The Open Group Certified IT Specialist (Open CITS) Program:
Certification Package Template
Level 2: Master Certified IT Specialist
July, 2011
Revision 1.1.1

© Copyright 2008 - 2011 The Open Group

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Permission for storage, editing and transmission by electronic means is hereby granted for the purpose of supporting applications to The Open Group for Open CITS Certification.

0 Introduction and Guidelines

0.1  References

The Open Group Certified IT Specialist (Open CITS) Program is based upon 4 key documents:

  1. The Certification Policy, which sets out the policies and processes by which an IT Specialist may achieve certification,
  2. The Conformance Requirements, in which the skills and experience that a Certified IT Specialist must possess are documented,
  3. The Accreditation Policy, which sets out the policies and processes by which an organization may achieve accreditation,
  4. The Accreditation Requirements, in which the criteria that must be met by an ACP are documented

You should also read The Guide to Certification and FAQ as well as the more formal Certification Agreement and Trademark License.

These documents are all available on the Certification Authority web site at http://www.opengroup.org/opencits/cert.

0.2  Levels of Certification

The Program recognizes two levels of certification – “Certified” and “Master Certified”, in increasing order of skill and experience.

Level 1: Certified IT Specialist (able to perform with assistance/supervision, with a wide range of appropriate skills, as a contributing IT Specialist).

Level 2: Master Certified IT Specialist (able to perform independently and take responsibility for delivery of systems and solutions as a lead IT Specialist).

It is recommended that all professionals seeking Open CITS certification have:

·  Three (3) years’ experience in the Stream in the last five (5) years,

·  Five (5) years’ work experience in IT in the last eight (8) years.

For guidance, it would normally take three to five years of additional IT experience to grow from Level 1 certification to Level 2 certification.

Certification Level / Experience Requirements /
Level 1: Certified / Level 1 Certified IT Specialists are required to have led technical aspects of projects or engagements within their chosen Stream.
Level 1 Certified IT Specialists must have acted in the role of IT Specialist within their Stream in at least two (2) successful engagements. The deliverables produced by the Candidate must have contributed to the engagement meeting its acceptance criteria. /
Level 2: Master Certified / Level 2 Certified IT Specialists are recognized experts who have mastered the state-of-the-art in their field.
Level 2 Certified IT Specialists:
·  Lead teams involving multiple streams on projects or engagements
·  Make significant contributions to project definition and management
·  Are involved in the growth and development of others
Level 2 Certified IT Specialists must have acted in a leadership role in at least three (3) successful engagements. /

This Certification Package Template is only to be used when applying for certification at Level 2 – Master Certified IT Specialist

0.4  What to do First

Go to the CA web site and read The Guide to Certification and the documents referenced therein.

0.5  Creating your Certification Package

To create your certification package please:

  1. Answer all of the questions in section 2.2;
  2. Select one Client Focus Area in Section 2.3, and answer all of the questions for that Client Focus Area only, then delete the other Client Focus Area sections;
  3. Select one Stream within the Technical Focus Areas in section 3.1 or 3.2, and answer all of the questions for that Stream only, then delete the other Technical Focus Area and all the other Streams;
  4. Answer all questions in Sections 4, 5 and 6;
  5. Complete at least three Experience Profiles in Section 7. If you want to provide more, copy all of the headings in section 7.1 (or 7.2 or 7.3) to create another Experience Profile;
  6. Provide your References in section 8.

Do not modify or delete any of the remaining questions or headings within the document.

The total length of your package should not exceed 40 pages. This size limit is not arbitrary but is included to encourage candidates to summarize and present their package in a focused and concise manner.

Within this constraint you may allocate as many pages to each section as you see fit.

If you choose to include additional Experience Profiles, the 40-page limit still applies.

The package template that follows reflects the required organization and formatting of your certification package and you are required to use it to develop your Certification Package.

Please supply all required content in your own words.

When filling out your package, think carefully about what will make the Board’s evaluation straightforward – clearly state how the cited experience meets the criterion.

For example, if you use references to your Experience Profiles to show how you meet one of the Core Foundation Skills, you should explain clearly how that aspect of your Experience Profile demonstrates that skill to the required level – do not expect the Board members to do detective work!

Please be sure that you have selected the correct parts of the package template for your chosen Client Focus Area and Stream.

0.6  Submitting your Certification Package

Your Certification Package must be submitted electronically by uploading it into the Certification Authority’s web site at http://www.opengroup.org/opencits/cert.

0.7  Change History

Version / Date / Reason for Change
1.0 / Jan 2008 / First Version
1.1 / April 2008 / Version 1.1 of Conformance Requirements released, including application of Corrigendum U081 (dated December 17, 2007) adding the Business Information Management (BIM) Stream, and revising requirements ITSCDM06 and ITSCDM07 to correctly reflect the agreed company review change requests CR102 and CR103.
1.1.1 / July 2011 / Cosmetic to reflect change in program name

Please delete these guidelines before submitting your package.

© 2008 - 2011 The Open Group 2

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Open Group Certified IT Specialist (Open CITS) Program:
Certification Package
Level 2: Master Certified IT Specialist
July, 2011
Revision 1.1.1

Candidate Name

Last Name / First Name
Candidate I/D / Middle Initial

This template is to be used with:

The Open Group Certified IT Specialist (Open CITS) Program:
Conformance Requirements Version 2.0.1

And is for applications for certification at:

Level 2: Master Certified IT Specialist

© Copyright 2008 - 2011 The Open Group. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Permission for storage, editing and transmission by electronic means is hereby granted for the purpose of supporting applications to The Open Group for IT Specialist Certification.

1.  Contents

1. Contents 2

2. Compliance With Skill Requirements 3

2.1 Skill Levels 3

2.2 Compliance with Core Foundation Skills Requirements 3

2.3 Compliance with Client Focus Area Skill Requirements 7

2.3.1 Compliance with Services Skill Requirements 7

2.3.2 Compliance with Sales Skill Requirements 3

2.3.3 Compliance with Support Skill Requirements 5

2.3.4 Compliance with Training Skill Requirements 7

3. Technical Focus Area Skills 9

3.1 Solution Development Streams 10

3.1.1 Business Analysis 10

3.1.2 Application Development 12

3.1.3 Packaged Application Implementation 15

3.1.4 Data Integration 17

3.1.5 Infrastructure Design 19

3.1.6 Testing 22

3.1.7 Business Information Management 25

3.2 Solution Delivery Streams 29

3.2.1 Infrastructure and Applications Management 29

3.2.2 Systems and Hardware Products 32

3.2.3 Software 41

4. Compliance With Experience Requirements 57

5. Professional Development 59

6. Contributions to the IT Specialist Community 60

7. Experience Profiles 60

7.1 Experience Profile 1: <project name> 61

7.1.1 Project Summary 61

7.1.2 Business Opportunity or Problem 62

7.1.3 Solution 62

7.1.4 Results 62

7.1.5 Lessons Learned 63

7.2 Experience Profile 2: <project name> 63

7.2.1 Project Summary 63

7.2.2 Business Opportunity or Problem 63

7.2.3 Solution 64

7.2.4 Results 64

7.2.5 Lessons Learned 64

7.3 Experience Profile 3: <project name> 65

7.3.1 Project Summary 65

7.3.2 Business Opportunity or Problem 65

7.3.3 Solution 65

7.3.4 Results 66

7.3.5 Lessons Learned 66

8. References 66

2.  Compliance With Skill Requirements

2.1  Skill Levels

See Open CITS: Conformance Requirements section 3.1 and 3.2

Skill Levels and Proficiency Ratings

Skill Level / Proficiency / Experience
Limited / Limited or no knowledge / None
General / General conceptual knowledge only / Limited – Read about it, some education
Applied / Applied knowledge / Performs with supervision or mentoring
Deep / In depth knowledge / Mastered the current state of the art and is able to perform without supervision.
Expert / Expert knowledge / Advances the state of the art.

Use the above skill level definitions when completing the Skills tables below

2.2  Compliance with Core Foundation Skills Requirements

Note that EC01 states that all Experience cited in a Certification Package to demonstrate each of the Core Foundation Skills should all be within the last eight (8) years and at least one example should be from the last three (3) years.

ITSCCF01
Apply Written Communication Skills / Demonstrate good written communications, including the use of proper grammar, spelling, document organization, clarity, and use of content appropriate for the audience.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Document name/title / List three or more documents that were published or provided to internal or external clients that demonstrate your ability to effectively communicate decisions and designs in your Stream.
Provide the name of the document and a short description of the purpose of the document.
ITSCCF02
Apply Verbal Communication Skills / Demonstrate good verbal communications, including strong eye contact (where culturally appropriate), responsiveness to questions, ability to stay on subject, use of good feedback, and follow-up questions, etc., so that effective two-way communications is demonstrated.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Presentation / List three or more formal presentations that were published and presented verbally to stakeholders, and which demonstrate your ability to effectively communicate technical recommendations, decisions and designs.
Provide the name of the presentation and a short description of the purpose.
ITSCCF03
Setting Technical Direction / Given a scope of solution to be accomplished, set the technical direction and constraints of the project or engagement and monitor compliance.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Provide three instances where you set the technical direction and constraints of a project or engagement and monitored compliance.
Only provide examples where your role in the effort was as the lead Specialist for your Stream in the project
ITSCCF04
Negotiate Equitable Solutions / Given a conflict, mediate opposing viewpoints and negotiate equitable solutions to ensure successful and stable outcomes.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Document three situations where you helped to mediate opposing technical viewpoints and successfully negotiated an equitable solution to ensure the successful outcome of an IT project or engagement.
ITSCCF05
Manage Stream Specific Elements of an IT Project Plan / Given a project plan, identify those elements of the plan that put the integrity of the Stream specific elements at risk and help the (internal or external) client and or project manager by managing those elements so that the project can be successfully completed
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Document three examples where you worked closely with the client/project manager to identify and address elements of the project plan specific to your Stream that put the technical integrity of the project plan/timeline at risk – show how you mitigated the risk to both the technical aspects and the project milestones.
ITSCCF06
Understand Business Aspects / Understand the stakeholders’ business needs and how they relate to your Stream.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Provide three examples where you have demonstrated your understanding of the stakeholders’ business needs, and how these needs relate to your Stream.
Examples must show how you made an explicit linkage between the Stream specific aspects and the business need.
ITSCCF07
Provide Solution Input to Winning Bids / Create the stream/technical focus area related solution within winning bids, proposals or contract extensions.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Provide three instances where you created the stream/technical focus area related solution within winning bids, proposals or contract extensions.
ITSCCF08
Problem Analysis and Resolution / Demonstrate the ability to perform logical analysis and problem solving.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Provide three instances where you demonstrated the ability to perform logical analysis and problem solving.
Provide a short description of the circumstances and the skills that you used to succeed.
ITSCCF09
Apply Mentoring Techniques / Establish mentoring relationships that provide feedback and coaching to enable colleagues or clients to develop and improve performance.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Provide three instances where you established mentoring relationships that provided feedback and coaching to enable colleagues and clients to develop and improve their performance.
ITSCCF10
Team Leadership / Capable of leading a team
Skill Level Required: Applied / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Document three situations where either alone or with support or mentoring lead a team of Specialists to perform a specialist task.
ITSCCF11
Develop Solution / Given one or more business or technical requirements, create the structures of a solution that can be validated to meet those requirements
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Document three instances where you created the structures of a solution (for example with UML or with another modeling notation) that satisfied the given business and/or technical requirements. The solution must have been communicated to the development team and reviewed/validated by the client (internal or external).
Only provide examples where your role in the effort was as the lead Specialist for your Stream within the project, or for a significant subsystem or component.
ITSCCF12
Personal Impact Awareness / Understand the relationship of the personal contribution to the context of the overall objective of the project or engagement
Skill Level Required: Applied / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Describe three instances of your personal contribution in relation to the context of the overall objective of the project or engagement.
Provide a short description of the nature of your contribution, the specialist skills that you used to make your contribution and relationship of your contribution to the overall objective of the project or engagement.
ITSCCF13
Understand Interface to Architecture / Understand the relationship of the personal contribution to the context of the enterprise or project architecture.
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Describe three instances in which you understood the relationship of your personal contribution to the context of the enterprise or project architecture.
Provide a short description of the nature of your contribution, the specialist skills that you used to make your contribution and relationship of your contribution to the enterprise or project architecture.
ITSCCF14
Develop Reuse Mindset / Uses, when possible, already developed objects and materials
Skill Level Required: Deep / Skill Level you claim:
From (mm/yy) / To (mm/yy) / Project or Major Activity / Provide three instances where you made cost-effective use of significant objects or materials developed previously by others.
Provide a short description of the nature of the problem, the build/re-use options you considered, the rationale for your choice and the consequences of your decision.

2.3  Compliance with Client Focus Area Skill Requirements

Note that EC03 states that all Experience cited in a Certification Package to demonstrate each of the Client Focus Area-specific skills should all be within the last five (5) years and at least one example should be from the last three (3) years.