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"Most certification today is pure 'credentialism.' It must begin to reflect our demand for excellence, not our appreciation of parchment."

-William John Bennet

As president of ABPMP, I am often asked for my opinion about "certification" programs. I first ask what the person asking wants from a certification and then try to explain the different types of "certification."

Who wants to be certified and what do they expect from certification? According to recent studies, 60 percent of those seeking certification have at least a bachelor's degree. Consultants, senior professionals, managers, and computing specialists make up the vast bulk of certification seekers. Their reason for getting certified? Forty-five percent say personal growth, 37.3 percent say for the credential and 5.1 percent say for self-evaluation.

Businesses recognize value in certification. One survey found the average spent on certification--including training, courses, books, and examinations--was $6,525 per person, and 90 percent reported they received the expected ROI.

If you are considering going for certification, you should consider four questions. What type of certification is offered? What body/organization(s) accredits the certification? Where is this certification recognized? What is the long-term value of this certification for you and your career?

Certifications fall on a continuum with "course attendance" at one end and "professional licensure" at the other. A certificate of attendance says that you sat through the class, whether you learned anything or not. A certificate of learning or proficiency is given for passing a test after a course of study. This type of certification is the most common in the technical field today to validate that the certifier is qualified to use a specific product.

After that, things get a bit more complicated. Who created the examination and how valid is it in determining that you learned the intended lessons? Has the examination been psychometrically evaluated and the scoring validated? Are the course materials and examinations accredited by some impartial organization or just by the organization giving the test? Programs "accredited" by the same organization that produces them probably won't have the same value and credibility as those that are evaluated by an independent body.

Professional certifications for doctors, lawyers, engineers and so on typically require a combination of examinations, experience, adherence to a code of ethics, membership in a professional society, and a program of continuing education. They are typically accredited by an independent body of practitioners, by a government agency and/or other professional accreditation body.

To date, while I recommend a few training programs, I am unaware of any real professional certification program in BPM. ABPMP's Education Committee is developing the prerequisites for a professional certification program now, such as a Guide to the BPM Body of Knowledge, a recommended curriculum for academic programs and evaluation criteria of professional training programs. Next, we will begin building a professional certification program in BPM with appropriate specialties and continuing education requirements.

"Certification, in itself, is not the goal, but Professionalism is."

-Paul Pair, Fellow of the ICCP

Brett Champlin, CSP, CCP, CDMP, is the president and founder of the Association of Business Process Management Professionals (ABPMP.org), a non-profit, vendor independent professional society dedicated to the advancement of business process management. ABPMP is practitioner-oriented and practitioner-led. Brett is also a member of the board of directors at the Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) where he chairs its Strategic Planning Committee and is vice president of its executive committee. You may email him at President@abpmp.org.

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