I’m pleased to announce that – along with the help of EllisLab – I’ve begun the groundwork of putting together a certification program for ExpressionEngine. The work is still in the early stages – but as it will be the focus of my involvement in some other upcoming EE events I needed to get it announced.
Who
Currently I’m responsible for doing most of the legwork – with EllisLab helping out when and where it makes sense. Throughout the development of this program I’ll be looking for other members of the EE community to have involvement so that the program reflects a fair and accurate view of the EE ecosystem.
What
What the program will be, how it will be created, how it will be delivered – these are all questions I’m in the process of researching answers to.
Where
The goal is that the program will be available to all ExpressionEngine developers without restriction - regardless of location.
When
No set date yet. The parties involved in this project so far are similar in one respect - we’ve never done anything like it before. So for now just know we are working on it.
Why
The availability of a certification program is one sign of a healthy marketplace around a given technology. My goal is that it benefits everyone involved with EE:
- For developers - a way to qualify themselves for EE-related jobs and projects, a way to mark progress towards defined training goals.
- For end clients - another way to review potential developers and gain higher-quality results.
- For EllisLab/ExpressionEngine.com - a more reliable/defined referral channel.
How
My research starts here in West Michigan where I’ve scheduled some brainstorming time this week with some local peers. Represented in the group are heavy EE users, more casual/infrequent users, and developers who’ve never used EE. The group has also expressed a wide range of opinions on the subject of certification programs from negative to positive.
From there I go to SXSW with an agenda of speaking to as many people from the EE community about the topic as possible. If you’ll be in Austin make sure to hit me up via email or Twitter – and I’ll make every effort I can to meet with you to talk about this.
After SXSW will the the EE Meetup in Chicago where I’ll propose the skeleton of a program based on input received so far, and open it up for discussion and review.
After the Chicago meetup I’ll be looking to schedule some Skype chats with the some non US-based EE folks for additional perspective.
Questions?
We’re not ready to discuss this publicly, but when we are there will be announcements both here and over at the EE Blog. So for now, comments are off. But if you have questions, concerns, or want to schedule a chat about the project please feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks!
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