Certification Track at LibreOffice Conference in Berlin

Transcript

1. 1 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 LibreOffice Certification Program Italo Vignoli Director of The Document Foundation Chairman of the Certification Committee
2. 2 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Agenda Italo Vignoli Certification in the Marketplace Outline of LibreOffice Certification Program Certification of Developers Outline of Migration and Training Protocols TDF and Certification Professionals Discussion Objectives, Needs and Issues Next Steps to Launch Certification in 2013
3. 3 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Background Stuff
4. 4 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Wikipedia: Defining Certification Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person or organization This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review or assessment Today, one of the most common types of certification is professional certification, where a person is certified as being able to competently complete a job or task, usually by the passing of an examination Certification does not refer to the state of legally being able to practice or work in a profession
5. 5 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Wikipedia: Certification Issues The current proliferation of IT certifications has led some technologists to question their value Proprietary content that has been distributed on the Internet allows some to gain credentials without the implied depth or breadth of expertise Certification programs that take into account length of service and recognized experience, via peer and community recognition avoid some of the issues associated with a simple examination
6. 6 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Wikipedia: Certification in Computer Technology Professional certifications in computer technology are non-degree awards made to those who have achieved qualifications specified by a certifying authority Depending on the certification, qualification may include completing a course of study, a proof of competence, a grade on an examination or some combination thereof The intention is to establish that an individual holding a certification is technically qualified to hold certain types of position within the field
7. 7 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Wikipedia: Certification Length Certifications need to be renewed periodically As a part of a complete renewal of an individual's certification, it is common for the individual to show evidence of continual learning
8. 8 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Resource (http://www.gocertify.com/)
9. 9 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Wikipedia: RedHat Certification Program The program was launched in January 1999 As of 2010, there were nearly 75,000 Red Hat certified professionals spanning 162 countries All certifications are given after passing exams The program distinguishes itself in that exams are performance-based, meaning that students must perform tasks on a live system rather than answering multiple choice questions
10. 10 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 BSD Certification (http://www.bsdcertification.org)
11. 11 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Wikipedia: Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) The Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) is a certification program for using the Microsoft Office suite for business applications The MOS examinations are managed by the third party company Certiport, rather than Microsoft To achieve the title of "Microsoft Office Master" an individual must pass exams for 4 main Office products: Word and Excel (both at "Expert" level), and 2 of Access, Outlook or PowerPoint
12. 12 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Wikipedia: Microsoft Certification Resources There are several courses, boot camps and practice tests from different vendors offering preparation material for Microsoft certification exams Bootcamps provide residential program that includes food and lodging, and are meant for busy professionals who do not have enough time for self-preparation or wish to get trained by professional trainers Microsoft Press provides several books towards Microsoft certification exams preparation Apart from Microsoft Press books, there are other reputed publishers like Sybex, and others In addition to books, Microsoft Learning also offers courses for each of the exams
13. 13 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 LibreOffice Certification Program
14. 14 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Program (draft) LibreOffice Certification THE DOCUMENT FOUNDATION Certification Project Management Certification Process (Trainers: Sponsors / Members) Development Migration Support Training Certified Organizations (Sponsors / Members / Third Parties) LibreOffice Migration / Integration / Deployment Projects Corporate Users / Governments / Organizations YEAR. FEE REIMBURS. PAY CONSULTANCY / VAS
15. 15 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Program Overview There are two distinct aspects to certification To certify individuals or organizations that are recognized community members and/or contributors To certify competence in specific areas like development, migrations, training and support (L2 and L3) There are several distinct objectives in certification To increase the global perceived quality of the ecosystem To allow individuals or organizations that are recognized community members and/or contributors to sell their services based on recognized competence To relief the individual responsible for the migration to LO from the entire responsibility of the problems
16. 16 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Program Challenge Certified professionals have the objective of extending the reach of the community to the corporate world, and offering CIOs and IT managers a professional recognition in line with proprietary offerings The challenge is to grow the ecosystem around the project and the product in order to cross the chasm (a lull in market development that occurs after the visionary market is saturated and pragmatists will not buy into a discontinuous technology unless they can reference other pragmatists, which are highly support oriented)
17. 17 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Program Peculiarities LibreOffice Certification is going to be the first from an independent community and not from a corporate sponsor Developing a new certification model is both a challenge and an opportunity, for TDF and for its partners It should be absolutely clear that the program it is not supposed to become a source of competition for corporate sponsors, partner companies and members who provide VAS (value added services) to the market The certification provides a method of regulating the quality of value added services provided by these entities and a method of recognizing that services conform to clear and transparent regulatory criteria
18. 18 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Program Description (1) LibreOffice Certification is overseen by TDF Board of Directors through a Certification Committee, which is purely functional and will be reporting to the BoD on a quarterly basis The members of the Certification Committee are approved by the BoD TDF Certifications recognizes the individual competence but does not bind The Document Foundation to the actions of the certified individuals, nor is holding it liable for their actions The quality of service is the sole responsibility of the certified individuals
19. 19 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Program Description (2) The certification path will be shorter and easier for TDF members, and will be exclusive to TDF members in the area of development TDF members will be also the first to be certified, according to the criteria set by the Certification Committee for migration, support and training Certification criteria, requirements to apply for certification, training programs and accreditation process will be defined by the Certification Committee, with the help of TDF partner companies and TDF members The Engineering Steering Committee and the Advisory Board members will also be instrumental for the creation and the evolution of the certification program
20. 20 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Program Description (3) Certification will be attributed to individuals who have demonstrated their skills by participating to the community, or who have followed a certification training and have passed the final test Certification will last for 24 months from the time of the test, and will be renewed for another 24 months by going through the relevant test just before (three months) or immediately after (three months) the expiration date There will be a certification fee for third parties, which will not be applied to core contributors (members with a high level of involvement in the project)
21. 21 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certification Committee Italo Vignoli (coordination) Olivier Hallot and Charles Schulz in representation of the Board of Directors Sophie Gautier and Cor Nouws in representation of the Membership Committee Jan Holesovsky (SUSE), Stephan Bergmann (RedHat), Björn Michaelsen (Canonical) and Tim Janik (Lanedo) in representation of developers Jacqueline Rahemipour and Lothar Becker in representation of third parties
22. 22 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certified Developer Is able to hack LibreOffice code in order to Develop new features or provide L3 Support to enterprise users Research and develop solutions to new or unknown issues Design and develop one or more courses of action, evaluating each of these in a test case environment, and implementing the best solution to the problem Once the solution is verified, it is delivered to the customer and given back to the community Certified Core Developers need to be present TDF members, and part of their certification is peer review by the Engineering Steering Committee
23. 23 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certified Migration Professional Is able to coordinate the migration process from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, working with the customer to manage all aspects of the process (integration, development of macros and templates, training and support) in order to have a smooth transition
24. 24 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certified Professional Trainer Is able to teach the use of LibreOffice at basic, intermediate or advanced level
25. 25 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certified L1 Support Professional Is able to handle basic customer issues, gathering the customer’s information and determining the customer’s issue by analyzing the symptoms and figuring out the underlying problem Technical support specialists in this group typically handle straightforward and simple problems like verifying the proper hardware and software set up, and assisting with application menus In a corporate environment, the goal for the group is to handle 70-80% of the user problems before finding it necessary to escalate the issue to L2 support
26. 26 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Certified L2 Support Professional Is able to assist L1 support personnel in solving basic technical problems and investigating elevated issues by seeking for known solutions related to these more complex issues If a problem is new or a solution cannot be determined, is responsible for raising this issue to L3 support Technical support specialists in this group typically handle complex functional problems Within a migration project, is able to develop macros and/or templates reproducing Microsoft Office ones, to offer end users the same functionalities they were used to
27. 27 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Migration Certification
28. 28 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Migration Project (draft) Evolution 1 1 2 2 N N Week 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week N Transition Preparation Pilot Users Kick Of Finalization Formazione Support Training Communication
29. 29 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Migration Process Migration from MS Office to LibreOffice is a complex endeavor, which need multiple skills and a strong project management background Migration starts from the analysis of the situation, including macros and templates, and gets to the objective through a number of steps: communications, identification of power users, training, migration pilot, rollout and support Although there might be different approaches to migration, The Document Foundation considers some steps as key for the success, and will certify migration professionals following specific guidelines
30. 30 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Draft Protocol of Migration Process Preparation Communication Get Power Users Kick Off End User Training Pilot of First Users LibreOffice Support Official Transition Finalization
31. 31 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Training Certification
32. 32 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Training Training is a key factor in any LibreOffice deployment Trainers must be not only proficient in the use of LibreOffice but must also have a strong teaching experience Certified trainers will be responsible for the contents and the length of the trainings, according to the objectives of each course The ability to personalize the trainings according to the end user needs will be a compulsory requirement
33. 33 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Expectations
34. 34 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 Training Ideally, a certified individual is a good citizen of the LibreOffice community In fact, behind every activity covered by the certification there are opportunities for improvements to the project and the software Certified individuals should become ambassadors of TDF and LibreOffice, as they are the ones facing organizations, companies and users
35. 35 LibreOffice Conference Berlin 2012 All text and image content in this document is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License (unless otherwise specified). "LibreOffice" and "The Document Foundation" are registered trademarks. Their respective logos and icons are subject to international copyright laws. The use of these therefore is subject to the trademark policy. Italo Vignoli italo.vignoli@documentfoundation.org skype italovignoli - gtalk italo.vignoli@gmail.com