On 11/7/06, Jesse Wilkins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> And at the risk of my own health and welfare (donning flameproof suit)
> personnel certifications are the same. Believe it or not, there are CDIA+s
> and even CRMs that are not exactly the most gifted practitioners, while
> there are any number of superlative practitioners without any alphabet
> soup
> after their names. (removes the suit)


yeah... well, I ain't touching that one  (and as many of you know, I'm
"soupless", aside from my designation as n RFNG!)

So to go back to Larry's point, DoD and other software certifications are
> good for what they are good for: validating a certain minimal requirements
> baseline which may or may not have any value for your particular
> organization and circumstances. They are a good starting point to consider
> requirements from, but should be taken with a couple pounds of salt and
> some
> serious analysis of your business processes and culture.


And this is the point I was making.  Depending on the level of
experience/knowledge of the person who originally asked the question, they
may be putting too much weight on something being certified... and Al's
excellent example of the concrete life vest indicates how dangerous this can
be.  It may be what it is, but it may not do what you expect.

Many times the advice given here goes to relative novices seeking answers,
and for them to get an incomplete answer sometimes does greater harm than
good.



> On Behalf Of Alan A Andolsen CMC CRM
>
> But isn't that what all other certifications are about -- achieving a
> goal,
> but not specifying all the steps.


Well, in many cases this is what Standards are about... but I view a
certification as a means of  measuring against something specific (a body of
knowledge, a set of measures, or whatever) and the item being "certified"
must demonstrate that it is able to what is required of it.

A certification is only a starting point that can define a range of
> capabilities that product has. It is up to the emptor [as in caveat
> emptor]
> to test and to judge which offering meets the required specifications.


I think we're saying the same thing here, but I'm not sure... but I won't
disagree with you, because you must be right... after all you've got "soup"
=)

Alan A Andolsen CMC CRM
>


Larry

-- 
Larry Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972

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