Caught this on LinkedIn just now; it was also posted to the AIIM Community (members only) but, at least so far, not emailed to active CIPs yet. AIIM has announced that it is beginning a project to update the Certified Information Professional (CIP) exam.
Here is the announcement as it was posted; I'll have a few thoughts on it after.
The role of Information Management is extending beyond the traditional boundaries and continues to evolve. As such, the CIP key Body of Knowledge (BoK) and the corresponding exam must also evolve.
To that end, AIIM is undertaking the project to audit, edit, and update the CIP BoK – and we're not doing this in a vacuum.
We're recruiting Subject Matter Experts – like you – actively working in Information Management who have the knowledge, expertise, and time to collaborate on this project. At the conclusion of this project, we will be publishing the CIP v2023 BoK, Study Guide, and updated bank of exam questions. This project will be headed by a leading industry project manager well-versed in this type of an undertaking.
The project is commencing the first of August and is expected to run through February/March, 2023.
The deadline to submit your application is Friday, July 29. We will confirm your participation the first week in August. Submit your application here.
Domains:
- Creating, Capturing, and Sharing Information
- Extracting Intelligence from Information
- Digitalizing Information-Intensive Processes
- Automating Governance and Compliance
- Implementing an Information Management Strategy
The AIIM Community is built on how we share and learn what we know. Your participation would be so much appreciated. Thank you in advance – and I look forward to working with you.
My thoughts/questions:
First, in my opinion, working on a relevant, meaningful certification is a fantastic experience. I've gotten the opportunity to do it with 2 vendor certifications programs, several other associations, and of course three times at AIIM and it is incredibly rewarding. I strongly encourage qualified (i.e., passed the proctored CIP exam) CIPs to consider volunteering for this.
Next, I'll be curious to know who the "leading industry project manager well-versed in this type of undertaking" is - since there are several undertakings in question:
- Updating the Body of Knowledge, which should be (but never has in the history of the CIP exam) be based on a job task analysis, and by which I think they mean the exam blueprint
- The job task analysis I just mentioned, which is also the foundation for the exam blueprint but which is not in their list
- The exam bank - the actual exam questions
- The CIP Study Guide
The first three can be led by a motivated project lead and diligent volunteers and be done within the time frame they outline above; the Study Guide is a whole other semi-related chunk of work and bigger than I think they think it is if it is to align, or at least not contradict, all of the current AIIM+ Pro content. Updating all of that AIIM+ Pro content should be part of this too, if AIIM is going to continue to claim that AIIM+ Pro is "loaded with training courses that cover the body of knowledge that makes up the CIP exam."
I hope as well that this is an external project manager - in my mind there is zero chance that this can be successfully led by current staff who are already fully engaged and then some. And I hope whoever this project manager is has the strength of character to do the update the right way, as outlined in ISO 17024 and by lots of different resources available through the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, rather than being browbeaten into a substandard "certification" that "removes the friction from the process". To paraphrase John F. Kennedy's moon speech, people take certifications "...not because they are easy, but because they are hard..."
I'll also be curious to know who their psychometrician is. There's a whole process to developing the actual exam that goes beyond just writing X number of questions on Y different topics. Items have to be drafted and reviewed by different people. Items have to be scored and assessed for their validity. The scoring standard has to be set appropriately and not simply arbitrarily set to e.g. 70%. I was always very open and transparent in how we built and updated CIP, and I call on AIIM to do the same.
Finally, as I've written in many previous posts, the CIP could really be something special if it's done properly and if anyone at AIIM ever learns the first thing about marketing, but I have no faith whatsoever in the current senior leadership at AIIM and their ability to do that.
Anticipating a question/comment: I am not going to apply to participate as a subject matter expert. I would be happy to be that external project manager, but I'd run the update the way it's supposed to be done, rather than the way I fear senior management will cause it to be done - that's a big part of why I left AIIM last year in fact. And I don't think they can afford me. I hope that those that do apply as subject matter experts give due consideration to what they want the CIP to be and how to maximize the value of the CIP to the broader industry.
Update 7/19: Peggy Winton, outgoing AIIM CEO, just replied to the original LinkedIn announcement, "Future-readying. Modernization. Think different. #aiim". This confirms to me that she, at least, learned nothing from the February announcement changing the exam to an unproctored one and requiring retakes every three years - one of the points made in that announcement was, "In consultation with members of our community and professional training/certification experts, we make these changes to align with modern pervasive learning best practices." I'd love to see more members of the CIP Community push back and ask for more clarification on precisely what she means by her comment.
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