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Launching a New Certification Program
Dec. 5, 2014
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Minette Chan: Global Head, Training and
Enablement, Ooyala
• Jamie Rosa: Certification Program Manager, Puppet
Labs, Inc.
• Peter Manijak: Head of Certification, Acquia
• Joanne Coleman: Director, Certification, NetSuite
• Joe Cannata: Senior Manager of Certification, HP
Software
• Kenneth Salchow: Senior Program Manager,
Professional Certification, F5 Networks
Case Study Presenters
2
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Launched new and complex product
solutions, and need to ensure Technical field
team is enabled and ready
– Target Audience: Sales Engineers
– 100% completion rate, 92% pass rate
– Led to increase in sales with shorter time to close
OOYALA Certification Business Case:
3
CEdMA Special Interest Group
March 2014
Project approved
Create plan
Define goals and success metrics
April to June 2014
Purchase LMS
Develop materials with 20+ SMEs to create 40+ new
training materials
July to August 2014
Build course in LMS Finalize assessment
and logistics
Launch online prerequisites.
September 2014
Held 4-day in-person certification class with the 4th day reserved
for participant presentations and
exams
Ooyala Project Plan: High level steps
4
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Biggest Regret: Stakeholder participation AND
commitment right from the beginning
• Biggest Win: Overall format and approach. Wise
use of prerequisites. Use of real-life case studies
and presentations made learning come alive and
engaged company executives
• Recommendations: Smaller chunks of
assessments vs one big final exam; SME
involvement from the get-go; Think NEED to
know vs NICE to know.
Ooyala Discussion:
5
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Why did you launch your program at the
time you did
– There has been significant demand for
individuals with Puppet skills, so it was
determined that a certification program would
provide a benchmark to validate these skills.
• Did you get the results you expected?
– Growth has been slower than expected.
Puppet Labs Business Case:
6
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Define program outline
• Setup vendors to support exam
development and delivery
• Establish exam development and launch
timelines
• Establish program policies and procedures
• Develop marketing plan and collateral
• Launch program
PL Project Plan: High level steps
7
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Lessons Learned:
– Biggest Regret
– Biggest Win
– What advice would you give someone
planning to launch a new program?
Panel Discussion:
8
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• There was a need to fill a gap in the open-
source Drupal world. This is essentially
digital and web platform community.
• First concern was to not upset the open
source world with a program from the
largest company in the Drupal related
world
• Second concern is to grow program by
x10 next year
Manijak Business Case:
9
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Understand business case
• Audience Analysis
• Set strategy and get buy in from
management
• Execute exam development
• Announce roadmap as part of new web
site
• Launch Program March 22, 2014
Manijak Project Plan: High level steps
10
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Lessons Learned:
– Biggest Regret – Not having agreed to
numbers to declare success
– Biggest Win – Adoption from the community
– What advice would you give someone
planning to launch a new program?
• Get agreed to participation numbers from executive
management
Panel Discussion:
11
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Why did you launch your program at the time you
did:
– There was demand from our Partner Community for a
way to distinguish NetSuite expertise
– And our customers were also looking for a way to
identify knowledgeable NetSuite Administrators
• Did you get the results you expected?
– Not quite. Adoption has been much lower than we
had hoped for. 1 year out, 234 Certified Consultants,
under 400 across 3 titles.
NetSuite Business Case:
12
CEdMA Special Interest Group13
NS Project Plan High Level Steps
Company Support Stakeholder meetings
Budget Approval
Vendor selection (Testing, Consulting)
Exam Creation Test Blueprint / Survey
Job Task Analysis
Item Writing Workshop / SME Tech Review
Psychometric Review
Beta Exam
Grading / Form Construction
Launch Define Operations
Marketing
Embed Certification in other programs: Sales,
Channel, PS, Support
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Lessons Learned:
– Biggest Regret: Administrator Exam before
Consultant exam
– Biggest Win: High quality exams
– What advice would you give someone
planning to launch a new program?
– Think about the marketing with the launch,
instead of after, get that integration with other
departments built in
NetSuite Discussion:
14
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Why did you launch your program at the
time you did
– The goal was to have the industry’s first SAN
certification, and give credibility to the
technology
• Did you get the results you expected?
– Yes, uptake was slow, but built steadily over
the next two years
Cannata Business Case:
15
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Get executive buy-in
• Get Middle management buy-in
• Define program goals
• Set budget requirements
• Establish a timeline for implementation
• Launch the first exam
• Market the program
Cannata Project Plan: High level steps
16
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Lessons Learned:
– Biggest Regret
– Biggest Win
– What advice would you give someone
planning to launch a new program?
Panel Discussion:
17
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Old Program Lacked Validity
– No credibility or value
• Expanded Product Line/Complexity
– Daily job requirements extend beyond product
• Test Delivery Provider Difficulties
– Contract Expiration Pushed Agenda
Business Case:
18
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Define/Design Program
– What is the value proposition?
– Not carved in stone, but provides guidance
• Plan/Begin Exam Development
– Our exams take 7 months and over 1200 man-
hours of SME time (per exam)
• Implement Credentialing Process
– Systems, Marketing, etc.
F5 Project Plan: High level steps
19
CEdMA Special Interest Group
• Lessons Learned:
– Biggest Regret
– Biggest Win
– What advice would you give someone
planning to launch a new program?
Panel Discussion:
20
CEdMA Special Interest Group
Peter Manijak:Contact Info: [email protected] and/or
Phone: 508-533-2755, cell 508-873-3904
Please do send any ideas or suggestions for the next
meeting or please do call. Here are some ideas.
- How to grow your certification program
- Proving value to the company
- Develop a candidate survey to help demonstrate ROI
Introducing our new CertSIG Chair
21
