Staff Certification

(1) Explain the main objectives of training and certification. a. To develop the knowledge and skills needed by new employees and to update the knowledge and skills of veteran employees so as to assure efficient and effective task performance. b. To impart knowledge of style and structure procedures and work instructions to assure conformity of software products to the organizations standards. c. To impart knowledge of SQA procedures. d. To assure that the qualifications of candidates for key professional positions conform to the positions requirements. (2) Discuss what is needed to prepare a training and updating program. The three activities to be performed prior to planning a program are as follows. a. Determine the knowledge requirements for each position. These include knowledge obtained while acquiring a general professional education with the addition of the internally generated knowledge and skills required within the organization. b. Determine training and professional updating needs. These needs are ascertained through comparisons of the staffs knowledge with the state of the art. These should be specified for three populations: i. New employees (training) ii. Employees assigned to new position (retraining) iii. Other staff (professional updating). Training and updating needs should also be determined by performance requirements, based on feedback transmitted by the organizations various units. c. Plan training and updating programs. These programs will respond to the following issues: i. The use of in-house training teams and facilities or outsourcing ii. The timing of the training and updating activities (whenever possible) iii. The use of e-learning programs. (3) List the main components of a certification program. A certification program defines position requirements and responsibilities for carrying out the program and its revision. Certification requirementsmay include some or even all of the following components, depending on their relevance to the task or position: a. Professional education b. Internal training courses c. Professional experience in the current organization or another organization d. Evaluation of the candidates achievements and ability as found in periodic performance assessments e. Evaluation by the candidates direct superior

f. Demonstration of knowledge and skills by means of a test or a project g. Mentors supervision for a specified period. Certification responsibilities include: a. b. c. d. Response to requests made by applications or the organization Conduct of follow-up Revision of certification requirements according to technological developments Revision of the list of positions requiring certification.

(4) Explain the objectives of follow-up of trained and certified staff performance and main sources of the follow-up data. Follow-up is meant to provide the information necessary to initiate revisions of the training and certification programs based on performance data. Sources for performance data include: a. Regular performance metrics such as errors and productivity statistics prepared by the individual units b. Questionnaires completed by trainees, their superiors and others c. Analysis of outstanding achievements as well as failures d. Specialized review of software products (documents and code) produced by certified and trained employees.

Source: Galin, Software Quality Assurance From Theory to Implementation