Description: The December 2013/January 2014 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: The February/March 2016 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: The August/September 2013 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: As actuaries, we’re trained to see patterns in numbers and to design solutions that mitigate risk. But I can tell you from experience that while quantitative analysis and modeling are critical actuarial tools, looking at the numbers alone can lead to insurance products that don’t succeed in the real world the way the math says they “should.” With new digital technologies, we have more data at our fingertips than ever before, but I believe it’s equally as important to bring qualitative research methodologies into your product development process if you want to design solutions that meet real needs in the market. In this article, Amanda Turcotte shares what happens when qualitative research is neglected or ignored, what happens when you incorporate it into the product design process, and how to implement qualitative research practices in your organization.

Description: The August/September 2015 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: The article describes principles for optimal sub-tasking of a project goal. Two experiments each one comparing different approaches are presented. A summary of principles for optimal goal setting presents seven key points: i)levels of outcome goals should be recognizable and lack ambiguity; ii) each subtask should be atomic, i.e. not be capable of being broken up into further subtasks, iii) the subtasks should be uniform, lacking ambiguity, so that any new trainee could master it without the need for further guidance; iv) each subtask should be attainable in a reasonable amount of time; v) mentor feedback should be provided during the initial stages of learning or training; vi) upon mastery of each subtask trainees should be encouraged to maximize their overall score; vii) after mastery of individual subtasks, while attempting to maximize scores, trainees should be provided with a mixture of easy, intermediate, and difficult tasks.

Description: Part 3 of a 3 part series on Strategic Planning Issues. This document contains material from a speech given on June 17, 1997, in Singapore by Tom Kelly, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of LIMRA International, at a LOMA/LIMRA Strategic Issues Conference.

Description: The authors take up two questions: • How do I create my Personal Development Plan? • How will the Competency Framework tool help me design my future?

Description: Distribution’s Bird’s-Eye View of the Life Combo Marketplace

Description: The August/September 2014 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.