Having spent the last seven months getting a new job, I was surprised by how interviews for agile roles are now conducted today and what that means for agile certifications.
Two years ago, interview questions started with a validation of a person's credentials by asking them test questions: what are the Scrum ceremonies, what are the Scrum roles, etc. That was because certifications were seen as testimony of ability and knowledge. The certifications served as both a gatekeeper and a source of experience and expertise.
Contrast that with today, where having a certification is viewed as a gatekeeper, but interview questions only focus on experience and not a regurgitation of certification facts. To get a job interview, you need a Bachelor's degree, but they don't ask interview questions about it; the same goes for certifications.
What this tells me is that companies want the goals that agile originally promised: a higher level of value in the eyes of the end-user of our products, and reliable (not faster) deliveries. If you get this from agility or traditional project management, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you have experience delivering successfully.
Nice take, Bob. I have both certifications in Lean Six Sigma and Agile, having worked for software and manufacturing companies. It is a different alphabet soup, but the main issues are the same. The ones who buy into the dogma of their "religion" are the ones who end up further away from what the business is really all about. You bring up some key points here, and you also show how the top and bottom can become misaligned because of it.
Having spent the last seven months getting a new job, I was surprised by how interviews for agile roles are now conducted today and what that means for agile certifications.
Two years ago, interview questions started with a validation of a person's credentials by asking them test questions: what are the Scrum ceremonies, what are the Scrum roles, etc. That was because certifications were seen as testimony of ability and knowledge. The certifications served as both a gatekeeper and a source of experience and expertise.
Contrast that with today, where having a certification is viewed as a gatekeeper, but interview questions only focus on experience and not a regurgitation of certification facts. To get a job interview, you need a Bachelor's degree, but they don't ask interview questions about it; the same goes for certifications.
What this tells me is that companies want the goals that agile originally promised: a higher level of value in the eyes of the end-user of our products, and reliable (not faster) deliveries. If you get this from agility or traditional project management, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you have experience delivering successfully.
Nice take, Bob. I have both certifications in Lean Six Sigma and Agile, having worked for software and manufacturing companies. It is a different alphabet soup, but the main issues are the same. The ones who buy into the dogma of their "religion" are the ones who end up further away from what the business is really all about. You bring up some key points here, and you also show how the top and bottom can become misaligned because of it.
“A long time, on a crooked road.” Joe Banks
Maybe we all have a brain cloud.