The Certified Information Professional is back

The Certified Information Professional certification is back!

AIIM have announced that the CIP certification will not be going away.


Certified Information Professional – Before the Announcement

When AIIM originally (and quietly) announced the end of the AIIM Certified Information Professional (CIP) on the 11th of December 2015, there was a strong reaction.

Possibly stronger than AIIM had expected.

Here’s a small list of some of the feedback that was given:

  • George Parapadakis: The rise and fall of CIP – by AIIM
  • Laurence Hart (ex AIIM CIO): The CIP: A Lost Opportunity
  • My previous post: The end of CIP
  • Chris Walker: CIP No More – Meh
  • Dan Antion (AIIM Board Member): Ding Dong the CIP
  • AIIM LinkedIn group discussion: An update on the Certified Information Professional program
  • Twitter: https://storify.com/markjowen/aiim-cip-tweets

(If I have missed any, let me know.)

If you read all those, you’ll see that most people were upset that the CIP was “deactivated”.

They feel cheated, and you can see other Info Management organisations circling. There’s even discussion about setting up an alternative certification.

At the same time, there was a small number that said “didn’t really need it”, and a couple of inputs from AIIM Board members that said (more, or less) “stop crying”.


Explanation

Noticing the unrest, early on, among the CIP natives, AIIM CEO John Mancini wrote a “justification post” on the 14th of December 2015. (This was alluded to in Dan Antion’s post).

John gives some reasonable reasons for stopping the certification:

  • There was no alignment between the CIP abd what was being taught in their courses.
  • There was more interest in knowledge gained from a course rather than being part of a qualified group.
  • It was hard to get adoption by the industry
  • Maintaining the CIP was costing more than it was earning.
  • AIIM made a decision to give more of its focus to their Master program.

You can read more here.

 


Turn Around

4 days later (18 December 2016), John publishes a well-worded announcement in which he states that they will be continuing the CIP, and improving it.

it’s easy to forget that passion is the underlying force that keeps any association alive

– John Mancini

In the announcement, John states:

  1. We will continue the CIP and begin work on CIP 2.0.
  2. For CIP 2.0, we will redefine its body of knowledge as the full body of knowledge represented across all of AIIM’s training courses.
  3. We will launch CIP 2.0 at AIIM16.

This really excites me … for two reasons.

  1. It means that AIIM listened to its members.
  2. They are not only reinstating it, but aligning it to the training material, and courses, that they produce.

The alignment of the CIP and the training material is absolutely brilliant and something that really needs to be done.

The IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) offer the CBAP certification. This certification is based on an understanding of the BABOK (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge). All training materials exist to reinforce the/focus on the BABOK. That is, the BABOK came first, and then the certification after it.

This is where there was a lack of alignment with the CIP. The training material, and the certification did not, actually, reinforce each other directly.

 


Post Announcement

  • Dan Antion (AIIM Board Member): Remain Calm You’re Still a CIP
  • Kevin Parker: The Certified Information Professional (CIP) Lives Again!
  • Project Consultant: AIIM ECM Master Kurs komplett überarbeitet
  • Twitter: https://storify.com/markjowen/aiim-cip-post-anouncment-tweets

 


Happy Ending?

I’m really keen to see how this will go. It’s been made clear that there are a lot of supporters of both CIP, and AIIM in the community. And I’m really glad that AIIM is going to be overhauling the CIP certification.

I feel, however, like I’ve been watching a TV series, where you’ve seen watching the main protagonist fighting challenges. Will he survive? Can he do it? The hero has many long-term supporters that have come to assist him, and yet, at the same time, a few of these have shown their true colors, and are secretly working against him.

We, the viewers know it. The main hero, however, doesn’t…

Let’s wait for the next season….

 


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The end of CIP

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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The Value of BA Standards

In 2015 I had the honour to present at the DREAM15 event. This is run by DREAM (Dutch Requirements Engineering And Management).

In an earlier post, I wrote about the 22 reasons that I was attending the conference.

However, in that post, I didn’t mention the 23rd reason – that I had been invited to present.


The Mistakes Pieter Made, or the Value of BA Standards

Here is the slide deck from that presentation.

[slideshare id=53786963&doc=themistakespietermade-151011062302-lva1-app6892]

 


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What value does the IIBA Alliance offer?

 

IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) has announced a strategic alliance with four leading, global organizations. 

The four “leading, global, organisations” are:

  • BCS The Chartered Institute for IT,
  • BRM Institute,
  • IREB, and
  • Sparx Systems Pty Ltd.

In my opinion, this IIBA Alliance is a good thing.

Each of these organisations offer real value – often in ways that the IIBA can’t.

 

Map Makers

Let’s face it, IIBA does not pretend to be an expert in any one specific field.

The IIBA (according to themselves) assists business analysts by defining standards for business analysis, identify the skills necessary to be effective in the business analyst role and recognise BA competency through their CCBA and CBAP certification.  

In fact, in an earlier post, (CBAP Certification as a Destination), I mentioned that “the BABOK was merely providing an extremely good high-level map of the BA world. One with signposts to areas that needed further exploring.”

 

Members of the IIBA Alliance

So what value do the parties of this alliance have to offer? Let’s have a look…

BCS

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, promotes good working practices, codes of conduct, skills frameworks and common standards. (In that respect, they are similar to the IIBA).

They provide rich, detailed, guidance, and certifications, for specific areas relating to Business Analysis. I have always been impressed with their in-depth material. In fact, one of the most valuable books that I have in my BA bookcase, is “Business Analysis Techniques”, it’s my go-to book when I want to understand specific BA techniques

I see the BCS as definitely complementing what the IIBA offers. (Check out their website, the qualifications, and certifications that they offer, and their list of excellent books).

Let’s face it, IIBA does not pretend to be an expert in any one specific field.

BRM Institute

The Business Relationship Management Institute advances the art and discipline of BRMThey offer training and varying degrees of certification in BRM. They also have their own BOK, the BRM Body of Knowledge. 

Having the BRMI in a partnership with the IIBA is definitely a winner. It will definitely strengthen the discipline of Business Analysis.

You can read more about the BRM Institute on their website.

IREB

The International Requirements Engineering Board provides training and certification in the field of Requirements Engineering (naturally). Their certification is the Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering (CPRE), and is made up of three levels – Foundation, Advanced, Expert. (The Expert level is in the planning stages – so really it’s only two levels).  The IREB publish an excellent (free) quarterly magazine – Requirements Engineering. 

The IREB focuses in depth on software specific requirement elicitation, requirements documentation, requirements analysis, requirements modeling and requirements management. This will definitely be of value to a complete BA offering.

IREB’s website: https://www.ireb.org/en. Click here also to see an interesting comparison of the IIBA and IREB offering (from 2014).

Sparx Systems

Sparx Systems specialise in visual modelling tools. Their product Enterprise Architect is an exceptional tool for full life cycle modeling. It has a user base of over 350,000, and is used across the globe. Added to that Sparx offer a wealth of information including white papers, tutorials, e-books, etc.

Having Sparx Systems as a member of this alliance makes sense. Sparx Systems have very good credentials, and can offer a lot. 

 

The Whole is Greater than the Sum the Parts

Each member of the Alliance brings something valuable to the BA discipline. The IIBA is very broad in what it offers, but not necessarily deep. The other partners all contribute something that bolsters out that depth. It is a very sensible alliance and one that I am excited about.

 

Another possibility…

As you might be aware, dear reader, recently there has been a new threat  to the IIBA’s seat of power. The Project Management Institute (PMI) has developed it’s own Business Analysis certification. A lot of analysis has been performed on the validity of this threat.

Watermark Learning made some very interesting observations in a blog post.
The PMI’s perspective of a BA is is that the business analysts support the efforts of the program and project manager.
The IIBA perspective is that business analysts support the organization.

But,in most cases, who is the Business Analyst reporting to? The Project Manager.

So … it is also possible that this alliance came about as a way for the IIBA to fend off this new threat, 

I’m curious what you think …

 

Other Links

  • Announcement by IIBA
  • Announcement by BRMI
  • Announcement by BCS

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Why are the CBAP exam questions so friggin tricky?

CBAP Exam Questions

Aargghhh!!” I hear as several Accelerated CBAP course participants tackle some sample CBAP questions. “Why are these questions worded so confusingly?”

I glance over my spectacles and smile. I was asking the same questions not too long ago. It seems that it’s all because of some guy called Bloom.



Bloom’s Taxonomy

Mr Bloom, once upon a time, worked out that you could classify learning objectives as being cognitive, affective or psychomotor. And he created a taxonomy – which is just another way of saying “grouping”.

(Read more about Bloom’s Taxonomy here.)

Exam creators (and this includes the IIBA), the world around, love to use Mr Blooms taxonomy when they devise exam questions.

They especially like using the “cognitive” grouping, which contains six different levels…

Cognitive Levels

1. Knowledge – these are pretty straight-forward questions. Simple beasts, they have only one goal – to test your ability to know specific facts and recall information that you have learned.

E.g.: Which type of requirement typically describes high-level organizational needs?
A. Business
B. Stakeholder
C. Functional
D. Transition

Caution: Even though these appear relatively harmless, it does require coordinated use of a variety of neural structures.

2. Comprehension – These questions want to check how good you are at understanding facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, and interpreting

E.g.: What type of requirements contains the environmental conditions of the solution?
A. Transition requirements
B. Stakeholder requirements
C. Business requirements
D. Solution requirements

Caution: the same as for the Knowledge questions.

3. Application – questions of this nature want you to use your knowledge to solve problems.

E,g.: Transition requirements are typically prepared after which requirements document is completed?
A. Solution requirements
B. Stakeholder requirements
C. Business requirements
D. System requirements

Caution: These can sometimes mistaken for the slightly less harmless “knowledge question”. However, stay alert, and don’t be fooled.

4. Analysis – these beauties want you to recognize patterns and seek hidden meanings in the information you are provided.

E.g.: To capture the process of provisioning a circuit, the business analyst observed an ordering supervisor for half a day. The resulting information could then be incorporated into all of the following types of requirements EXCEPT:
A. Transition requirements
B. Solution requirements
C. Stakeholder requirements
D. Functional requirements

Cautionthese can be tricky little buggers. Make sure you read these questions carefully. They can sometimes throw you by including NOT or EXCEPT, as in the example above.

5. Synthesis – although sounding impressive, the synthesis question just wants to see if you can relate facts, and draw conclusions.

E.g.: After reviewing the existing process to approve a new cell phone order, Ginger realized that the senior manager is not always available to manually approve the purchase. She documented the capabilities that facilitate a faster ordering approval process relative to the existing situation. She felt that the existing process was inefficient and that it needed to be changed. What would be an appropriate way for Ginger to express the cause of the current cell phone ordering delays?
A. Blame the manual process for the inefficiencies
B. State all of the facts in a neutral manner
C. Express opinions on how to fix the process
D. Insist that approvers adhere to strict deadlines

Caution: These nasty little things like to confuse you by adding throwing lots of information at you which actually isn’t relevant. Don’t let this scare you, or distract you. Take a deep breath and focus…

6. Evaluation – A slightly less aggressive question, these expect you to make judgements about the value of ideas or materials.

E.g.: To document why your project was initiated, it is appropriate to include the:
A. Business case
B. Project mandate
C. Solution approach
D. Business goals

Caution: As with the other questions. Approach these carefully. No sudden movements (or guesses).


 


The 6 Types of IIBA Exam Questions Infographic

A larger version (800px x 2000px) of the file is available. Click here, if you want to download it. (A new page will open).

 



Other Types of Questions

Yaaqub Mohammed (Yamo), in his book “The Ultimate CBAP-CCBA Study Guide“,  describes other types of questions:

  • Main idea questions: that test your knowledge and comprehension skills – what is the main use of . . . how does this function?
  • Inference questions: that test your ability to synthesize and evaluate scenarios – which of the following or what can be inferred from the scenario?
  • Implication questions: these test your ability to evaluate case scenarios or real world situations – what is implied by the following scenario?
  • Best-fit questions: that test your knowledge of business analysis and require evaluation and application – which method would be best to apply in such a situation?


Specific Question Types

Yamo goes further to list several specific question types:

Question Type Description
Activities contributing to a KA Descriptions of various tasks or activities in the tasks to identify a knowledge area.
Task Application Scenarios Real-world scenarios for how a task could be applied.
Outputs of Tasks Either direct description or an indirect mention of the output of a task.
Inputs of Tasks Usage of inputs referred with the names as-is or description of the inputs.
Stakeholders Involved/Invited Scenarios to identify which stakeholder need to be involved or is involved.
Role of a Stakeholder What is the role of the stakeholder in a given activity as applicable to a given task?
Purpose of a Task Why is a given task performed?
Outside of BABOK / General Knowledge General knowledge that you are expected to know as a business analyst. (These include Maslow, Tuckman’s model of group development, Motivation Theory, etc)
Real-World Application Scenarios Application scenarios where a real project scenario will be illustrated and a question from any aspect of the task or KA couldbe asked.
Techniques Usage Consideration Implied from the “Usage considerations” of a technique.
Techniques–Best Technique For Best technique for a given scenario (with indirect reference to a task).
Techniques–Elements Key considerations for a technique. Implied from the “Elements” section of a technique.
Requirements Attributes-Related Questions related to broadly used requirements attributes.
Skills Recognition in Underlying Competencies Scenarios or examples given to identify which competency a BA is exhibiting or is lacking.
Definition / Glossary Direct or indirect reference to definitions of terms in the glossary.
Requirements State Questions related to state of requirements.
Techniques in Tasks Which techniques would be used – direct or indirect through a real- world scenario with indirect mention of the task.
Exclusion type questions Usually a misleading question if not read carefully and often characterized by NOT identifying the negative of what is being described in the question.
The Next Step What should happen next in analysis – could be answered by applying experience and using the inputs/outputs that flow between tasks.
Knowledge Analysis
– Tricky questions,
– Confusing / misleading answer choices
Questions requiring careful reading .and analysis of the facts to arrive at the correct answer; Misleading answer choices or closely worded answer choices
Elements of Task Question related to key facets of a task directly asked or indirectly by the use of a real world scenario.


So…now you know…that’s why the CBAP questions are so friggin tricky.

 

ME

Many thanks to Yamo and to the “CBAP/CCBA Certified Business Analysis
Study Guide” (for the question examples used above).



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Is the PMI-PBA of more value?

Is the PMI-PBA actually of more value than other Business Analysis certifications?


The PM & the BA – two different perspectives

In a recent ProjectTimes article, Kiron Bondale described the oft-seen misalignment between Project Managers and Business Analysts.

In his article, he lists some comments made by each about the other…

From the Business Analyst’s point of view

From the business analysts, common complaints about project managers include:

  • Appear to be focused solely on cost or schedule constraints without also embracing the criticality of having good quality requirements
  • Demonstrate an unwillingness or inability to provide assistance in ensuring that stakeholders are attending and contributing to requirements gathering or review sessions
  • Don’t bother to read or understand high-level project requirements documents
  • Support or initiate scope change decisions without proactively engaging the business analyst

From the Project Manager’s side

On the other side, I’ve frequently met project managers who complain about business analysts who:

  • Appear to have no sense of time or cost constraints when producing their deliverables or appear unable or unwilling to provide effort or duration estimates for their work
  • Produce requirements documents which are unusable by other project team members or which don’t address the customer’s stated and unstated needs
  • Appear to forget that the second word in their job title actually implies the task of analyzing, distilling and refining requirements as opposed to just parroting what’s been received from stakeholders
  • Become unavailable for the remainder of the project’s lifetime as soon as their requirements documents have been signed off

 


The Passion of the Business Analyst

A lot of these comments are very familiar to me.

As a Business Analyst, I have often felt that the interests of the Project Manager weren’t always in the interest of the customer. More or less exactly what the comments above describe.

I have often felt that the interests of the Project Manager weren’t always in the interest of the customer.

Often the BA is the one that is talking with the various stakeholders from Management level through to the people performing the business tasks each day.

Because of this, the BA often feels that they understand what the real users want, as well as understanding their pain points.

As a professional, also, the BA wants to ensure that they have correctly, and thoroughly captured the users needs, and business/technical requirements, so that these are reflected in the final outcome.

This sometimes takes more effort than planned for, or expected. And this can cause
issues with the PM’s expectations who, while also wanting to provide a good solution, is also concerned with things such as costs, ongoing impact, etc.

 


PMI-PBA Value

Does this “misalignment” occur because Project Managers are from Mars, and Business Analysts from Venus? That because they come from different “worlds”, they have different views on reality?

Taking into account that the PM is the one “in charge” of the project, would it be that a BA with a better appreciation of the world/ideology/background of the PM is of more value to the project?

would it be that a BA with a better appreciation of the world/ideology/background of the PM is of more value to the project?

And … does this mean that the BA certification offering from the Project Manager Institute, is going to play a bigger part in projects in the future?

Your thoughts … ?


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BA Certification – IIBA vs PMI

IIBA vs PMI

In an earlier post I mentioned an email that I had received from the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) about the Project Manager Institute’s (PMI) new Business Analysis certification.

Vicki James has done a comparison of the two offerings: PMI-PBA and CBAP/CCBA Side by Side.

comparison

Also…Jenny Boronyak, from enfocus has written a post making the comparison between the two: PMI-PBA vs. IIBA’s CBAP

comparison2

 


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Why I Hate IT…

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

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”.

Certified Information Professional - not an island

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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Is AIIM’s CIP Exam really worth doing?

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 JACJust Another Certification)

 

Is the CIP a JACJust 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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