Alfresco recognized developer test

[huima]

"you may now refer to yourself as an Recognized Alfresco Developer"

Phew.

I have to say that that test was nasty.

I highly recommend partners and new developers to apply to the test, since it really also pushes you to see whether you know your Alfresco.

[afaust]

It sure was a bit trickier than I expected initially and I have already suggested to some of my colleagues that they check up on some aspects they do not use regularly.

All in all I have to say it was kind of familiar to the SCJP / OCJP (Sun / Oracle Certified Java Programmer) tests, meaning it is a cross-section of Alfresco that Alfresco thinks reflects basic know-how, when in reality things might be different. As a partner, I would have liked to have less "What feature does Alfresco provide by default"-type questions or "Where in the UI is button X" (just my categorization and a dramatization, not an actual question), and more "What elements in the Alfresco architecture provide feature X" or "How can you react to content event Y". And some aspects that are essential for professional Alfresco development were simply missing.

I am looking forward to the completion of the first round of tests and the gathering of feedback. Additionally I am hoping the certification scheduled for this summer will be more what I expect from professionally relevant certification, considering Alfresco announced different specializations "just like" the higher-tier Java certifications.

[carlos_miguens]

Thanks for the feedback.

We are working already on the Certification process, a lot has to happen to get to the level of professional qualification we want and that you expect. The current test has been developed internally at Alfresco and there are some gaps, both in the range of material covered and also in the way the material is covered. This in itself can make the test more challenging.

The certification exams will be of a similar level but more specific, they will also be monitored, so will need to be taken at an exam centre.

I think the current exam is a good practice for the certification exams to come later.

One issue we still have to resolve is the applicability/expiration of the test. As you know the Alfresco product changes with relative speed. When should a certification be no longer valid?

[afaust]

Expiry of certifications can be a tricky thing. Since I have not yet received my certificate I do not know what information will be included in it.

My thoughts on this:

On a personal level (individual certificates) I think it would be enough to state the version used as the base for the test and define a standard how this should be evaluated (by customers/employers) similar to the support process, e.g. a certificate for 3.3 will still be considered valid when 3.4 and 3.5 are released / used in a project, but should be considered inapplicable for 4.0 or 3.6 and higher. This of course only applies if Alfresco continues the current version and development track / patterns.

On an organizational level concerning the right of a partner to claim the title of Recognized / Certified Partner, the same evaluation should be restricted to the most recent version only. This means a partner is "recognized" / "certified" when he has X developers/employees with personal certificates that are valid as outlined above (3.3 => [3.3 - 3.5]). There should also be a transitional phase, giving partners the chance to re-certify against e.g. a 4.0 when it is released before the title is revoked.

There may be critics though targeting the need for re-certification after a certain release as a money-printing scheme. This could be mitigated by a reduced "Refresh/Upgrade" certification, including the possibility for developers to re-certify all qualifications in a single session.

[carlos_miguens]

Thanks for the excellent feedback.