CIP 2019 update: The job task analysis and exam blueprint

The first major phase in the development or updating of a certification exam is the job task analysis (JTA). As the name suggests, this is an in-depth analysis of the tasks expected for a particular role. The results of the JTA are then translated into the things a candidate needs to know to perform those tasks - the exam blueprint - which then forms the basis for the actual exam questions.

The role definition is important, because the purpose of any exam is to determine whether a particular candidate is minimally or sufficiently competent to function in that role. This is a specific term of art in the certification industry that we'll talk about at some length on our call.

In a nutshell, we have defined the minimally competent CIP as one that:

• Has 5+ years of practical, hands-on work experience in information management processes and disciplines (updated to reflect 5+ years)
• Does not have to have a relevant college degree
• Has not attended any formal training courses
• Is prepared to faciliate, translate, and liaison between different information management processes, the business, IT, etc. Jack of all trades is a good description; internal consultant or "generalist" is probably another. 
• Is more focused on business outcomes than specific technologies or in-depth specialized processes

This is not a thought leader/rock star consultant with 25+ years of experience - because how many of those are there? Rather, to use an academic analogy, this is the C- student. Yes, they have a passing mark. Barely. As they get trained, and get more and broader experience, they will eventually become rock stars - but they aren't there yet.

The JTA, and how important you think a given task is, should therefore be thought of in terms of that C- student, not the rock star.

Tomorrow, February 5, we will be sending out a JTA survey to all CIPs and all AIIM professional members. That survey is based on the existing CIP, which gives respondents an opportunity to tell us how they feel about it, and adds some new tasks and activities to reflect changes in the industry since the last CIP update in 2016.

We ask you on the survey to rate each task on a scale of 1, not at all important, to 5, essential. Tasks that are 1s are probably not within the scope of most CIPs' roles; tasks that are 5s are within the scope of just about every CIP's role.

If you get the survey, we'd very much like you to take the 15-20 minutes required to complete it. We are particularly interested in your identifying:

• Which tasks are outdated, niched, or of such little importance that they should be removed altogether? For example, in the original CIP we made the decision that microfilm was niched enough that it wasn't directly relevant to the day-to-day life of the CIP. 
• Which tasks need to be added to ensure that a CIP stays current? For example, there's been a lot of work done recently around process automation, in particular in the areas of robotic process automation and decision management. If those should be added, what are the tasks we expect a CIP to need to do? 

The survey is only open through Sunday, February 10, 2019. Once the survey closes we'll use the data to develop the final exam blueprint for the exam.

If you have any questions about the survey or the update process - or you're a CIP and want to participate as a subject matter expert yourself - please contact me directly at jwilkins@aiim.org.