Taking IT Certification to the Next Level
By Nancy Seamons
Every so often, the IT training and certification industry produces a revolutionary new offering, one that breaks new ground in testing, training and customer opportunity. Cisco's CCIE is one example. Novell's Certified Directory Engineer is the latest such offering.
What Is It?
Novell's Certified Directory Engineer certification is geared to senior IT professionals involved in the design, implementation, optimization and maintenance of directories and directory-enabled solutions.
This certification provides assessment of the engineer's ability to manage complex technical environments and the demands of business.
Novell's high standards for the prerequisite certification and testing ensure only the elite IT professionals receive the title of Certified Directory Engineer. This certification indicates the highest level of professional achievement and expertise in integrated directory solutions.
This elite certification is designed for experienced IT professionals with a broad understanding of network operating systems such as, NetWare, Windows NT, Linux or Windows 2000. Two or more years of network experience or Internet administration is recommended, along with network and Internet installation and troubleshooting and resolving directory solutions in a production environment.
This certification applies to an industry-wide audience consisting of CNEs, MCSEs, IBM specialists and CCIEs. To qualify for the CDE certification, the candidate is required to pass three exams, specifically:
- The written exam for Course 991, an Advanced NDS course;
- The written exam for Course 995, a Directory Services Technologies course; and
- The Novell Practicum, a live lab based on real-world directory solution scenarios.
A migration roadmap exists for each major industry certification to prepare the candidate for these exams. An IT professional with a current CNE, MCSE, CCIE or IBM specialist certification qualifies to enter the testing to become a CDE. The CDE is a new way of looking at network management training and certification. It is the first certification to focus on directory solutions.
Each element and course requirement of Novell's CDE certification tests candidates rigorously to assess skill, knowledge and ability. The differentiating element in Novell's CDE program lies in the unique Practicum exam element of the certification. This Practicum exam pushes candidates beyond traditional levels of assessment, integrating a new testing technology and creating an entirely different approach to IT certification testing.
Why A New Approach To Testing?
For most organizations, the directory is mission critical. The directory has become central to network management, authentication, security, integration and design. To perform at the most effective and efficient level, a directory engineer must be able to clearly demonstrate both knowledge and skill in a genuine directory environment. To do so in the past, it was necessary for candidates to travel to distant labs in order to undergo the rigorous testing that determined whether or not they had acquired the necessary skills and abilities to attain this highest level of certification. While the test secured candidates' abilities to perform all necessary tasks, the process was neither efficient nor effective. The time candidates spent travelling to and from testing labs stole valuable time from the work environment and the performance of their jobs. The travel to and from lab sites also greatly increased the cost of testing, essentially placing a non-program-related hurdle to becoming certified. The Novell Practicum allows for the candidate's skills and abilities to be tested, without the cost and inconvenience of travel.
From the earliest days in the development of the CDE certification program, Novell has been devoted to developing an alternative to provide a more efficient, cost-effective and practical means for testing candidates. To do so, the company developed a brand-new testing environment. The Novell Practicum exam is the result.
What Is The Novell Practicum?
The Novell Practicum situates certification candidates in a live lab setting where a directory system representing a real-life IT support environment is accessed remotely to a specially selected local testing center. The exam is housed in a bank of servers, which are configured to replicate a challenging customer environment. The test candidate remotely operates these servers, using the actual utilities available in an actual customer environment to monitor and troubleshoot as they would in the actual job setting.
To pass the exam, the CDE candidate must correctly diagnose all problems, fully resolve all directory inconsistencies and create an entirely healthy environment within the specified testing period. The exam is graded on a pass/fail basis, determined by an analysis of the directory environment at the conclusion of the exam.
While test candidates can take the Practicum from their own locales, they do need to first register and reserve an actual bank of servers for the time allotted to take the test, just as they would in an actual physical lab environment.
In addition to the efficiency of the Practicum exam, the test itself offers a unique approach to certification and one that puts candidates to the test as though they were in the actual work environment. Simulating a lab scenario that acts in real time, the Practicum requires candidates to act and react immediately, testing knowledge, ability and skill at an unprecedented level.
Preparing for the Novell Practicum requires hands-on practice. Simply memorizing facts or utilization of particular tools is not enough to complete or pass the exam. Candidates must demonstrate skills such as diagnosing problems, weighing alternatives in a real-time environment and working efficiently, as well as extensive knowledge and ability regarding directories, occuring at the same time.
"Excellent exam-will do a very good job of weeding out unskilled people. Very good test of knowledge, practical thinking and problem-solving," said Raj Sharma, senior consultant at DAT Enterprises.
How Was The Program Developed?
To develop the Practicum exam, Novell brought together a team of engineers with industry knowledge and experience to consult with the best directory experts, instructional designers, instructors and skill-assessment professionals who know the directory. Extensive input from senior consultants and actual technical support scenarios formed the basis for both the course and the actual Practicum exam. From this information-gathering, a robust set of objectives was created and refined. These objectives formed the course outline and test development began. Both the exams and the course went through international alpha and beta tests before being officially released.
Where Will CDE Go In The Future?
The Certified Directory Engineer program has a strict Continuing Certification Requirement. Each year, those certified must demonstrate additional ability with the directory and related technology to maintain their active certification status. Novell works with existing directory experts, industry leaders and those who are directory-certified to determine these requirements. Novell will work to ensure the Certified Directory Engineer program is well-regarded and seen as the directory certification of choice for everyone from independent consultants to large corporations.
Novell's high standards for the prerequisite certification and testing ensure only the elite IT professionals receive the title of Certified Directory Engineer. This certification indicates the highest level of professional achievement and expertise in integrated directory solutions.
Who Is Getting Certified And Why?
The Certified Directory Engineer program has been adopted by a wide range of IT engineers in a variety of industries, such as banking and financial services, network architects and consultants and large-scale system integrators. These industries place a heavy emphasis on directory technology, as it is crucial to the success of the business, and this emphasis has generated increased interest and participation from IT professionals within such areas.
IT professionals are consistently looking for additional certifications as careers progress. In addition, many expect that employers will include specific certifications as a requirement for employment. Internal corporation technical support positions and consultants are two of the largest groups in which certification requirement is valuable to the credibility of the IT professional. In addition to these desires and requirements for IT professionals, the majority of IT professionals who register for the Practicum exam do so based on the sheer challenge that it presents. In the words of one test candidate, "A horrifying, exhilarating, gut-wrenching experience, but probably the best test of knowledge and skill I have ever taken."
Conclusion
Novell's Certified Directory Engineer program, with its ground-breaking Practicum exam, advances the state of the art in IT certification programs and raises the bar for all future developments in this arena. The Practicum, the final test in the certification program, is the industry's first practical examination element of a computer engineering qualification. The Practicum, Novell's new real-world testing scenario, provides IT professionals proof that assures employers, prospective employers and customers that they can actually do all they say they can do. As Sharma said about Novell's Practicum, "This is exactly what the industry needs. Real-world, hands-on exams to separate the real engineers from the paper ones."
Nancy Seamons is the CDE program manager for Novell Education. She can be reached at (800) 861-8248 or by e-mail at nseamons@novell.com.
