We’ve lead certification workshops for many customers this year. We’ve noticed a pattern of behavior that contributes to passing the certification exam, and we feel it’s worth sharing as demand for KCS v5 Practices Certification is growing.
Why get KCS Practices Certified?
For Individuals – The certification recognizes your skills and expertise. If you’re just starting out, it’s a motivational goal.
For Support Organizations – Having certified people on staff lets you know you have the skills you need to be successful with KCS.
For Technology Vendors – Certification provides a deep understanding of how to implement KCS methodology within your product. It also makes the sales teams more credible in the sales cycle.
Here’s what teams with high pass rates do:
- Read through all the required material before attending a workshop (located at the top of the KCS v5 Practices Study Guide)
- Attend a workshop shortly before taking the exam so the material and discussions are fresh. (Here’s a list of currently scheduled workshops)
- Use the Exam Topics and Objectives from the study guide as a way to reinforce your comprehension
- Take the Practice test as a way to get familiar with exam questions and look and feel of the online exam interface
- Stay away from any Internet materials not provided in the study guide – these are not authorized by the KCS Academy and after reviewing them ourselves we found them to be very inaccurate
- Study in groups or teams
- Disconnect as much as you can from day-to-day work activities and stay engaged when studying and during the workshop
- Make sure leadership sets clear expectations about passing the exam
Of the recommended practices above, we most often see that people do not make the time to read through all the materials. We really recommend that you budget time to read through the materials: KCS Practices Guide, Measurement Matters and the KCS Adoption Guide. Your interest and commitment to achieving certification will likely drive your approach to preparing. Also, make sure you speak Support. Rightly or wrongly, we see people without a significant background in support, like Software Engineers or Project Managers, may struggle with knowledge assumed by exam questions.
Not everyone is expected to pass the exam because its intention is to certify only those who truly believe in KCS, have a deep understanding of KCS, and want to become more experienced and successful. Passing is not a result of memorizing facts, phrases or acronyms; it’s a result of genuinely understanding of all the principles, practices and techniques and then also understanding how to implement, support and measure for value.
