skills for improving financial and performance decision-making. Learn more detailed methods of collecting and analyzing information in decision support work. Ensure that information used as evidence is strong, defensible, and of high quality. Gain insight into how to think about your work and use a conceptual overview to guide you in making decisions about conducting that work. Receive specific suggestions and examples of how to utilize analytical techniques more effectively. This course contains practical case exercises that can be completed using Microsoft Excel. If available, please bring a laptop containing Excel software to class with you. If you do not have access to a laptop or you do not have a basic knowledge of Excel, the exercises can be completed using a hand calculator. ## What you'll learn - Explain the various purposes of analyses in decision support work. - Describe specific analytic methodologies in the context of the five-step analytical process. - Select appropriate types of methodology, given specific problems and issues drawn from current situations in the federal program, budget, and financial management world. - Apply various types of analytical methods to specific decision support issues. - Identify key pitfalls and limitations for the selected methods, and understand how to avoid them or minimize their effects. - Recommend alternatives and interventions, based on analysis, to better utilize resources and improve mission effectiveness. ## Curriculum #### Module 1: Overview of Approach, Methods, and Principles - Learn the five-step structured approach for conducting analysis. - Understand the linkage between analytical methods and management decisions. - Explore key principles of data appropriateness and sufficiency. - Review performance measurement frameworks and how they support decision-making. #### Module 2: Planning: Conducting Cost-Benefit and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis - Distinguish between cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness methods and their uses. - Apply analysis to federal laws, strategic planning, budgeting, and capital investments. - Learn step-by-step procedures for identifying, evaluating, and comparing alternatives. - Conduct sensitivity and risk analysis to support planning decisions. #### Module 3: Program and Budget Execution: Conducting Variance and Trend Analysis - Identify and monitor deviations from planned performance using variance analysis. - Use trend analysis to detect patterns and shifts over time. - Create run charts and control charts for operational monitoring. - Diagnose causes of problems using root cause analysis tools like radar charts and flow diagrams. #### Module 4: Assessing Results: Conducting Program Results and Content Analysis - Evaluate program performance using qualitative and quantitative measures. - Understand outcome, output, and efficiency metrics in the context of strategic goals. - Use content analysis to organize, categorize, and interpret complex textual information. - Apply Pareto analysis to identify key drivers of issues and prioritize solutions. #### Module 5: Final Knowledge Check and Wrap-Up - Review key concepts from all modules. - Assess understanding of analytical methods through knowledge checks. - Reflect on future challenges and opportunities for using decision support analytics. ## Schedule - Jul 27, 2026 – Jul 29, 2026 — Washington, DC - Sep 22, 2026 – Sep 24, 2026 — Washington, DC - Nov 2, 2026 – Nov 4, 2026 — Washington, DC ## Instructors ### Alan B. Robinson — Instructor Mr. Robinson is a seasoned legal and federal employment expert with over two decades of experience. He recently retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, where he spent 11 years as Deputy Director/Director for the Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity (ODEO) and 8 years as Chief of Employee and Labor Relations. In these roles, he provided extensive guidance on federal employment matters, showcasing his deep expertise in labor relations and diversity initiatives. A graduate of the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Government, Mr. Robinson earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Before his federal service, he built a robust legal career, starting as a law clerk for the Baltimore City Orphan’s Court, followed by 10 years as a civil defense litigator with a D.C. law firm, and later operating his own solo practice for 5 years. His private practice focused on representing federal agencies, employees, municipalities, and private entities in employment-related cases before the EEOC, Merit Systems Protection Board, and various courts. Currently, Mr. Robinson shares his wealth of knowledge as an adjunct instructor with the Graduate School USA and serves as a registered arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). His extensive background in law, federal employment, and diversity makes him a valuable resource in his field. ### Kent Miller — Instructor Kent D. Miller, Jr., MBA, CDFM-A, is a highly accomplished financial management expert and educator with over 40 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. A retired U.S. Army officer, Kent has held leadership roles such as Controller/CFO for the U.S. Army Missile Command and Program Manager/Financial Analyst for the Assistant Secretary of the Army. His expertise spans budgeting, cost analysis, managerial accounting, and financial systems implementation. Notably, he managed a $9 billion organization, supervised a financial staff of 150, and developed funding requirements and congressional testimony for senior Army leadership. Kent’s career also includes consulting and training, where he has developed over 50 courses and taught more than 20,000 students from federal agencies and contractors. As an adjunct instructor at Graduate School USA since 2005, Kent specializes in financial management training for federal employees. His courses cover a wide range of topics, including appropriations law, budget formulation and execution, and performance-based budgeting. Kent’s teaching is informed by his extensive experience in planning, programming, and budgeting, as well as his work in reengineering processes to achieve cost savings. He is also a Certified Defense Financial Manager with Acquisition Specialty (CDFM-A) and has been recognized for his leadership in professional organizations such as the Society of Defense Financial Management and the Association of Government Accountants. ### Alan McCain — Curriculum Program Manager Alan McCain is a retired combat veteran who served as both an Air Force enlisted member and a Navy officer. He brings over 30 years of experience spanning federal and commercial budgeting, auditing, programming, operations, global logistics support, supply chain and inventory management, as well as major IT acquisition. He possesses extensive, hands-on budget and audit experience across Federal, State, and Local government operations, including work within the Executive Office of the President and the Departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Education, as well as the Office of the Mayor of Washington, D.C., among others. Alan’s consulting background includes strategic planning and business development with the District of Columbia government, multiple federal agencies, Lockheed Martin, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a Certified Government/Defense Financial Manager (CGFM/DFM), holds a Teaching Certification from Harvard University’s Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and earned an Executive MBA in International Business from The George Washington University. ## Pricing **Tuition:** $1199