SAGE Certification Update

by Gale Berkowitz
<[email protected]>

USENIX Deputy Executive Director

The SAGE Certification Project is well underway. We are very excited about this effort because it will help to establish industry standards to better prepare and train professionals in the field.

The certification project has four phases:

Phase 1: Program planning

Phase 2: Occupational analysis and assessment design

Phase 3: Development of strategies for influencing education and training activities

Phase 4: Development and implementation of the certification program

Phase 1 is being used to solidify project goals, plans, and procedures associated with the project as a whole. Analysis of the competencies required of systems administration professionals has begun.

As part of the first steps of the systematic occupational analysis, several focus groups are being conducted over the next few months that draw from a broad cross-section of professionals in the field. Input is being sought about the tasks and responsibilities that comprise the job at various levels of experience. We will also be determining the key knowledge, skills, and abilities that are required. The focus groups are being led by a representative of the Human Resources Research Organization, or HumRRO, the contractor firm that has been hired to help us conduct the occupational analysis.

The second phase, the occupational analysis, will use available materials, incumbent interviews and workshops, and a survey of job incumbents to describe the core requirements of the system administrator occupation. Information derived from the focus groups will be used to develop the automated survey of systems administrators. The information derived from the occupational analysis will be used to determine the scope and content of Phases 3 and 4.

We are also seeking support from outside organizations to both fund and fuel this endeavor. While our project, and products, will be vendor-neutral, we expect that much of the information derived from this project will be useful for commercial applications. If you are interested in sponsoring this effort, please contact Gale Berkowitz at <[email protected]>.