[consulting] Drupal Certification

[Victor Kane]

To be thoroughly clear on this topic: the basic problem is not whether one
is in favor or against certification programs per se. The problem is, who
makes them, who designs them, for what purposes and to defend whose
interests?
If a certification program is created by big corporations looking to
commoditize development, drive down wages, and create a buyers' market, with
a view to controlling the process for their own gains and using it to stamp
out those organizing to defend the rights of those doing the work, then it
will be a "good" program if it achieves that end, but "good" for them, not
us.

I am a socialist, and I believe the workers should own the means of
production. Then it could make sense to form some kind of certification
program to help folks get work and learn the trade when they are new, and to
create sustainable forms of communication so that those seeking services are
well served, and that the needs of the people are truly met.

So it depends. But I can't help but feeling that any worthwhile such program
would look a lot like the meritocracy that has sort of existed in the Drupal
community for a long time: people helping each other to get started using
and developing, reputations based on contributions to the community and
general awesomeness in actual practice.

Victor Kane
http://awebfactory.com.ar

On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 10:49 AM, Ayen Designs <info at ayendesigns.com> wrote:

> Looking at it historically, I see certification having the same 'promise'
> as software frameworks replacing the developer. I've seen huge
> infrastructure certification processes for Project Managers (PMI), computers
> (MCSE), etc. They prove the person has great memory, often for trivia, and
> some problem-solving skills. The typical PHP certification is more of a PHP
> trivia test than anything else. It doesn't prove diddly about the developer
> having any of the intuition or thought-process needed for developing good
> code, good business rules, or even being able to understand specs. The PM
> certification doesn't tell me that when the critical path has gone critical
> that the PM won't collapse into a bowl of jello and make serious judgment
> errors. Not to malign offshore developers, but through much experience I can
> say that there is a fairly consistent issue of developers outside the west
> understanding the unwritten business assumptions, aesthetics and other
> intangibles that one expects to be present in design and development, unless
> those things are spelled out in agonizing detail. However, these same folks
> can score very high on certification exams.
>
>
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