Source: https://akholi.com/outsourcing-2026-agentic-ai-tier-1-banks/study-data/part-4-c015/
Author: Phil Hatch
Publisher: Akholi

What professional certifications do you have?

Study Data · Part 4 · Indicator Deep-Dive Analysis

# What professional certifications do you have?

Indicator C015 · By Phil Hatch · Akholi · October 9, 2026

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## On this page

19 sectionsIndicator SpecificationSummary of FindingsDistribution of ResponsesDescriptive Statistics by SegmentTests of Difference Between SegmentsAssociation with Cancellation RateAssociation with Customer SatisfactionAssociation with the Engagement Indicator MeanAssociation with Intent to LeaveComparison of Associations Across the Four MeasuresClustering and Effective Sample SizeEquivalence Tests of Null ResultsRobustness ChecksMeasure Independence and Part-Whole CorrectionComparison with the Study NormInterpretation of the DataLimitationsDefinitionsSources and Provenance

## Indicator Specification

Table 1. Indicator specificationTable

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Indicator code | C015 |
| Question as asked | What professional certifications do you have? |
| Failure category | Not one of the 100 rated indicators |
| Place in the survey | Respondent Demographics > 1.2 Experience and Expertise > Credentials |
| Indicator class | Respondent level |
| Indicator type | Categorical |
| Response scale | Levels: None, Six Sigma Green Belt, ITIL Foundation, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, PMP, ITIL, PMP, Scrum Master, PMP, Six Sigma Black Belt, PMP, MBA, PMP, ITIL Expert, PgMP, MBA |
| Answering base | 793 of 850 respondents gave one of the listed answers, across 150 of 150 engagements. None answered I do not know or I prefer to not answer |
| Non-answers | I do not know 0, I prefer to not answer 0, blank 57 |

## Summary of Findings

Table 2. Key results: association of the indicator with the four study measuresTable

| Measure | Effect size | n | Value | p |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cancellation rate | Omega squared, 0 or 1 flag | 99 engagements | 0.013 | 0.235 |
| Customer satisfaction | Omega squared | 50 engagements | −0.020 | 0.992 |
| Engagement indicator mean | Omega squared | 99 engagements | 0.007 | 0.211 |
| Intent to leave | Omega squared | 99 engagements | 0.011 | 0.346 |

Of the 850 respondents, 793 answered the question. None, a listed answer, was the most frequent (236, 29.76%), followed by Six Sigma Green Belt (127), ITIL Foundation (126) and AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (124). Each answer was given by respondents of a single role: individual contributors gave None or one of those three certifications, engagement managers gave PMP alone or with ITIL or Scrum Master, or Six Sigma Black Belt, and portfolio directors gave PMP with an MBA or ITIL Expert, or PgMP.

At engagement level, the certification assigned to each engagement was not associated with cancellation (chi-square 4.29, p = 0.235, n = 99 engagements), customer satisfaction among active engagements (Welch F 0.00, p = 0.992, n = 50 engagements), the engagement indicator mean (Welch F 1.60, p = 0.211, n = 99 engagements) or intent to leave (Welch F 1.15, p = 0.346, n = 99 engagements). Those tests compare the four answers of individual contributors, the only answers that were the plurality on 10 or more engagements. At respondent level, with standard errors clustered by engagement, the answers differed on all four measures, but those tests include answers given by one to twelve respondents and track role. Restricted to the seven answers given by 30 or more respondents, cancellation and customer satisfaction no longer differed.

## Distribution of Responses

Table 3. Distribution of responses, respondent levelTable

| Answer | Respondents | Share of answered (base 793) | Cumulative share | Engagements with at least one | Share of 150 engagements | Distressed |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| None | 236 | 29.76% | 29.76% | 129 | 86.00% | Not applicable |
| Six Sigma Green Belt | 127 | 16.02% | 45.78% | 95 | 63.33% | Not applicable |
| ITIL Foundation | 126 | 15.89% | 61.66% | 88 | 58.67% | Not applicable |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | 124 | 15.64% | 77.30% | 89 | 59.33% | Not applicable |
| PMP, ITIL | 44 | 5.55% | 82.85% | 44 | 29.33% | Not applicable |
| PMP, Scrum Master | 43 | 5.42% | 88.27% | 43 | 28.67% | Not applicable |
| PMP | 35 | 4.41% | 92.69% | 35 | 23.33% | Not applicable |
| Six Sigma Black Belt | 28 | 3.53% | 96.22% | 28 | 18.67% | Not applicable |
| PMP, MBA | 12 | 1.51% | 97.73% | 12 | 8.00% | Not applicable |
| PMP, ITIL Expert | 9 | 1.13% | 98.87% | 9 | 6.00% | Not applicable |
| PgMP | 8 | 1.01% | 99.87% | 8 | 5.33% | Not applicable |
| MBA | 1 | 0.13% | 100.00% | 1 | 0.67% | Not applicable |
| Answered, total | 793 | 100.00% | | 150 | 100.00% | |

Each engagement was assigned the answer given by the largest number of its respondents, with None counted as an answer. Fifty-one engagements were tied and carry no assigned answer, and 99 carry one. Every assigned answer is one of the four given by individual contributors. The MBA alone was given by one respondent.

## Descriptive Statistics by Segment

Table 4. Descriptive statistics by segmentTable

| Segment | Base | Answered | Answer rate | Engagements | None, share | Six Sigma Green Belt, share | ITIL Foundation, share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study set | 850 | 793 | 93.29% of 850 | 150 | 29.76% | 16.02% | 15.89% |
| Outsourcing model | | | | | | | |
| CXM | 232 | 220 | 94.83% of 232 | 42 | 29.55% | 14.09% | 20.45% |
| ITO | 244 | 224 | 91.80% of 244 | 40 | 27.23% | 16.96% | 12.95% |
| BPO | 209 | 195 | 93.30% of 209 | 37 | 29.74% | 16.92% | 15.38% |
| KPO | 165 | 154 | 93.33% of 165 | 31 | 33.77% | 16.23% | 14.29% |
| Institution type | | | | | | | |
| Asset management | 132 | 127 | 96.21% of 132 | 24 | 29.13% | 14.96% | 19.69% |
| Wealth management and private banking | 140 | 132 | 94.29% of 140 | 23 | 30.30% | 16.67% | 14.39% |
| Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination) | 105 | 97 | 92.38% of 105 | 19 | 31.96% | 18.56% | 13.40% |
| Insurance (life, property and casualty, health) | 78 | 74 | 94.87% of 78 | 14 | 36.49% | 12.16% | 20.27% |
| Commercial and business banking | 82 | 75 | 91.46% of 82 | 13 | 25.33% | 13.33% | 17.33% |
| Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing) | 71 | 64 | 90.14% of 71 | 13 | 23.44% | 18.75% | 15.63% |
| Credit card and payments issuing | 73 | 67 | 91.78% of 73 | 12 | 23.88% | 20.90% | 16.42% |
| Retail and consumer banking | 73 | 65 | 89.04% of 73 | 12 | 35.38% | 13.85% | 13.85% |
| Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets) | 57 | 55 | 96.49% of 57 | 11 | 25.45% | 16.36% | 16.36% |
| Private equity and private capital | 39 | 37 | 94.87% of 39 | 9 | 37.84% | 13.51% | 5.41% |
| Process family | | | | | | | |
| Corporate and back-office functions | 248 | 238 | 95.97% of 248 | 47 | 31.93% | 15.97% | 15.55% |
| Technology engineering and operations | 204 | 191 | 93.63% of 204 | 35 | 28.80% | 18.32% | 14.14% |
| Client servicing and communications | 94 | 84 | 89.36% of 94 | 16 | 29.76% | 11.90% | 17.86% |
| Trade, settlement and reconciliation | 80 | 75 | 93.75% of 80 | 15 | 29.33% | 18.67% | 18.67% |
| Payments, cards and disputes | 73 | 66 | 90.41% of 73 | 12 | 21.21% | 19.70% | 15.15% |
| Credit, underwriting and suitability | 57 | 52 | 91.23% of 57 | 9 | 30.77% | 13.46% | 21.15% |
| Regulatory, audit, tax and legal | 51 | 49 | 96.08% of 51 | 9 | 32.65% | 12.24% | 12.24% |
| Financial crime and client onboarding | 43 | 38 | 88.37% of 43 | 7 | 31.58% | 10.53% | 15.79% |
| Class of work | | | | | | | |
| LOB Operational | 451 | 414 | 91.80% of 451 | 76 | 29.47% | 14.49% | 15.94% |
| Corporate Functional | 399 | 379 | 94.99% of 399 | 74 | 30.08% | 17.68% | 15.83% |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | | | | | | | |
| Active, Build-Out | 175 | 166 | 94.86% of 175 | 31 | 33.13% | 19.28% | 18.07% |
| Active, Transition/Cut-Over | 250 | 238 | 95.20% of 250 | 43 | 29.83% | 16.81% | 13.03% |
| Active, Production | 103 | 91 | 88.35% of 103 | 20 | 31.87% | 15.38% | 9.89% |
| Canceled | 322 | 298 | 92.55% of 322 | 56 | 27.18% | 13.76% | 18.79% |
| Respondent role | | | | | | | |
| Individual Contributor | 667 | 613 | 91.90% of 667 | 150 | 38.50% | 20.72% | 20.55% |
| Engagement Manager | 150 | 150 | 100.00% of 150 | 150 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Portfolio Director | 31 | 29 | 93.55% of 31 | 29 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Customer Management Executive | 2 | 1 | 1 of 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vendor type | | | | | | | |
| IT services major | 316 | 287 | 90.82% of 316 | 59 | 28.57% | 16.38% | 16.72% |
| BPO specialist | 198 | 187 | 94.44% of 198 | 37 | 28.88% | 14.97% | 17.11% |
| Consulting firm | 117 | 111 | 94.87% of 117 | 23 | 30.63% | 17.12% | 13.51% |
| Boutique or specialist provider | 87 | 82 | 94.25% of 87 | 17 | 30.49% | 15.85% | 9.76% |
| Pure-play agentic AI firm | 75 | 72 | 96.00% of 75 | 14 | 27.78% | 13.89% | 18.06% |
| Not reported, recovered by engagement | 57 | 54 | 94.74% of 57 | 46 | 38.89% | 18.52% | 18.52% |

Table 5. Descriptive statistics by segment, remaining answer levelsTable

| Segment | Base | Answered | Answer rate | Engagements | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, share | PMP, ITIL, share | PMP, Scrum Master, share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study set | 850 | 793 | 93.29% of 850 | 150 | 15.64% | 5.55% | 5.42% |
| Outsourcing model | | | | | | | |
| CXM | 232 | 220 | 94.83% of 232 | 42 | 12.73% | 4.55% | 5.45% |
| ITO | 244 | 224 | 91.80% of 244 | 40 | 20.54% | 7.14% | 4.91% |
| BPO | 209 | 195 | 93.30% of 209 | 37 | 15.38% | 4.62% | 6.67% |
| KPO | 165 | 154 | 93.33% of 165 | 31 | 12.99% | 5.84% | 4.55% |
| Institution type | | | | | | | |
| Asset management | 132 | 127 | 96.21% of 132 | 24 | 14.17% | 4.72% | 7.87% |
| Wealth management and private banking | 140 | 132 | 94.29% of 140 | 23 | 16.67% | 4.55% | 4.55% |
| Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination) | 105 | 97 | 92.38% of 105 | 19 | 13.40% | 6.19% | 6.19% |
| Insurance (life, property and casualty, health) | 78 | 74 | 94.87% of 78 | 14 | 12.16% | 8.11% | 2.70% |
| Commercial and business banking | 82 | 75 | 91.46% of 82 | 13 | 22.67% | 5.33% | 2.67% |
| Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing) | 71 | 64 | 90.14% of 71 | 13 | 17.19% | 4.69% | 6.25% |
| Credit card and payments issuing | 73 | 67 | 91.78% of 73 | 12 | 13.43% | 4.48% | 5.97% |
| Retail and consumer banking | 73 | 65 | 89.04% of 73 | 12 | 13.85% | 4.62% | 4.62% |
| Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets) | 57 | 55 | 96.49% of 57 | 11 | 20.00% | 5.45% | 9.09% |
| Private equity and private capital | 39 | 37 | 94.87% of 39 | 9 | 13.51% | 10.81% | 2.70% |
| Process family | | | | | | | |
| Corporate and back-office functions | 248 | 238 | 95.97% of 248 | 47 | 13.03% | 5.04% | 5.88% |
| Technology engineering and operations | 204 | 191 | 93.63% of 204 | 35 | 16.23% | 7.33% | 4.19% |
| Client servicing and communications | 94 | 84 | 89.36% of 94 | 16 | 20.24% | 4.76% | 7.14% |
| Trade, settlement and reconciliation | 80 | 75 | 93.75% of 80 | 15 | 10.67% | 4.00% | 5.33% |
| Payments, cards and disputes | 73 | 66 | 90.41% of 73 | 12 | 19.70% | 6.06% | 7.58% |
| Credit, underwriting and suitability | 57 | 52 | 91.23% of 57 | 9 | 15.38% | 3.85% | 1.92% |
| Regulatory, audit, tax and legal | 51 | 49 | 96.08% of 51 | 9 | 18.37% | 8.16% | 2.04% |
| Financial crime and client onboarding | 43 | 38 | 88.37% of 43 | 7 | 18.42% | 2.63% | 10.53% |
| Class of work | | | | | | | |
| LOB Operational | 451 | 414 | 91.80% of 451 | 76 | 18.12% | 5.80% | 6.04% |
| Corporate Functional | 399 | 379 | 94.99% of 399 | 74 | 12.93% | 5.28% | 4.75% |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | | | | | | | |
| Active, Build-Out | 175 | 166 | 94.86% of 175 | 31 | 7.83% | 5.42% | 5.42% |
| Active, Transition/Cut-Over | 250 | 238 | 95.20% of 250 | 43 | 17.65% | 5.88% | 4.62% |
| Active, Production | 103 | 91 | 88.35% of 103 | 20 | 16.48% | 4.40% | 7.69% |
| Canceled | 322 | 298 | 92.55% of 322 | 56 | 18.12% | 5.70% | 5.37% |
| Respondent role | | | | | | | |
| Individual Contributor | 667 | 613 | 91.90% of 667 | 150 | 20.23% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Engagement Manager | 150 | 150 | 100.00% of 150 | 150 | 0.00% | 29.33% | 28.67% |
| Portfolio Director | 31 | 29 | 93.55% of 31 | 29 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Customer Management Executive | 2 | 1 | 1 of 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vendor type | | | | | | | |
| IT services major | 316 | 287 | 90.82% of 316 | 59 | 13.94% | 8.01% | 5.23% |
| BPO specialist | 198 | 187 | 94.44% of 198 | 37 | 14.44% | 4.81% | 5.35% |
| Consulting firm | 117 | 111 | 94.87% of 117 | 23 | 15.32% | 4.50% | 5.41% |
| Boutique or specialist provider | 87 | 82 | 94.25% of 87 | 17 | 19.51% | 1.22% | 9.76% |
| Pure-play agentic AI firm | 75 | 72 | 96.00% of 75 | 14 | 16.67% | 8.33% | 5.56% |
| Not reported, recovered by engagement | 57 | 54 | 94.74% of 57 | 46 | 22.22% | 0.00% | 0.00% |

Table 6. Descriptive statistics by segment, remaining answer levelsTable

| Segment | Base | Answered | Answer rate | Engagements | PMP, share | Six Sigma Black Belt, share | PMP, MBA, share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study set | 850 | 793 | 93.29% of 850 | 150 | 4.41% | 3.53% | 1.51% |
| Outsourcing model | | | | | | | |
| CXM | 232 | 220 | 94.83% of 232 | 42 | 4.55% | 4.55% | 0.45% |
| ITO | 244 | 224 | 91.80% of 244 | 40 | 3.13% | 2.68% | 2.23% |
| BPO | 209 | 195 | 93.30% of 209 | 37 | 5.13% | 2.56% | 2.05% |
| KPO | 165 | 154 | 93.33% of 165 | 31 | 5.19% | 4.55% | 1.30% |
| Institution type | | | | | | | |
| Asset management | 132 | 127 | 96.21% of 132 | 24 | 2.36% | 3.94% | 0.79% |
| Wealth management and private banking | 140 | 132 | 94.29% of 140 | 23 | 4.55% | 3.79% | 1.52% |
| Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination) | 105 | 97 | 92.38% of 105 | 19 | 4.12% | 3.09% | 0.00% |
| Insurance (life, property and casualty, health) | 78 | 74 | 94.87% of 78 | 14 | 5.41% | 2.70% | 0.00% |
| Commercial and business banking | 82 | 75 | 91.46% of 82 | 13 | 5.33% | 4.00% | 1.33% |
| Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing) | 71 | 64 | 90.14% of 71 | 13 | 6.25% | 3.13% | 1.56% |
| Credit card and payments issuing | 73 | 67 | 91.78% of 73 | 12 | 2.99% | 4.48% | 2.99% |
| Retail and consumer banking | 73 | 65 | 89.04% of 73 | 12 | 6.15% | 3.08% | 4.62% |
| Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets) | 57 | 55 | 96.49% of 57 | 11 | 1.82% | 3.64% | 1.82% |
| Private equity and private capital | 39 | 37 | 94.87% of 39 | 9 | 8.11% | 2.70% | 2.70% |
| Process family | | | | | | | |
| Corporate and back-office functions | 248 | 238 | 95.97% of 248 | 47 | 4.20% | 4.62% | 1.26% |
| Technology engineering and operations | 204 | 191 | 93.63% of 204 | 35 | 3.66% | 3.14% | 2.09% |
| Client servicing and communications | 94 | 84 | 89.36% of 94 | 16 | 3.57% | 3.57% | 0.00% |
| Trade, settlement and reconciliation | 80 | 75 | 93.75% of 80 | 15 | 8.00% | 2.67% | 0.00% |
| Payments, cards and disputes | 73 | 66 | 90.41% of 73 | 12 | 4.55% | 0.00% | 4.55% |
| Credit, underwriting and suitability | 57 | 52 | 91.23% of 57 | 9 | 3.85% | 7.69% | 0.00% |
| Regulatory, audit, tax and legal | 51 | 49 | 96.08% of 51 | 9 | 6.12% | 2.04% | 2.04% |
| Financial crime and client onboarding | 43 | 38 | 88.37% of 43 | 7 | 2.63% | 2.63% | 2.63% |
| Class of work | | | | | | | |
| LOB Operational | 451 | 414 | 91.80% of 451 | 76 | 3.86% | 2.66% | 1.21% |
| Corporate Functional | 399 | 379 | 94.99% of 399 | 74 | 5.01% | 4.49% | 1.85% |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | | | | | | | |
| Active, Build-Out | 175 | 166 | 94.86% of 175 | 31 | 4.22% | 3.61% | 0.60% |
| Active, Transition/Cut-Over | 250 | 238 | 95.20% of 250 | 43 | 3.36% | 4.20% | 1.68% |
| Active, Production | 103 | 91 | 88.35% of 103 | 20 | 8.79% | 1.10% | 3.30% |
| Canceled | 322 | 298 | 92.55% of 322 | 56 | 4.03% | 3.69% | 1.34% |
| Respondent role | | | | | | | |
| Individual Contributor | 667 | 613 | 91.90% of 667 | 150 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Engagement Manager | 150 | 150 | 100.00% of 150 | 150 | 23.33% | 18.67% | 0.00% |
| Portfolio Director | 31 | 29 | 93.55% of 31 | 29 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 41.38% |
| Customer Management Executive | 2 | 1 | 1 of 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vendor type | | | | | | | |
| IT services major | 316 | 287 | 90.82% of 316 | 59 | 5.23% | 2.09% | 2.09% |
| BPO specialist | 198 | 187 | 94.44% of 198 | 37 | 5.35% | 4.28% | 0.00% |
| Consulting firm | 117 | 111 | 94.87% of 117 | 23 | 3.60% | 7.21% | 1.80% |
| Boutique or specialist provider | 87 | 82 | 94.25% of 87 | 17 | 4.88% | 4.88% | 2.44% |
| Pure-play agentic AI firm | 75 | 72 | 96.00% of 75 | 14 | 2.78% | 2.78% | 2.78% |
| Not reported, recovered by engagement | 57 | 54 | 94.74% of 57 | 46 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |

Table 7. Descriptive statistics by segment, remaining answer levelsTable

| Segment | Base | Answered | Answer rate | Engagements | PMP, ITIL Expert, share | PgMP, share | MBA, share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study set | 850 | 793 | 93.29% of 850 | 150 | 1.13% | 1.01% | 0.13% |
| Outsourcing model | | | | | | | |
| CXM | 232 | 220 | 94.83% of 232 | 42 | 2.27% | 1.36% | 0.00% |
| ITO | 244 | 224 | 91.80% of 244 | 40 | 0.89% | 0.89% | 0.45% |
| BPO | 209 | 195 | 93.30% of 209 | 37 | 0.51% | 1.03% | 0.00% |
| KPO | 165 | 154 | 93.33% of 165 | 31 | 0.65% | 0.65% | 0.00% |
| Institution type | | | | | | | |
| Asset management | 132 | 127 | 96.21% of 132 | 24 | 0.79% | 1.57% | 0.00% |
| Wealth management and private banking | 140 | 132 | 94.29% of 140 | 23 | 1.52% | 1.52% | 0.00% |
| Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination) | 105 | 97 | 92.38% of 105 | 19 | 1.03% | 1.03% | 1.03% |
| Insurance (life, property and casualty, health) | 78 | 74 | 94.87% of 78 | 14 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Commercial and business banking | 82 | 75 | 91.46% of 82 | 13 | 1.33% | 1.33% | 0.00% |
| Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing) | 71 | 64 | 90.14% of 71 | 13 | 1.56% | 1.56% | 0.00% |
| Credit card and payments issuing | 73 | 67 | 91.78% of 73 | 12 | 2.99% | 1.49% | 0.00% |
| Retail and consumer banking | 73 | 65 | 89.04% of 73 | 12 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets) | 57 | 55 | 96.49% of 57 | 11 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Private equity and private capital | 39 | 37 | 94.87% of 39 | 9 | 2.70% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Process family | | | | | | | |
| Corporate and back-office functions | 248 | 238 | 95.97% of 248 | 47 | 1.26% | 1.26% | 0.00% |
| Technology engineering and operations | 204 | 191 | 93.63% of 204 | 35 | 1.05% | 1.05% | 0.00% |
| Client servicing and communications | 94 | 84 | 89.36% of 94 | 16 | 1.19% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Trade, settlement and reconciliation | 80 | 75 | 93.75% of 80 | 15 | 0.00% | 1.33% | 1.33% |
| Payments, cards and disputes | 73 | 66 | 90.41% of 73 | 12 | 1.52% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Credit, underwriting and suitability | 57 | 52 | 91.23% of 57 | 9 | 1.92% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Regulatory, audit, tax and legal | 51 | 49 | 96.08% of 51 | 9 | 2.04% | 2.04% | 0.00% |
| Financial crime and client onboarding | 43 | 38 | 88.37% of 43 | 7 | 0.00% | 2.63% | 0.00% |
| Class of work | | | | | | | |
| LOB Operational | 451 | 414 | 91.80% of 451 | 76 | 1.21% | 0.97% | 0.24% |
| Corporate Functional | 399 | 379 | 94.99% of 399 | 74 | 1.06% | 1.06% | 0.00% |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | | | | | | | |
| Active, Build-Out | 175 | 166 | 94.86% of 175 | 31 | 1.81% | 0.60% | 0.00% |
| Active, Transition/Cut-Over | 250 | 238 | 95.20% of 250 | 43 | 1.26% | 1.68% | 0.00% |
| Active, Production | 103 | 91 | 88.35% of 103 | 20 | 0.00% | 1.10% | 0.00% |
| Canceled | 322 | 298 | 92.55% of 322 | 56 | 1.01% | 0.67% | 0.34% |
| Respondent role | | | | | | | |
| Individual Contributor | 667 | 613 | 91.90% of 667 | 150 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Engagement Manager | 150 | 150 | 100.00% of 150 | 150 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Portfolio Director | 31 | 29 | 93.55% of 31 | 29 | 31.03% | 27.59% | 0.00% |
| Customer Management Executive | 2 | 1 | 1 of 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Vendor type | | | | | | | |
| IT services major | 316 | 287 | 90.82% of 316 | 59 | 0.35% | 1.39% | 0.00% |
| BPO specialist | 198 | 187 | 94.44% of 198 | 37 | 3.21% | 1.60% | 0.00% |
| Consulting firm | 117 | 111 | 94.87% of 117 | 23 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.90% |
| Boutique or specialist provider | 87 | 82 | 94.25% of 87 | 17 | 0.00% | 1.22% | 0.00% |
| Pure-play agentic AI firm | 75 | 72 | 96.00% of 75 | 14 | 1.39% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Not reported, recovered by engagement | 57 | 54 | 94.74% of 57 | 46 | 1.85% | 0.00% | 0.00% |

Each share is computed on the respondents who answered in that row. Rows with fewer than 10 respondents report counts only. The respondent role rows are not tested, because the segment family records the same split the answers make.

## Tests of Difference Between Segments

Table 8. Tests of difference between segmentsTable

| Segment family | Unit | Chi-square | df | p | Holm p | Cramer's V | Test for p | Levels excluded |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Outsourcing model | Engagement | 4.97 | 9 | 0.853 | 1.000 | 0.13 | Monte Carlo, simulated | None |
| Institution type | Engagement | 4.46 | 6 | 0.687 | 1.000 | 0.23 | Monte Carlo, simulated | a |
| Process family | Engagement | 11.50 | 9 | 0.243 | 1.000 | 0.23 | Monte Carlo, simulated | b |
| Class of work | Engagement | 4.36 | 3 | 0.225 | 1.000 | 0.21 | chi-square | None |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | Engagement | 10.18 | 9 | 0.343 | 1.000 | 0.19 | Monte Carlo, simulated | None |
| Respondent role | Respondent | 1,584.00 | 20 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | 1.00 | Monte Carlo, simulated | Customer Management Executive, n = 1 |
| Vendor type | Respondent | 63.56 | 55 | 0.203 | 1.000 | 0.13 | Monte Carlo, simulated | None |

Note: a Levels excluded: Insurance (life, property and casualty, health), n = 8, Commercial and business banking, n = 9, Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing), n = 9, Credit card and payments issuing, n = 8, Retail and consumer banking, n = 8, Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets), n = 8, Private equity and private capital, n = 5. b Levels excluded: Trade, settlement and reconciliation, n = 8, Credit, underwriting and suitability, n = 3, Regulatory, audit, tax and legal, n = 7, Financial crime and client onboarding, n = 7.

Segment families recorded at engagement level were tested on engagements, and respondent role and vendor type on respondents. After Holm correction, the answers differed by respondent role (Cramer's V 1.00, Holm p < 0.001), a complete separation: each answer was given within one role only. No other family differed.

## Association with Cancellation Rate

Cancellation rate is the share of engagements canceled by the study date, measured at engagement level (150 engagements, 56 canceled).

Table 9. Association with cancellation rate by answer levelTable

| Answer level | Engagements | Canceled | Cancellation rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| None | 59 | 20 | 33.90% |
| Six Sigma Green Belt | 13 | 2 | 15.38% |
| ITIL Foundation | 15 | 7 | 46.67% |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | 12 | 6 | 50.00% |
| PMP, ITIL | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, Scrum Master | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP | 0 | No engagements | |
| Six Sigma Black Belt | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, MBA | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, ITIL Expert | 0 | No engagements | |
| PgMP | 0 | No engagements | |
| MBA | 0 | No engagements | |

Table 10. Association with cancellation rate, tests across answer levels by segmentTable

| Segment | Engagements | Chi-square | df | p | Holm p | Cramer's V | Test for p |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study set | 99 | 4.29 | 3 | 0.235 | 0.235 | 0.21 | Monte Carlo, simulated |
| Outsourcing model | | | | | | | |
| CXM | 26 | a | | | | | |
| ITO | 26 | a | | | | | |
| BPO | 25 | a | | | | | |
| KPO | 22 | a | | | | | |
| Institution type | | | | | | | |
| Asset management | 16 | a | | | | | |
| Wealth management and private banking | 16 | a | | | | | |
| Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination) | 12 | a | | | | | |
| Insurance (life, property and casualty, health) | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Commercial and business banking | 9 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing) | 9 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Credit card and payments issuing | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Retail and consumer banking | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets) | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Private equity and private capital | 5 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Process family | | | | | | | |
| Corporate and back-office functions | 32 | a | | | | | |
| Technology engineering and operations | 22 | a | | | | | |
| Client servicing and communications | 10 | a | | | | | |
| Trade, settlement and reconciliation | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Payments, cards and disputes | 10 | a | | | | | |
| Credit, underwriting and suitability | 3 | b | | | | | |
| Regulatory, audit, tax and legal | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Financial crime and client onboarding | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Class of work | | | | | | | |
| LOB Operational | 51 | a | | | | | |
| Corporate Functional | 48 | a | | | | | |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | | | | | | | |
| Active, Build-Out | | b | | | | | |
| Active, Transition/Cut-Over | | b | | | | | |
| Active, Production | | b | | | | | |
| Canceled | | b | | | | | |

Note: ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported. a Not tested: fewer than two levels of 10 or more engagements. b Not tested: no variation in cancellation.

Across the 99 engagements assigned one of the four answers of individual contributors, cancellation did not differ by answer (chi-square 4.29, df = 3, p = 0.235). At respondent level, with every answer as a level and standard errors clustered by engagement, it differed (F = 25.68, df = 11 and 149, p < 0.001, n = 793 respondents). Restricted to the seven answers given by 30 or more respondents, the difference did not hold (F = 1.72, df = 6 and 149, p = 0.120, n = 735 respondents).

## Association with Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the percentage recorded against each engagement. The engagement-level estimate uses the active engagements in the answer levels with 10 or more active engagements.

Table 11. Association with customer satisfaction by answer levelTable

| Answer level | Engagements | Mean of the measure | SD |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| None | 39 | 63.2 | 12.0 |
| Six Sigma Green Belt | 11 | 63.3 | 12.5 |
| ITIL Foundation | 8 | ‡ | |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | 6 | ‡ | |
| PMP, ITIL | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, Scrum Master | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP | 0 | No engagements | |
| Six Sigma Black Belt | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, MBA | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, ITIL Expert | 0 | No engagements | |
| PgMP | 0 | No engagements | |
| MBA | 0 | No engagements | |

Note: ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.Table 12. Association with customer satisfaction, tests across answer levels by segmentTable

| Segment | Engagements | Welch F | df | p | Holm p | Omega squared | 90% CI |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study set | 50 | 0.00 | 1, 15.6 | 0.992 | 0.992 | −0.020 | 0.000 to 0.000 |
| Outsourcing model | | | | | | | |
| CXM | 17 | a | | | | | |
| ITO | 18 | a | | | | | |
| BPO | 16 | a | | | | | |
| KPO | 13 | a | | | | | |
| Institution type | | | | | | | |
| Asset management | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Wealth management and private banking | 14 | a | | | | | |
| Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination) | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Insurance (life, property and casualty, health) | 4 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Commercial and business banking | 5 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing) | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Credit card and payments issuing | 6 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Retail and consumer banking | 5 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets) | 5 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Private equity and private capital | 4 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Process family | | | | | | | |
| Corporate and back-office functions | 18 | a | | | | | |
| Technology engineering and operations | 18 | a | | | | | |
| Client servicing and communications | 5 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Trade, settlement and reconciliation | 3 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Payments, cards and disputes | 9 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Credit, underwriting and suitability | 3 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Regulatory, audit, tax and legal | 4 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Financial crime and client onboarding | 4 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Class of work | | | | | | | |
| LOB Operational | 33 | a | | | | | |
| Corporate Functional | 31 | a | | | | | |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | | | | | | | |
| Active, Build-Out | 21 | a | | | | | |
| Active, Transition/Cut-Over | 29 | a | | | | | |
| Active, Production | 14 | a | | | | | |
| Canceled | | b | | | | | |

Note: ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported. a Not tested: fewer than two levels of 10 or more engagements. b Not tested: canceled engagements fall outside the active population.

Customer satisfaction did not differ by answer at engagement level (Welch F 0.00, p = 0.992, n = 50 engagements). At respondent level, with standard errors clustered by engagement, it differed (F = 23.00, df = 11 and 149, p < 0.001, n = 793 respondents). Restricted to the seven answers given by 30 or more respondents, the difference did not hold (F = 1.55, df = 6 and 149, p = 0.165, n = 735 respondents).

## Association with the Engagement Indicator Mean

The engagement indicator mean is the mean of an engagement's ratings across the rated indicators. At respondent level the measure is the respondent's own mean rating. The certification is not a rated indicator and does not enter either mean.

Table 13. Association with the engagement indicator mean by answer levelTable

| Answer level | Engagements | Mean of the measure | SD |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| None | 59 | 4.0 | 1.5 |
| Six Sigma Green Belt | 13 | 4.6 | 1.3 |
| ITIL Foundation | 15 | 3.8 | 1.6 |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | 12 | 3.6 | 1.1 |
| PMP, ITIL | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, Scrum Master | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP | 0 | No engagements | |
| Six Sigma Black Belt | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, MBA | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, ITIL Expert | 0 | No engagements | |
| PgMP | 0 | No engagements | |
| MBA | 0 | No engagements | |

Table 14. Association with the engagement indicator mean, tests across answer levels by segmentTable

| Segment | Engagements | Welch F | df | p | Holm p | Omega squared | 90% CI |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study set | 99 | 1.60 | 3, 28.1 | 0.211 | 0.211 | 0.007 | 0.000 to 0.092 |
| Outsourcing model | | | | | | | |
| CXM | 26 | a | | | | | |
| ITO | 26 | a | | | | | |
| BPO | 25 | a | | | | | |
| KPO | 22 | a | | | | | |
| Institution type | | | | | | | |
| Asset management | 16 | a | | | | | |
| Wealth management and private banking | 16 | a | | | | | |
| Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination) | 12 | a | | | | | |
| Insurance (life, property and casualty, health) | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Commercial and business banking | 9 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing) | 9 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Credit card and payments issuing | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Retail and consumer banking | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets) | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Private equity and private capital | 5 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Process family | | | | | | | |
| Corporate and back-office functions | 32 | a | | | | | |
| Technology engineering and operations | 22 | a | | | | | |
| Client servicing and communications | 10 | a | | | | | |
| Trade, settlement and reconciliation | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Payments, cards and disputes | 10 | a | | | | | |
| Credit, underwriting and suitability | 3 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Regulatory, audit, tax and legal | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Financial crime and client onboarding | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Class of work | | | | | | | |
| LOB Operational | 51 | a | | | | | |
| Corporate Functional | 48 | a | | | | | |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | | | | | | | |
| Active, Build-Out | 21 | a | | | | | |
| Active, Transition/Cut-Over | 29 | a | | | | | |
| Active, Production | 14 | a | | | | | |
| Canceled | 35 | a | | | | | |

Note: ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported. a Not tested: fewer than two levels of 10 or more engagements.

The engagement indicator mean did not differ by answer at engagement level (Welch F 1.60, p = 0.211, n = 99 engagements). At respondent level it differed (F = 26.31, df = 11 and 149, p < 0.001, n = 793 respondents). The respondents' own mean ran from 3.7 among individual contributors with the AWS certification to 5.2 among portfolio directors with PMP and an MBA, the order of the roles. Restricted to the seven answers given by 30 or more respondents, the difference held (F = 3.02, df = 6 and 149, p = 0.008, n = 735 respondents).

## Association with Intent to Leave

Intent to leave is the answer to C019, “How likely are you to leave your current job in the next 12 months?”, rated 1 to 10 by up to 798 respondents. For the indicator, the engagement-level comparison uses the mean intent to leave of each engagement.

Table 15. Association with intent to leave by answer levelTable

| Answer level | Engagements | Mean of the measure | SD |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| None | 59 | 6.8 | 2.4 |
| Six Sigma Green Belt | 13 | 5.6 | 2.6 |
| ITIL Foundation | 15 | 6.9 | 2.3 |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | 12 | 7.3 | 2.2 |
| PMP, ITIL | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, Scrum Master | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP | 0 | No engagements | |
| Six Sigma Black Belt | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, MBA | 0 | No engagements | |
| PMP, ITIL Expert | 0 | No engagements | |
| PgMP | 0 | No engagements | |
| MBA | 0 | No engagements | |

Table 16. Association with intent to leave, tests across answer levels by segmentTable

| Segment | Engagements | Welch F | df | p | Holm p | Omega squared | 90% CI |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study set | 99 | 1.15 | 3, 26.7 | 0.346 | 0.346 | 0.011 | 0.000 to 0.098 |
| Outsourcing model | | | | | | | |
| CXM | 26 | a | | | | | |
| ITO | 26 | a | | | | | |
| BPO | 25 | a | | | | | |
| KPO | 22 | a | | | | | |
| Institution type | | | | | | | |
| Asset management | 16 | a | | | | | |
| Wealth management and private banking | 16 | a | | | | | |
| Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination) | 12 | a | | | | | |
| Insurance (life, property and casualty, health) | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Commercial and business banking | 9 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing) | 9 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Credit card and payments issuing | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Retail and consumer banking | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets) | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Private equity and private capital | 5 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Process family | | | | | | | |
| Corporate and back-office functions | 32 | a | | | | | |
| Technology engineering and operations | 22 | a | | | | | |
| Client servicing and communications | 10 | a | | | | | |
| Trade, settlement and reconciliation | 8 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Payments, cards and disputes | 10 | a | | | | | |
| Credit, underwriting and suitability | 3 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Regulatory, audit, tax and legal | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Financial crime and client onboarding | 7 | ‡ | | | | | |
| Class of work | | | | | | | |
| LOB Operational | 51 | a | | | | | |
| Corporate Functional | 48 | a | | | | | |
| Engagement status and lifecycle stage | | | | | | | |
| Active, Build-Out | 21 | a | | | | | |
| Active, Transition/Cut-Over | 29 | a | | | | | |
| Active, Production | 14 | a | | | | | |
| Canceled | 35 | a | | | | | |

Note: ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported. a Not tested: fewer than two levels of 10 or more engagements.

Intent to leave did not differ by answer at engagement level (Welch F 1.15, p = 0.346, n = 99 engagements). At respondent level it differed (F = 2.12, df = 10 and 149, p = 0.026, n = 746 respondents). Individual contributors with the AWS certification reported the highest mean (7.3, n = 124 respondents). Restricted to the seven answers given by 30 or more respondents, the difference held (F = 2.71, df = 6 and 149, p = 0.016, n = 689 respondents).

## Comparison of Associations Across the Four Measures

Table 17. Associations across the four measuresTable

| Measure | Effect size | n | Value | p | Equivalent to zero | Rank among the four |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cancellation rate | Omega squared, 0 or 1 flag | 99 | 0.013 | 0.235 | No | 1 |
| Customer satisfaction | Omega squared | 50 | −0.020 | 0.992 | Yes | 4 |
| Engagement indicator mean | Omega squared | 99 | 0.007 | 0.211 | No | 3 |
| Intent to leave | Omega squared | 99 | 0.011 | 0.346 | No | 2 |

Steiger's z compares two correlations, and a categorical indicator yields an effect size across its levels and not a correlation. The pairs of measures were therefore not compared. No engagement-level association reached significance.

## Clustering and Effective Sample Size

Table 18. Clustering and effective sample sizeTable

| Statistic | Value | Reading |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Clusters (engagements) | 150 | Engagements with one or more answers. |
| Mean respondents per engagement | 5.3 | Answers per engagement, among engagements with one or more answers. |
| ICC(1) | −0.04 | Share of the variance that lies between engagements. |
| Design effect | 1.00 | One plus the product of the ICC and the mean cluster size less one. |
| Nominal respondent n | 793 | Every answer, with “I do not know” and “I prefer to not answer” counted as levels, as in the plurality rule. |
| Effective n | 793 | Nominal n divided by the design effect. |
| Cluster bootstrap applied | No | Applied to every respondent-level interval where the ICC is 0.05 or above. |

Answers did not cluster within engagements (ICC −0.04): respondents on the same engagement gave different answers, as the mix of roles on each engagement requires. The design effect was 1.00, and the effective n equaled the 793 answers.

## Equivalence Tests of Null Results

Table 19. Equivalence tests of null resultsTable

| Measure | n | Omega squared | Equivalence bound | Equivalence p | Equivalent to zero | Achieved power | MDE at power 0.80 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cancellation rate | 99 | 0.013 | Omega squared < 0.090 | 0.074 | No | 0.73 | 0.103 |
| Customer satisfaction | 50 | −0.020 | Omega squared < 0.090 | < 0.001 | Yes | 0.59 | 0.141 |
| Engagement indicator mean | 99 | 0.007 | Omega squared < 0.090 | 0.054 | No | 0.73 | 0.103 |
| Intent to leave | 99 | 0.011 | Omega squared < 0.090 | 0.066 | No | 0.73 | 0.103 |

Customer satisfaction was equivalent to zero (equivalence p = < 0.001, n = 50 engagements). The engagement indicator mean and intent to leave were not, and their results are inconclusive rather than evidence of no association. The cancellation contrast carries no equivalence test.

## Robustness Checks

Table 20. Robustness checksTable

| Check | Measure | Primary p | Check p | Check statistic | Conclusion holds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Kruskal-Wallis in place of Welch F | Customer satisfaction | 0.992 | 0.935 | 0.01 | Yes |
| Kruskal-Wallis in place of Welch F | Engagement indicator mean | 0.211 | 0.297 | 3.69 | Yes |
| Kruskal-Wallis in place of Welch F | Intent to leave | 0.346 | 0.433 | 2.74 | Yes |
| Active engagements only | Engagement indicator mean | 0.211 | 0.815 | 0.06 | Yes |
| Active engagements only | Intent to leave | 0.346 | 0.341 | 0.97 | Yes |
| Respondent level, cluster-robust Wald F by engagement | Cancellation rate | 0.235 | < 0.001 | 25.68 | No |
| Respondent level, cluster-robust Wald F by engagement | Customer satisfaction | 0.992 | < 0.001 | 23.00 | No |
| Respondent level, cluster-robust Wald F by engagement | Engagement indicator mean | 0.211 | < 0.001 | 26.31 | No |
| Respondent level, cluster-robust Wald F by engagement | Intent to leave | 0.346 | 0.026 | 2.12 | No |

A check holds when its test falls on the same side of 0.05 as the primary test. The engagement-level checks held. Each respondent-level check failed, because the respondent-level test found a difference where the engagement-level test found none (four of four). The respondent-level test compares answers that track role, and it includes answers given by one to twelve respondents.

## Measure Independence and Part-Whole Correction

Each of the four measures was computed from data the indicator does not contain. Each result is therefore a finding and not an arithmetic consequence.

## Comparison with the Study Norm

A categorical indicator has no signed correlation with the study measures and therefore no profile against the study norm.

## Interpretation of the Data

The certifications respondents reported divide along role without overlap, so the indicator restates role in another form. Among the engagements assigned an answer of individual contributors, the certification was not associated with any study measure. The respondent-level differences in the respondents' own ratings follow the order of the roles, and none of the respondent-level differences can be separated from role.

## Limitations

The evidence is the reported experience of the vendor's delivery teams, collected in a single cross-section. The associations reported here are not causal.

Only the four answers of individual contributors were the plurality on 10 or more engagements, so the engagement-level tests do not compare certifications across roles.

The respondent-level tests include answers given by one, eight, nine and twelve respondents. A level of a few respondents rests on a few engagements, so the size of the respondent-level F statistics should not be read as a measure of effect. Restricted to the seven answers given by 30 or more respondents, the differences in cancellation and customer satisfaction did not hold, and those in the engagement indicator mean and intent to leave did.

Tests by respondent role and by vendor type treated respondents as independent.

## Definitions

Table 21. DefinitionsTable

| Term | Definition |
| --- | --- |
| Response scale | The answer is one of the listed certifications or combinations of certifications shown in the indicator specification, or None. The indicator is not a rating. No distressed range applies. |
| Answering base | Respondents who gave one of the listed answers, None included. |
| Non-answers | “I do not know” and “I prefer to not answer” are counted separately. They are excluded from the answering base and from the shares. |
| Indicator class | Respondent level: a property of the respondent rather than of the engagement. |
| Failure category | The five failure categories of the Study Taxonomy apply only to the rated indicators. The indicator carries none. |
| Assigned answer | The answer given by the largest number of an engagement's respondents, with None counted as an answer. A tied engagement carries no assigned answer. |
| Clustered test | A test whose standard error allows for the answers of respondents on the same engagement to be alike. |
| Cramer's V | An effect size for a table of counts, from no association at its lowest value to complete association at its highest. |

## Sources and Provenance

Table 22. Sources and provenanceTable

| Source | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Study data | Study Data.xlsx, Data sheet, column C015, sha256 219eba0457274d04 |
| Statistics engine | compute_statistics.py, sha256 738319eef764602b |
| Statistics record | Computed Statistics.json, record C015, sha256 1ae50a3637fc9370 |
| Computed | October 13, 2026, 04:57 UTC |
| Template | Indicator Template v2, version 2.0 of 10 October 2026 |
| Figures placed by script | 1,764 |


## Links to related study evidence

- [Part 4](https://akholi.com/outsourcing-2026-agentic-ai-tier-1-banks/part-4-delivery-workforce/)
- [Customer satisfaction](https://akholi.com/outsourcing-2026-agentic-ai-tier-1-banks/study-data/part-1-measure-customer-satisfaction/)
- [Engagement indicator mean](https://akholi.com/outsourcing-2026-agentic-ai-tier-1-banks/study-data/part-1-measure-engagement-indicator-mean/)
- [Intent to leave](https://akholi.com/outsourcing-2026-agentic-ai-tier-1-banks/study-data/part-4-c019/)
- [C019](https://akholi.com/outsourcing-2026-agentic-ai-tier-1-banks/study-data/part-4-c019/)