Certification

A Suggested Approach to Acceptance

Robert N. Reinstedt, R. Berger

Expert InsightsPublished 1973

Certification of the professional competence of programmers is the most pressing personnel problem facing the computing industry. There are clear signs that, if the industry does not come up with a valid certification program, the government will. All the professional data processing societies agree that certification should be done by peers, but there is no evidence of the industry's readiness to do the job. The first essential is to establish job requirements; the AFIPS job analysis program under Ray Berger is nearing completion. A universe of task statements needs to be collected and carefully evaluated, and varying interpretations must be harmonized. Then the skills required to perform the tasks should be identified by a similar procedure. Finally, the skills should be translated into training, experience, and personal qualities. Any qualifying examination must be constructed on the basis of the job analysis; interim tests on any other basis may do more harm than good. (For publication in Datamation.)

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1973
  • Pages: 12
  • Document Number: P-5023

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Reinstedt, Robert N. and R. Berger, Certification: A Suggested Approach to Acceptance. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1973. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5023.html.
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