Description: The Delphi method is a non-quantitative forecasting approach that is most useful when other forecasting techniques appear to have limited value. The Society of Actuaries (SOA) has had some impressive results from Delphi studies (even quoted in the Wall Street Journal for their uncanny accuracy on long-range predictions). Attend this session to learn about this effective, yet underutilized method of leveraging the wisdom of crowds.

Description: Process of building a predictive model and related considerations.

Description: A discussion on how the look of charts and graphs can affect comprehension of data.

Description: This session is a primer on how to apply Gestalt psychology to display quantitative information to improve neural receptiveness. While much of brain functioning is still a mystery to psychologists and neuroscientists, we do understand a great deal about which parts of the brain engage or disengage given visual cues. Actuaries are often tasked with presenting very technical information and are prone to focus more on the substance of numerical data rather than a pictorial presentation based on neural preferences. This presentation will discuss how to display quantitative information more effectively tailored to these preferences.

Description: Contrary to what you might infer from the article title, the author provides counterpoint from some data science skeptics and suggests Big Data sometimes leads to sloppy analysis.

Description: Actuarial tools now include both open and closed source software; both need a strong model governance framework to mitigate potential sources of model risk and external threats. This presentation will discuss how to develop, install and monitor a model governance framework to safeguard company modeling assets and intellectual capital.