Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Roger Johnson IFIP IP3 Representative

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Agenda  IP3 overview  Drivers for a Global Profession  The IT Profession  IP3 Programmes  Outline of plans for Developing Countries

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century IP3 Objectives  Promoting IT professionalism worldwide to:  Improve the capability to exploit IT  Develop a global profession which is respected and valued  Provide global recognition for certified individual IT professionals  Represent IT practitioners worldwide and to make their voice heard  Build a profession of individuals  Who meet a set of internationally agreed standards  Assessed by national societies accredited by IP3

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century What is IP3?  Initiative of International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP)  IFIP founded as UNESCO initiative in 1960 comprising computer societies in over 90 countries  Aggregate membership of nearly a million  Partnership of National Computer Societies reflecting  Professional licencing processes are dependent on national legal jurisdictions  Global profession built as a network of “national professions”  Different national practices and traditions sharing best practice

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century The Drivers  Critical importance of IT  Forces of globalisation  Governance and security requirements  Maturation of IT industry  Pride and prestige of IT professionals  Attracting talented people

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century The Challenge of Transformational Change Programmes Current State Desired Future State 80% of systems delivered late, over budget or reduced functionality Around 40% of developments fail or are abandoned 60% do not fully address training and skills requirements Less than 25% properly integrate business and technology objectives 10 to 20% meet all their success criteria © Dr. Joe McDonagh, Trinity College Dublin

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century The Failure of Transformational Change Programmes

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century The Key Characteristics of the New IT profession  Plays a full part in all stages of IT exploitation  Seen as – and sees itself as – an integral part of the business  Has appropriate non-technical skills, including management, business and leadership skills, as core competences  Based on global standards  Understands both Information and Technology  Greater emphasis on the accreditation of current capability and competence  Demands greater personal responsibility on the part of the practitioner  Attractive to a wider group of entrants than at present

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century What is a Professional? i Personal obligations Has specific skills Undertakes CPD Abides by a code of conduct Serving the Public Core body of knowledge Common body of knowledge Diagram used with permission of BCS

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century IP3 Programmes  Accreditation and International IT Professional Certification (IP3P)  Promotion and Communication  Support and engagement for IT Societies  Developing Countries Programme planned

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Accreditation Requirements  Accountability, autonomy and complexity of role – IP3P is SFIA level 5  Technical, business and management competences – Core Body of Knowledge and a Specialism  Code of conduct and ethics  Disciplinary and complaints processes  Maintenance of certified status - CPD

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Audit Requirements  Based on ISO 17024:2003 (Certification of individuals)  Compliance with requirements  Membership standards and policies  Appropriate governance and structure  Resources to administer and improve the scheme  Suitable records management and information systems  Specified in the IP3 Accreditation Guidelines (available online)

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Assessment Process  Visiting party of Chief Assessor and 2 trained assessors  2 local assessors invited  Pre-briefing and documentation  4 day visit – expenses only  Report prepared and agreed with association  Award of certificate by IP3  ACS (Australia) and CIPS (Canada) completed; IPSJ (Japan), NZCS (New Zealand), CSSA (South Africa) timing to be confirmed

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Promotion and Communication  Branding and name  Conference presentations  Journal papers and press articles  Regular updates in IFIP News  Website –

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Support for Societies  Step by step guide to certifying IT professionals  Advice, guidance and access to best practice  Signposting regional collaborations and groupings  Attracted significant involvement from many societies worldwide  ACS (Australia) and CIPS (Canada) successfully accreditted; IPSJ (Japan), NZCS (New Zealand), CSSA (South Africa) timing to be confirmed

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Plans for Developing Countries  Regional Forums  Work with existing  Create new where necessary, e.g. Africa  Existing Societies mentor new Societies  Partner with Industry  Convene Developing Countries committee  Regional representation  Understand the issues facing Developing Countries  Collaborate to build national skilled IT workforces

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century What can we do?  Promote to governments the value of building an IT workforce of certified professionals  Encourage your national IT bodies to commit to certification programme for IT practitioners and to join IP3 IP3 invites everyone committed to promoting IT professionalism to join with us in building a Respected, Trusted, Global IT Profession

Building an IT Profession for the 21 st Century Questions & Answers Don Robertson, President, New Zealand Computer Society Roger Johnson, IFIP Representative to IP3