Scenario Planning & Strategic Foresight Certification

The Scenario Planning & Strategic Foresight Certification is a free intermediate-level, 20-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests scenario planning and strategic foresight — the purpose of foresight versus forecasting, horizon scanning and weak signals, identifying driving forces with PESTLE and STEEP, selecting critical uncertainties, building a 2x2 scenario matrix and narratives, testing strategies for robustness, signposts and early warning, backcasting and wind tunnelling, combining scenarios with probabilistic forecasting, and embedding foresight in strategy and risk processes — written to Shell scenarios, OECD strategic foresight, IPCC shared socioeconomic pathways and superforecasting research for 2026 and 2027. Score 70% or more on its 20 questions to earn a verifiable Scenario Planning & Strategic Foresight certificate (SOA-SPSF). Every question is based on published standards and research — including Shell energy scenarios and scenario methodology (Shell), Strategic foresight (OECD), Enduring Ideas: The three horizons of growth (McKinsey & Company) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Science of Apps offers a free Scenario Planning & Strategic Foresight Certification, written for 2026 and 2027. It tests foundations of foresight, building scenarios, using scenarios in strategy and embedding foresight with 20 original scenario questions in all, each naming its published source; you get an instant score and a verifiable certificate with a credential ID you can add to LinkedIn.

Read the four skill areas on this page, then take the 20-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a Scenario Planning & Strategic Foresight certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: Shell energy scenarios and scenario methodology (Shell); Strategic foresight (OECD); Enduring Ideas: The three horizons of growth (McKinsey & Company); Psychology of Intelligence Analysis (Richards J. Heuer Jr.) (CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence); Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences (Nancy Duarte (2010)); Damodaran Online: valuation data and teaching (Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Four skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Foundations of Foresight (Foresight vs forecasting, Horizon scanning and Driving forces); Building Scenarios (Selecting axes, 2x2 matrices and Narratives); Using Scenarios in Strategy (Wind tunnelling, Robust strategies and Signposts); Embedding Foresight (Governance and process, Biases and Communication). Every question is an original scenario written to the 2026–2027 standard, with the published source named under it.

Corporate strategist or planner, Risk or resilience manager, Policy analyst or futures researcher, Consultant or board adviser and MBA or public policy student. It suits students at leading universities, career switchers and experienced professionals who want quick, verifiable proof of Scenario Planning & Strategic Foresight knowledge in 2026 and 2027.

MBB, Big 4 strategy and in-house strategy teams hire heavily from tier-1 campuses; these are the skills used day-to-day after the case interview. Passing earns a founder-signed Science of Apps certificate with a credential ID and QR code that recruiters can verify.

Forecasting tries to predict the most likely outcome, often with probabilities. Scenario planning builds several plausible, contrasting futures around key uncertainties so leaders can test and adapt strategies, without claiming any one scenario will happen.

Identify driving forces, separate predetermined trends from uncertainties, and choose two critical uncertainties that are both highly impactful on the decision and highly uncertain. Their combinations form a 2x2 matrix of four distinct scenarios.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

20 questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — with a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Intermediate: assumes hands-on experience in the role. It has 20 scenario questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — and a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.