Hello everyone, When we started the BSD Certification Group back in 2005, we had several goals in mind:
1. Create a quality certification that reflected the philosophy of the BSD projects and provided an accurate assessment of system administration skills on BSD systems. 2. Apply open source methods to the creation of a psychometrically valid certification exam and to publish those methods for each step of the exam creation process. 3. Make the certification globally available and globally affordable. We were able to achieve those goals, up to a point: 1. With the help of system administrators, employers, the BSD community, and a psychometrician, we created and maintained the psychometrically valid BSDA exam. 2. We published every step of the process, from how psychometrics works and why it matters, to JTA survey results, to detailed exam objectives, to recertification policies. Results were published on our website, in BSD Magazine, and presented over several years at various BSD and open source conferences. 3. We created partnerships with FreeBSD Brasil, Imen Pardis in Iran, and AllBSD in Japan to offer BSDA exams in those countries. We worked with BSD and open source conferences around the world to offer the exam during those events. We partnered with SMT to provide affordable access to their global testing centers. We did face many challenges, most notably: 1. Technical and cost obstacles for providing a global, lab-based environment for the BSDP exam. 2. Unexpected changes with the SMT partnership which resulted in a reduced number of testing centers outside of North America and difficulty in obtaining details for existing testing centers. 3. Time restrictions. Like other open source projects, the BSD Certification Group is comprised of dedicated volunteers with day jobs who contribute their expertise during evenings and weekends. Some of you may remember that we received a lot of assistance from the founders of LPI (the Linux Professional Institute) when we first launched. They had gone through a similar process in the late 1990s and provided valuable insight into legal and organizational matters, the psychometric process, creating partnerships for delivering exams, and lots of other details like creating certificates, seals, and welcome letters, global shipping costs, recertification policies, etc. They also introduced us to Sandra Dolan, who became the psychometrician for the BSD certifications. Over the years, we informally stayed in touch with LPI, sharing exam rooms at open source events, bouncing ideas off each other, and keeping track of each other's progress as the need for certifications peaked and waned in various parts of the world over the years. Over the last year or so, LPI expanded its focus from Linux-specific certification exams to creating Open Technology certification tracks that assess specific open source system administration skills. As their focus changed, our informal conversations went from "this would be a great opportunity to promote BSD" to "what would this look like if we partnered with the BSD Certification Group?". A partnership would offer several advantages: 1. Access to VUE testing centers, due to LPI's existing partnership with VUE. 2. Access to LPI's existing portal, for viewing one's ID number, certification status, and certification expiration date. 3. Access to LPI's marketing and mindshare, as well as promoting a BSD exam to a much larger audience. A partnership would also require several demands from the BSD certification perspective: 1. BSD exams would continue to be psychometrically valid and reviewed by BSD SMEs (Subject Matter Experts). 2. Existing BSDA certification holders would be recognized and have the opportunity to recertify when their BSDA expires. 3. Those interested in setting the direction and promotion of BSD exams would have a venue to do so (e.g. a BSD Advisory Committee) so that the BSD voice would not get lost in an organization that has "Linux" in its name. We are in the final stages of working out the contractual details for achieving both the advantages and the demands for a partnership with LPI. An official announcement will be made before the end of the year that will be published on both the LPI and BSD Certification websites, as well as sent to this mailing list. If you are interested in becoming a member of the BSD Advisory Committee, please contact me off list. If you have any questions about the upcoming partnership, please ask on list and we'll do our best to answer them. Cheers, Dru Lavigne Chair, BSD Certification Group _______________________________________________ BSDCert mailing list [email protected] http://lists.nycbug.org/mailman/listinfo/bsdcert
