MarkJOwen

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The end of CIP

Posted on 14/12/2015 by markjowen

The end of CIP

AIIM has announced the end of the CIP certification.A lot of people weren’t happy with this. In this post, I discuss some of the reasons that the bell was being tolled fo the CIP.

Since writing this post, AIIM has responded to this, and many other comments, that CIP holders (and others) made. AIIM announced that they were not abandoning the CIP certification, but were actually going to upgrade it. (You can read more here)

Premier Credential

It’s been 4 years since I attained AIIM’s Certified Information Professional (CIP) certification. At the time it seemed like a good idea.

Below is an extract from AIIM’s “CIP Examination Objectives”

The certification is dedicated too enhancing and promoting the profession of information management by providing the premier credential in the industry.

Note the word “premier“.

Exciting News

Last week, AIIM announced an exciting development. They described how they were “consolidating” their CIP and their Master designation.. In other words, the premier credential is going to be worthless.

The CIP was something that you qualified for, after sitting a rather rigorous exam that covered a vast range of areas within Information Management.

And then, because things are continuously changing, there was the requirement to re- qualify every X years, by accumulating X continual training units.

.The Master designation that they refer to is something that one can get after doing a course (in either Enterprise Content Management (ECM), Business Process Management (BPM), or Electronic Records Management (ERM)) , pass an exam, write a case study. and that’s it. No further “keeping up-to-date”

… there is a difference in a training institute’s “certificates” and an industry “certification.”

Kevin Parker (Information Management Consultant & AIIM Trainer)

I’ve been a big supporter of AIIM. I was even an “ambassador”. I’ve written several blog posts about them, and was one of their “expert bloggers”.

I saw value in the CIP. It created a “standard” (I wrote about this in an earlier post), so I was disappointed to see that it was, essentially, being killed off.

I don’t feel that the “Master” designation is quite the same as the CIP, but then, it appears that the CIP certification was not quite as popular as AIIM had anticipated. Apparently over the 4 years there were only 1000 Certified Information Professionals.

Why didn’t it work?

Lack of Interest

I can only really speak from my own perspective here. Jesse Wilkins has tried to give some explanations to the angry mob of CIP holders that gathered at his doorstep (and by “doorstep” I mean “on Twitter”), and it seems to boil down to “a lack of interest”.

it seems to boil down to “a lack of interest”

When the CIP appeared on the landscape I saw it as a great way of defining what I knew (with regards the field of Information Management), as well as creating a map of other areas that I needed to explore to become a well-rounded Information Professional. I found the idea of continual learning valuable. It was something that I did anyway, but now it was something that was being recognised.

I found the idea of continual learning valuable. It was something that I did anyway, but now it was something that was being recognised.

The other professional institutions (PMI, IIBA) have done it. Their certifications are internationally recognised (and career defining), but even those started out with just a handful of certification holders.

Value

So now that the CIP is gone. I ask “was it really necessary”. The fact that there wasn’t a great uptake shows that, maybe, it wasn’t. Information Professionals have carried on being Information Professionals, and companies have carried on hiring them based on their experience and knowledge.

Having CIP certification wasn’t really a deal-breaker. Back in 2012, before I embraced the CIP, I asked whether it would be JAC (Just Another Certification). The reason that I decided that it wasn’t was because of the reasons I described above.

A lack of a framework

Look at the PMI (Project Management Institute) certification, or the IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) certification. They are standards for professionals working in those fields. And having the certification does make a difference.

And these certifications are based on a BOK (Body of knowledge) that provides a framework for the way these professional perform. That’s what helped the certification to be seen as something professional. And that was something that the CIP lacked.

So what now?

That’s the question that I’m trying to answer. Some have even suggested that AIIM has no more value. I’m curious what you think? Does AIIM really make a difference?

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Emergent Collaboration

Posted on 29/01/2013 by markjowen

Mike Jacobs from Chess Media Group presented at AIIM’s conference in 2012. I discovered it on YouTube last night (click here to view it).

In his talk on Emergent Collaboration, he described a social business framework. This consists of 5 main areas:

Process
Organizational Culture
Governance
Goals and Objectives
Technology

These 5 areas were further broken down into various sub-areas, You can click on the image below to see more on this.

This really got me thinking…you need to cover all five areas to make sure the adoption of a collaboration strategy is sucessful. Just having one is not really enough.

For example… having the technology is important, but this by itself is not enough…

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“Social Obligation” – The Trouble with Gamification

Posted on 09/05/2012 by markjowen

What follows is one of my post that was recently published on AIIM’s site as an “Expert Blogger”. (The original can be read here)

———————————————————————–

“Social Obligation” – The Trouble with Gamification

“Social”, in an “inside-the-firewall” perspective, is often related to sharing information, sharing knowledge, as well as creating a greater degree of transparency. This includes, often, having a personal profile, filled with your skills and work-experiences, along with, maybe, something about your personal interests, etc. This is all so that others can see who knows what and can make contact with you if they feel that you know more about something than they do.

I am a great advocate of transparency…why not “advertise” what you know? Others can benefit from it. That’s great thing about Social – it offers a great opportunity to learn from others while at the same time allowing others to learn from you.

Also having the ability to, electronically, shout out loud, (to no-one in particular), “I have a problem with xyz. Can anyone help me?”, and then get a response from an answer from a colleague, who is not necessarily located in the same office/building/country, is valuable. Everyone helping everyone else.

Take this one step further, and introduce some “gamification”. Let people earn points, or badges depending on their involvement in helping resolve problems, or on how other people grade the persons work (documents, or whitepapers, that they have edited, stored in a content management system). Then we let “the people” decide the value the individuals bring to the table.

To further encourage these individuals, provide a Leader board that is available for everyone to see. This way it is obvious to all who the “rock star of the month” is, and provides a way to drive others to contribute, to earn those points, and raise their status.

It sounds like an excellent way to get involvement and as a way of sharing knowledge.

But what happens when you have those people who are just as smart as all the “rock stars”, who have oodles of knowledge and experience, and who do their job extremely well, but are just not the outgoing type. They’d much rather operate away from the glare of the spotlights.

Should these people be “judged” in comparison to the more “I am my Ego” types? Should these people feel awkward or even embarrassed because they are listed as number 437 on the Leader board? It is not similar to the adolescent way teenagers would be judged whether they are “Cool”, or not depending on their popularity.

Even the ability, in many systems, to “Like” specific content can be used for “evil”. On the one hand, it allows you to use it as a way of “bookmarking” (for yourself) content you found valuable. On the other hand, if it’s made public that a particular piece of content is very much “Liked”, what does that say about the other material (and the authors) present?

Really “Gamification” should not have a place inside the firewall.

I know that it has existed years before it was even called “gamification” (in the form of the ‘employee of the month’ or similar internal processes in place), but what is the real value in creating an artificial source of motivation? Shouldn’t the motivation be a real one?

As I mentioned, I think that being transparent is a great way of sharing knowledge. And knowledge sharing is a great way to learn. It’s when that sharing of knowledge is compulsory, in an aggressive, chest-beating kind-of-a-way, is what I disagree with.

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IT needs to be less “T” and more “B”

Posted on 20/04/2012 by markjowen

What follows is one of my post that was recently published on AIIM’s site as an “Expert Blogger”. (The original can be read here)

———————————————————————–

IT needs to be less “T” and more “B”

There is a “feeling” in the world of the Information Professional at the moment that there is too much focus on the “T” in IT. That is, the IT department focuses too much on “technology”. Usually at the expense of what the customer – in most cases the business users – really need.

Sure, the IT department is necessary to install and maintain the technical infrastructure that is necessary to allow a business to run, but then it must not forget that it is there to serve two masters – one is the executive layer who make the decisions regarding the purchasing of the necessary infrastructure (and pay the salary of those working in the IT department), and the other, which is the user of the technology. This is because it is the users of the technology that actually add value to the business.

The business users are the ones that carry out the activities that let the business achieve what it has to to exist. And anything that disrupts this process, or hinders it from being as efficient as it can be, is actually undesirable. This can include such things as the unnecessary installation of “new features”, to applications that don’t really fit with the activity that the business user carries out,

And this is why we have to start focusing less on the “T” (Technology) in IT. I’m not saying that the “T” is not important, but the “B” (“Business”) is also important. There needs to be more focus on the communication with the business. And not just “talking”, but actually more “listening”. And most importantly: “understanding”.

Understanding not only what the business is trying to do, but also how the business user carries out their tasks is incredibly valuable. Understand the business processes, and then configuring the technology in the best way to not only to meet what the business’ objective is, but also to take into account the way the user performs their tasks.

This leads to a more productive environment where the users feel that they are “involved” with the solution put into place, rather than feeling that the IT department has imposed the some cool, but not entirely useful, software solution on them.

We still need IT people who understand the “T”, but it’s the IT people who also understand the “B” and then can translate the “T” into something useful are the ones that are the most valuable.

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Why I Hate IT…

Posted on 01/04/2012 by markjowen

What follows is one of my post that was recently published on AIIM’s site as an “Expert Blogger”. (The original can be read here)

———————————————————————–

Why I Hate IT…

I hate IT, I hate IT, I hate IT. In fact, I cringe every time I hear IT.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about the acronym “I.T.” IT stands for Information Technology. But I guess you already knew that.

And why do I hate it? I never used to, but as the years have passed, I’ve started having an aversion to the term.

I used to be one, you know. An IT’er. And was proud of the fact. I used to imagine the office girls swooning as I walked past with my box of disks, and, maybe a large manual on the intricacies of printers (or similar). That was in the early days.

Then I got a job where they wanted to call me an “Application Specialist”. An “Application Specialist”! Can you imagine?! That was a title for someone who wasn’t really an IT’er. They might as well have asked me to dress in frilly pink.

But – OK – it was a job, and, most of the time, I was…begrudgingly…an ”Application Specialist”, but whenever I got a chance – I was “IT Guy”! I was in charge of the network! With a mere wave of my hand I could enable (or disable) functionality. I was the one who could implement new bizarre network policies (for the good of mankind, naturally), and it was I who held the power to apply patches, and fixes, whenever I deemed it necessary. (Bwahahaa)

Fast forward a couple of years, and I have a new position. I’m now actually working “with” the business users. I have to “listen”, and then provide a suitable solution. If something needs changing I need to seek their permission, to “justify” it. I can’t just go making changes because I “think” that the changes are “cool”, or will “help” the users. They are the “actual” owners of the system. I am just a custodian.

I didn’t give this any thought, but then, one day, after I had been working with a different department, doing requirements gathering, and helping “them” solve their issues, I overheard someone say “Mark is our favourite IT person”. And I cringed.

You see – I no longer consider myself involved with the “Technology”. I now saw myself as a generalist that “understood” technology, but also understood the business users, as well as the business processes, and was able to “use” technology in a way that was relevant.

And, while I was working through the preparatory material for the CIP examination, it dawned on me – there was nothing on the “technology”. There was only material on how to use the technology.

So, after a long-winded explanation, I hope you understand, now, why I hate IT.

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The Certified Information Professional is not an island

Posted on 08/03/2012 by markjowen

The Certified Information Professional is not an island

In “AIIM’s CIP Certification – it’s a map.” I compared AIIM’s CIP certification to a land made up of different villages, and areas, each with their own skilled residents.

When I originally started writing that post, I had a vision of an island where each knowledge domain represented a part of the island, which further contained representations of the “sub-domains”.

And, that’s when I drew the “map” that can be seen in that post.

However, after I had written the post I realized that that map shouldn’t have actually been of an island.

An island, by definition, is not a continuous landmass and is surrounded by water.

The Certified Information Professional is not an island

With an island, there is no connection with other islands or, for that matter, with other countries (especially if you looked at the map I drew). It is separate from everything else.

This was very, very wrong.

The whole idea of an Information Professional, as defined by the CIP certification is, (and as Jesse Wilkins described it in his post “Are you T-shaped?“), someone who has a good, broad, knowledge of the different territories (knowledge domains), someone who has travelled the highways of the land, and knows enough to be able to get around each territory without the use of GPS, or SatNav.

The Certified Information Professional knows enough about the customs of each territory, city, or village that they can communicate and interact easily with the locals of each area. If they need more in-depth local knowledge, they can hire a guide, but they have enough knowledge that they can see how each city, town, or village, interacts with the others.

The Certified Information Professional can see the “big picture”.

And this why the CIP map that I drew is not right. The land that I described is not isolated. It makes up part of a “global” environment and it interacts with other “lands”.

Think of it as a landlocked country in a continent made up of multiple countries (Europe for example). It takes advantages of its local talent, and specialized knowledge, but it interacts with the other countries. It requires them for services, and resources, that it doesn’t have. Just as the other countries, in turn, require the local skills and resources that it can provide.

So, from this, you can see that “CIP Land” is not an island. It’s a country. A country surrounded by other countries.

Information Management can’t exist without databases, without networks, without hard drives, or storage areas. Hell, if CIP Land was an island, my friend, the certified Information Professional wouldn’t exist for long.

Clearly my map of “CIP Island” needs to be redrawn…

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AIIM’s CIP Certification – it’s a map.

Posted on 27/02/2012 by markjowen

AIIM’s CIP Certification

What it is that I like about AIIM’s CIP certification, is that it helps you become part of a bigger world.

What do I mean by this?

Well – think of your “Information Professional” as someone living in a village.

A village called “Content Management”. They do their job and do it well. They’re not aware of the fact that beyond their own village lies a whole world. Then the person travels. Maybe they have to visit another area for their work, or they see people from other areas

Maybe they have to visit another area for their work, or they see people from other areas visiting and decide to go exploring. In any case, they get to see new sights or learn new things. The world, for them, however, is still uncharted.

I have lived in this land, and I also only knew of only a few areas. Gradually, however, I have travelled and seen new things.

At one point I started actively seeking out other residents. We all seemed to talk a common language, but each person had their own “regional” vernacular, or way of saying things. Each had their own experience and knowledge based on the areas where they were living. We learnt from each other.

The land we lived on was still uncharted. It had no boundary or borders. No-one knew where it started or stopped, or what places made up the land.

However, the CIP defines what knowledge an Information Professional should have. It creates a map of that land.

Looking at the map, I have come to realize that this collection of experiences and knowledge that I have from my many trips through different areas all fits into a big picture.

And that is what I like about the CIP. I now can look at it, and get an idea of the various places that make up this world.

I know which areas I need to revisit, or spend more time in, to give myself a more rounded set of knowledge and skills to be able to call myself an Information Professional.

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Is AIIM’s CIP Exam really worth doing?

Posted on 26/01/2012 by markjowen

Is the AIIM CIP really worth doing? In this post I have a look at what the CIP exam, and the certification, mean.

[Updated: May 2016]

In 202, when it first came out, Laurence Hart wrote about AIIM’s Certified Information Professional (CIP) certification, and the CIP exam. He was working at the time as CIO of AIIM and described the value of the CIP.

In response to this, I commented that I needed to be convinced that the CIP wouldn’t be just another of the many certifications that are available. (I referred to it as JAC – Just Another Certification)

Is the CIP a JAC – Just Another Certification?

Laurence posted a second blog post where he discussed, further, the type of content that he encountered in the exam.

This assuaged some of my concerns, but also prompted me to do something that I should have actually done in the beginning, and that is, read the CIP information that AIIM has on its site!

If I had, I would have seen that a lot of thought, and work, had been put into it.

As Laurence pointed out, the exam is not an easy one. The exam has 100 questions and is not the sort of thing that you can just do while sitting in the comfort of your own chair while flicking back and forth between the exam, and Google.

No, for this, you need to go to a Prometric test centre. The guys there are professionals, and you can expect to be under video surveillance while you do the exam.

When AIIM was putting the whole “certification” thing together, including the CIP exam, they went and asked the industry, what “stuff” was actually important to know.

This was all scribbled down in a large notebook, and then scrutinised by subject matter experts. The SME’s then created the monster known as the CIP exam. Very broad, but also very deep in each of the various areas.

AIIM also recognise that the industry is not a static thing. Technology changes, business processes change ways of working change. As a result, if you pass the exam, it’s only valid for three years. After that, it’s necessary to either re-sit the exam or to prove that you have attained a necessary level of continuing education credits ((in this case, 45).

And what does that mean?

Initially, this was something else that bothered me. “Hey, my company just paid $500 for an on-line training course. It was easy – didn’t have to do anything, and voila, I’m recertified.”

No – earning continued education credits is not so easy. You earn credits by attending conferences, formal university-level courses, chapter meetings, giving presentations. And you don’t earn that many credits for each of these items. Even if you re-sat the exam after three years, AIIM will be continuously updating it to reflect changes in the industry, so you can’t just “use the same answers as last time”.

This is what really impressed me. In the Netherlands, medical doctors need to keep up a certain level of training. Each course or conference they attend delivers them a certain number of points. To stay registered they need to attain a certain level each year. (It is most likely the same in other countries, it’s just my wife’s a doctor, and I get to hear about this all the time.)

I realize that there is a world of difference between a Certified Information Professional, and a Medical Doctor, but this one factor drove home to me how serious AIIM’s CIP certification is.

This one factor drove home to me how serious AIIM’s CIP certification is.

Based on what I have read, I’m putting the CIP exam high on my list of goals for this year.

(And, even though I’ve been working in the industry now for over 13 years, I’m not going to do the exam “cold” as Laurence did. I’ll be making damn good use of those training videos.)

Relevant links:

2016 CIP Program Update
Certified Information Professional 2016 Update Outline
CIP Data Sheet
CIP Study Guide
CIP – Maintain the Certification Form

Becoming a Certified Information Professional (wordofpie.com)
Certified Information Professional, A Valid Measure (wordofpie.com)
My Next Life as AIIM’s CIO (wordofpie.com)

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