Paul
quoting your email todayYesterday your email sediii. Certification Process Development: Develop an internationally recognized, authentic, secure and valid process for software developer certification. This process should be developed in consultation with leading IT companies and academic institutions as well as have the buy-in of at least two industry associations of established countries in the area of BPO, and two countries aspiring to establish themselves in this domain. Countries should be chosen to be representative of at least three regions out of the following: Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, East Asia and other parts of Sub Saharan Africa. In addition, the processes should be based on proven experiences in similar certification programs. The testing process should be representative of real-life, professional software development. The examinations should also be refreshed annually; and extendable to address the full software development life cycle (including post-deployment maintenance) and modern issues (including the development of secure software systems). The examination must be developed using recognized techniques for validation and verification of quality. Linkages may be established with one or more organizations with leading testing and certification mechanisms to ensure that the certification will be conducted in a secure and proctored setting.
4. BPO/ITES. (It enabled services) The Board has recognised that promoting this sector includes widening its definition to include all the organizations that provide information and communications based services employing mainly IT based skills. The Board has therefore brought into focus the growing and highly entrepreneurial local software based business.
· Software Certification. We are reviewing bids by local and international firms to establish a software certification standard for Kenya and certify local software.
My questions ...
what does "We are reviewing bids by local and international firms to establish a software certification standard for Kenya and certify local software" mean ?
is there a problem with software quality in Kenya ?
what are we fixing Paul ?
about "young brilliant entrepreneurialindividuals who leave college sub-optimally equipped for commercial application of their craft"are fixing enterprenuership or software issues ? because my experience is that Kenyan programmers are very good .... and they learn from the net just like in other parts of the world
Enterpreneuship .... is another can of worms ...
can we separate the 2 issues ? .....On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 2:40 PM, Paul Kukubo <pkukubo@ict.go.ke> wrote:
AgostoI think this has been misunderstood or perhaps it is not clear. we are actually on the same page. This is to enable us to adopt a globally certified software development methodology and certification for generic software development. This is Most software developers in this country would benefit from the establishment of a higher standard of code development. Most software firms would benefit from access to international certification in process and methodology which is otherwise very expensive.Good example is the project in South Africa at the University of Wits with the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering. http://www.jcse.org.za/. We had spoken to them about partnering as well, but opted for this option.The suggestion you make is not an alternative, but another important strategy for achieving a more enhanced IT services sector and it is actually one that we have given much thought too. We are seeking the funding to do as well. Just this morning I have had a meeting with Symantec who are beefing up their presence in Kenya. Some of the discussions we have had go along the same them as I have had with many other multinationals who visit us often.
- Many Kenyan business owners in IT services are afraid to make the investment in top talent certification despite the obvious returns because the certified employees often flee and are 'unbondable'. As an example it costs close to 10,000 USD to certified a top Cisco engineer who can then earn that in a month with some experience in any market in the world.
- To develop Kenya's ICT credentials we will need to develop more certified engineers and experience consultants across the board, and across various technology platforms. We need technical implementation people, but we also need systems architects and experienced solution designers who can interpret business problems and convert them into an IT specification. Those who have been the industry for a while will attest to the fact that although we have a growing Kenyan pool, still many large IT systems in banks, major multinationals and other large organizations have substantial input from consultants from outside Kenya. This is for various reasons and is not unique to Kenya. At the very top level of talent in IT, there is a global shortage.
- To build Kenya IT properly, the investments in all the right places need to be made. As we spend more on IT as a country, the demands becomes even more sophisticated. For example, with the current connectivity transformation, there is need for security, network, data center engineers and consultants. Without any research, one can attest to the frustrations experienced by some on their networks even currently. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs.
- When we sell the country as an outsourcing destination, all these things matter, the whole ecosystem including marketing, training, depth of experience, breadth of experience, industry culture, government policy, legislation, peer recommendations by companies based here, and indeed the nightlife.
The reason why we think it important to provide the software sector with greater tools is because this sector is often made up of young brilliant entrepreneurial individuals who leave college sub-optimally equipped for commercial application of their craft. They then have to fend foe themselves and then some of them will develop into good engineers while many other others will pick up bad habits in who they write software. These bad habits become the industry norm and then define our sector. Standards are critical.
Paul Kukubo
Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board
PO Box 27150 - 00100
Nairobi, Kenya
12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street
Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960
Fax: +254 20 2211962
Cell: + 254 735 180001
website: www.ict.go.ke
skype: kukubopaul
googletalk: pkukubo
____________________
Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub
Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment
Sent from Nairobi, KenyaOn Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 1:31 PM, Agosta Liko <agostal@gmail.com> wrote:
Paul
for this software certification program .... how much will be spent ?
instead of creating a Kenyan cert that will have no global value or that will not make sense to any international employer why dont you just give a 50% coupon to enable Kenyans to sit their linux, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP Certifications ?
or even better, you can refund 80% when a Kenyan techie passes a cert exam {I learnt that people were complaining about cost of international certs}
this is where am coming from - Kenyan Drs usually have to resit exams etc etc to practice in other countries ... IT is a good area because certs are global (CCIE is known worldwide) ... why cant we stick to what works
Again ... maybe other software outsourcing operators have been asked for certs ... but am sure they were asking for the globally recognized ones
Can we just cancel this one ? its too much work for nothing ... {a Kenyan Cert in software development} ...
and if you go ahead {which is most likely the case} .. please make it optional ?
my two centsOn Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Paul Kukubo <pkukubo@ict.go.ke> wrote:
_______________________________________________Thank you for your questions. many have written to me directly to seek clarification.
I have received a flurry of questions on the status report and I will respond to those that are of a recurring nature directly on this list while pointing listers to the website www.ict.go.ke for more information and updates on aspect of the projects.
Objective of the assignment
The objective of this assignment is to recruit a leading international academic institution or standards body to develop and implement an internationally recognized and sustainable software developer certification program (Certification Program) for Kenya. The Certification Program will have multiple components, including content and processes for local software developers to prepare, register and be certified; an Internet enabled credentialing program; and an initial pilot testing, evaluation and fine tuning of the Certification Program. The program should be underpinned by a sustainable business model.
Scope of services
i. Inception Report and Business Plan: Provide an Inception Report that contains a description of start-up activities, the detailed work plan, methodologies, and an estimate of the time allocation for involved personnel from both the Government of Kenya and the organization’s team. In addition, to provide a business plan that spells out the resources to be deployed and the results proposed to be achieved. The business plan should also propose long term, sustainable business model options for the Certification Program.
ii. Content Development: Develop appropriate content for certification in close collaboration with relevant partners; including leading international and local IT companies, academic institutions, governments, international standards bodies and industry/trade associations. The developed content should have their explicit support in terms of relevance and quality, be based on the latest technologies and extensible to address the major languages (C, C++, Java), operating systems, language combinations, and software development tools and environments.
iii. Certification Process Development: Develop an internationally recognized, authentic, secure and valid process for software developer certification. This process should be developed in consultation with leading IT companies and academic institutions as well as have the buy-in of at least two industry associations of established countries in the area of BPO, and two countries aspiring to establish themselves in this domain. Countries should be chosen to be representative of at least three regions out of the following: Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, East Asia and other parts of Sub Saharan Africa. In addition, the processes should be based on proven experiences in similar certification programs. The testing process should be representative of real-life, professional software development. The examinations should also be refreshed annually; and extendable to address the full software development life cycle (including post-deployment maintenance) and modern issues (including the development of secure software systems). The examination must be developed using recognized techniques for validation and verification of quality. Linkages may be established with one or more organizations with leading testing and certification mechanisms to ensure that the certification will be conducted in a secure and proctored setting.
iv. Provision of Internet-Enabled Credentialing Program: Provide a web-enabled credentialing program, including functions for online registration, preparation and certification.
v. Piloting: To pilot the Certification Program with an initial batch of at least 50 enrollees, comprising of local software developers who should be benchmarked against a control group.
vi. Evaluation Reports: Conduct an evaluation of the pilot to prepare a detailed report to recommend strategies and action plans for improving the Certification Program. An evaluation should also be conducted on gaps and weaknesses in software development skills, so as to recommend changes in curriculum and pedagogy required as part of broader education reforms in Kenya.
vii. Program Refinement and Local Capacity Building: Refine the Certification Program based on the agreed recommendations of the Evaluation Report, and develop capacity within the country to conduct the assessments for certification.
viii. ‘Live’ Rollout: Commence ‘live’ rollout of the Certification Program with assessment of certification by local institutions, with the target of testing at least 200 local software developers. In addition, to obtain the commitment of leading companies operating globally and locally to use the results as a necessary pre-requisite for their hiring decisions.
ix. Mass Rollout and Marketing, and Business Model Implementation: Implement mass rollout and marketing campaign for the Certification Program across Kenya, with a target to test at least 500 local software developers. In addition, to implement a business model for the Certification Program that is internationally recognized, financially self-sustaining and affordable for local software developers by the end of this consultancy service (24 months after contract signature). A final report is to be prepared to highlight the next steps to be taken by Kenya for the Certification Program, including future steps on training content development, certification process and local capacity building.
Paul Kukubo
Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board
PO Box 27150 - 00100
Nairobi, Kenya
12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street
Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960
Fax: +254 20 2211962
Cell: + 254 735 180001
website: www.ict.go.ke
skype: kukubopaul
googletalk: pkukubo
____________________
Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub
Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment
Sent from Nairobi, Kenya
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