[OSGeo-Discuss] Certification commitee

[dmcilhagga at dmsolutions.ca]

Another consideration on this is that certification is often a value-add
that companies provide around open source technologies, so there is
potential for this to cause competition between OSGEO and the companies
that are selling services and products around the technologies.

The open source geospatial industry has not yet begun to offer this kind
of service, but it may come quickly given the rapid maturation that is
currently happenning.

I'm not saying that this shouldn't happen -- just that it should be done
with sensitivity to the issue. I'd be hopeful that a certification process
could be done in a way that is complementary to services offerred by
companies around open source.

Dave



> Helton Uchoa wrote:
>> Why is important to create a certification to OSGeo projects?
>> - The certification is a technical way to define a initial prerequisites
>> to contract a professional. Sometimes It can't define a good
>> professional, but It can be a good "indicator" when the certification
>> process has quality. I have talked about this question with Daniel
>> Morissette and Arnulf in Brazil (MapServer User Meeting).
>> - It can be a way to make money to OSGeo (maybe not a big, but one
>> additional source).
>> - It will be a way to show a "more corporate" picture of FOSS GIS. So It
>> will help companies (that works with FOSS) in marketing of its
>> products/solutions: Open Source X "Well-known marks". One of questions
>> that the OpenGEO's customers have made in fisrt contact is: "... there
>> are many professionals to ESRI solutions, but how many professionals can
>> work with MapServer (or another FOSS) in Brazil?". With certification we
>> can have a precision answer.
>
> Uchoa,
>
> I can see some reasons why certification would be desirable, but I'm not
> very clear on details of what would be covered.  I can understand how we
> might have a "MapServer Certified Professional" certification (for
> instance),
> but could we really have an OSGeo Certified Professional?  That seems
> awfully
> broad.
>
> And I'm concerned if we had a certification that was narrow, for instance
> to one or two projects, that it is showing a sort of "project favoritism"
> that we must avoid.  I suppose one approach is that any project that is
> willing to put in the work could have a certification designation.
>
> My understanding is that it would also take quite a bit of work (ie. many
> man
> months) to prepare a respectible certification program with testing
> mechanisms
> and so forth.  Do you have any thoughts on who or how this might be
> accomplished?  Is this something that OpenGEO might be able to take a
> leading
> role on?
>
> I wouldn't like to see the foundation pursue certification as a money
> making
> activity, but I would like to see certification income cover at least the
> hard costs of operating such a program.
>
> Could you perhaps outline a certification program in the wiki?
>
> I can see the value of certification in terms of giving companies and
> governments a level of comfort with available expertese and in general
> with raising the visible professionalism of our community.
>
> Best regards,
> --
> ---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
> I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam,
> warmerdam at pobox.com
> light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
> and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGF, http://osgeo.org
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: discuss-unsubscribe at mail.osgeo.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: discuss-help at mail.osgeo.org
>
>