Scott Ambler voices his opinions on the topic of Agile certification in his report about Certification in the agile workplace. Scott reflects on different styles of certification based around the effort required to achieve them, and broaches the topic of the controversial Scrum Master certification (CSM).
Scott goes on to say:
Related news: read Pete Behrens' call for more serious consideration of certification, and other news on InfoQ about Certification.
Scott goes on to say:
From discussions on several mailing lists, it is very clear that people who aren't a CSM recognize the deception, people who are CSMs recognize the deception, and even the CSM trainers recognize the deception. Yet the CSM program carries on ....... It is clearly deceptive to claim that you're a "certified master" of something after taking a two-day course. Although an argument currently rages within the Scrum community over whether the problem is the use of the word "Certified" or "Master," this serves merely to distract people from the real issue.Scott discusses the kind of experience-backed courses that could be applicable to the Agile world, and draws some ideas from other certification programmes that he feels set the certification standard for the IT industry, and outlines the characteristics of what he believes a successful certification should be:
- To be meaningful, a good program includes training, examination, and hands-on internship/apprenticeship.
- It should provide a clear learning path while at the same time be flexible enough to meet the needs of the individual.
- A multi-tiered certification program gives people a framework in which they can manage their career path.
- Should be open and visible. It is critical that people from the outside should be able to look under the covers to verify that it's not being abused.
Related news: read Pete Behrens' call for more serious consideration of certification, and other news on InfoQ about Certification.