Certification

When we need to stop going for the certification?

I read this post recently and I know that it is a sarcasm, but there are so many certifications programs out there and sometimes people lose the point.

“Folks, it looks like the Agile industry need some help with certification:

So just thinking out loud here….

We need OKR certification.

Process mapping certification.

Coffee making certification.

What have I missed?”

My response to it is below:

People might think that more certification == less work (or at least less practical skills) 😉

The point behind the certification is to ensure that the person who completes it will know the best practices for this skill. The reality is different.

I have heard things like, “We need to do daily stand ups”. My question is always “Why?” and the response usually is “Because the management said so!”.

When a project uses methodology, but people don’t know why you need to send the management and project leaders to educate themselves, and certification seems to ensure at least a basic level of understanding about that methodology. After that, if they understand the best practices and choose to ignore them, because constrains, so be it.

We know that a lot of products and features that will be delivered will be done over budget or won’t generate the level of value the company desires.

So the certification is not enough, there must be a culture shift. To do that, we need empowered leaders who can explain better the reason for the “ceremonies”.

About that project, well.. there won’t be only the standups anymore. The team will use all the scrum ceremonies, and I hope this will help them to understand the methodology of Scrum better.