Faq

The IBM TotalStorage Professional Certification Program offers a business solution for skilled technical professionals seeking to demonstrate their expertise. It is designed to validate an individual's skills and demonstrate an individual's proficiency in the latest IBM technology and solutions. It helps to make certain that an individual has the capability to perform role-related tasks and activities at a specified level of competence.

The program is beneficial for individuals who wish to validate their skills, as well as for companies that wish to ensure certain performance levels for their employees. In most geographies certification, IBM TotalStorage Certification is a requirement for Business Partners.

The target audience for certification includes employees working for IBM Business Partner firms, as well as employees of IBM customers, IBM storage specialists, and consultants who sell, support, and service IBM storage products. Certification is associated with an individual, not a company or organization.

The Professional Certification Program from IBM is something completely separate and distinct from the internal certification process associated with the IBM Professions. Passing one of the IBM TotalStorage professional certification examinations does not mean that an individual has satisfied all of the criteria for successful completion of the internal IBM profession certification process. However, becoming an IBM Certified Specialist (IBM CS) in one of the areas might be used as evidence of meeting storage-related knowledge and skills requirements for IBM Professions.

The program is currently one of several certification brands sponsored by the IBM Systems Group. The education organization manages the program. Celeste S. Tesoro is the Program Manager. She is supported by an Advisory Council that includes representatives from the various storage sales and field organizations. Members of the council are selected to provide geographic and brand representation.

The current portfolio of certification offerings includes:

IBM Certified Specialist - High End Tape Solutions
(Requires Passing Test 275, High End Tape Solutions Exam, Version 1)

IBM Certified Specialist - High End Disk Solutions
(Requires Passing Test 276 High End Disk Solutions Exam, Version 1)
NOTE: This test will be replaced on June 20, 2003 by Test 381, High-End Disk Solutions Exam, Version 2

IBM Certified Specialist - Open System Storage Solutions
(Requires Passing Test 277, Open Systems Storage Solutions Exam, Version 1)

IBM Certified Specialist - Storage Sales
(Requires Passing Test 278, Storage Sales, Version 4)

IBM Certified Specialist - TotalStorage Networking Solutions
(Requires Passing Test 279, TotalStorage Networking Solutions, Version 2)

The availability of translated versions of the TotalStorage professional certification examinations depends on the needs and funding of the different geographic areas. To ensure an accurate translation requires time and resources that are not always available. Also, translations may not be offered in regions where the number of potential test takers is expected to be fairly small. During development of the English version of the examinations, subject matter experts from different geographic regions are involved in the test development process and help to ensure that the language is as clear and concise as possible. Also, the amount of time allotted to complete the test is set to provide any additional time that might be needed for non-native English speaking candidates. Presently, 150 minutes is provided for completion of all TotalStorage certification examinations.

The process used for developing the IBM TotalStorage professional certification examinations ensures that the tests measure important role-related knowledge and skills.

The process is facilitated by test development and measurement professionals. Subject matter experts experienced in the role are involved throughout the process. These experts are selected to represent the different geographies, products/brands, and they include both Business Partner and IBM participants.

The steps in the process include:

• defining the role to be certified
• identifying the specific content to be covered,
• developing test questions that map to important job tasks and activities associated with the role,
• assembling examination forms that cover the defined role,
• and setting passing scores that ensure the proper level of performance.

The tests range from approximately 75 to 90 questions. The time allocated to take the exam is the same for all TotalStorage exams and is set at the maximum of 150 minutes. All questions are multiple-choice with four response options, where the candidate selects the one best response option of those provided. All questions link directly to the test objectives. Questions may include descriptions of customer situations and various storage situations, which require candidates to apply relevant knowledge and experience to answer questions.

To become familiar with the nature and format of the questions, we recommend that prospective candidates take the available Sample Test, which typically includes about 30 representative questions. The sample test is not designed to predict your performance on the test, but rather to help familiarize candidates with the type of questions presented on the test.

For all of the TotalStorage certification exams, multiple versions or forms are developed. If a candidate fails one form of the examination and later retakes the test, a different form of the examination is administered. This ensures that candidates pass the examination because they know the content, not because they have memorized specific test questions and answers.

All forms of the examination are developed according to an examination blueprint that ensures all forms of the exam cover the same content to the same degree and that they are representative of the defined certification role. However, because particular test questions can vary in their degree of difficulty, all forms of the examination may not be completely equivalent in difficulty. As described below, these differences are taken into account when setting the required passing scores.

The methodology involves having a representative group of qualified technical experts review and evaluate each question on an examination. The procedure used is referred to as a Standard Setting Study and is designed to answer the question "How much knowledge/skill is enough to become certified?"

It is important to ensure that passing the examination has the same meaning regardless of which exam form or version a candidate takes. A candidate's performance is not judged in terms of how she or he compares to other candidates; rather, a candidate's performance is judged in terms of how close she or he comes to meeting the established standard. The passing scores for the TotalStorage professional certification examinations are not affected by the number of people who pass or fail the examination, and there is no fixed percentage of candidates that pass or fail each examination.

To meet the required level of performance may require a candidate to answer a different number of questions correctly for the different forms of the examination. For example, on a slightly easier form of the examination, a candidate would be required to answer more questions correctly than on a more difficult form of the examination. This ensures that all testing candidates are treated fairly. However, the final versions of the test forms are assembled to achieve approximately the same required passing point. Sometimes the passing score is identical, but sometimes in order to meet other constraints, there may be slight differences in the required passing point.

The examinations are designed to identify individuals who have achieved the required level of proficiency to achieve certification status. The exams are not created as diagnostic tools for individual development. However, some diagnostic feedback is provided to candidates to assist them in their development efforts.

In June 2003, the TotalStorage certification program will begin transitioning to a new score report format. Initially, the new score reports will only be available for Test 381 (High-End Disk Solutions, Version 2) and Test 382 (Open Systems Storage Solutions, Version 2). The new score reports will indicate the same information for all candidates, whether they pass or fail the examination. All candidates will be given the required passing score and their obtained score. Score information will be provided as a percentage of the total and the number of correct questions answered out of the total. Section level information will also be provided that indicates what percentage of the test each section represents, as well as the percentage and number correct achieved by the candidate within each section.

The following tests use the old score report format that has been in place since the TotalStorage certification program's inception: High-End Tape Solutions Version 1 (Test 275), Storage Sales, Version 4 (Test 278), and TotalStorage Networking Solutions (Test 279). When updates to these tests are made available in 4Q03, the new score report will be provided. Individuals who fail are given information to indicate that they either "need further study" or are "satisfactory" in the sections covered by the exam. The information is intended as a general guide for determining those sections where someone did not perform at a level that would result in overall proficiency. This information is imperfect in that some sections may not include a sufficient number of questions to provide perfectly reliable information. It is recommended that individuals who fail an examination carefully review the role definition and test objectives to identify specific areas where they may need further development. No such diagnostic information is provided to passing candidates.

There is no "TotalStorage" imposed time limit for your second try, although Prometric may not be able to download another exam for you until the next day. We are now following a policy that is fairly standard in the IT certification industry: a person may not take the same exam more than twice in any 30-day period. This means that if you fail an exam, then try again 10 days later and fail for the second time, you must wait 20 more days before giving it a third try.

For each certification, the following materials are available to help prospective candidates fully understand the certification role and the examination content. To help prospective certification candidates prepare for the examinations, a number of supporting materials have been prepared. It is strongly recommended that prospective candidates review these materials before sitting for an examination. These materials are available at: www.ibm.com/certify.

• Role Definition (presents a high-level description of the certification role, providing recommended pre-requisites and experience expectations)
• Test Objectives (specifies the particular tasks and topics that are covered on the examination)
• Sample Test (presents a representative set of questions to familiarize candidates with the types of questions included on the exams)
• Educational Roadmap (provides recommended courses and publications to help candidates prepare for the certification)

Note that all of the certifications require a level of experience in the field—candidates with limited experience with storage solutions who simply take a course such as Top Gun are not necessarily expected to pass the examination.

Please be sure to visit the site and review the available materials before sitting for the examination. You should ensure that the certification role is appropriate for you.

Additional Storage educational material is available including telecon, cross product education, and other related links at the IBM TotalStorage Education site. Visit TotalStorage Education at http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/totalstorageeducation.

For additional information or comments please contact: Celeste S. Tesoro (845) 433-8570 or e-mail ctesoro@us.ibm.com