On Sep 11, 1:38 pm, Robert Martin <uncle...@objectmentor.com> wrote:

That seems to me like a somewhat mystical view of "skill". I think
that the IEE Certificate I mentioned in a previous post did something
useful and conrete. Here's what I had to do to get it:

Solve a small simulation problem in C++. I got extra credit because I
kept my source under version control.

Devise and build a small relational database schema to handle a
business problem, put a VB UI on it.

Implement a very (very!) simple network protocol on top of sockets in
C. I got extra credit because I made the documentation of my protocol
look like a man page.

Model a problem domain using OMT

Work in a small team to plan and execute a small development project
to build a small app in C++

Write an essay showing an understanding of some well-known IT project
disasters and their causes.

I'd argue that any one of these things demonstrates a certain level of
skill, and all of them together show a reasonably broad range of
skills too. Does it demonstrate mad crazy 1eet skillzor? No, it does
not. Is that the only level of "skill" we would ever want to
recognize?

Or, consider the City and Guilds certificate that I mentioned. C&G
seem not to do programming any more, but what they do do is practical
qualifications for people who do practical, useful jobs. And these
qualifications indicate that a certain level of skill has been
exhibited.

I might ask what you were afraid of, but you've given a list of the
things you're afraid of. I'd suggest that someone working an actual
profession would not, for example, be afraid that the assessor might
be "a religious zealot who confuses skill with doctrine" because
actual professions rarely feature such people and they even more
rarely become the assessors of certifications.

Anyway, in summary, I'm not sure I understand what's so special about
programming that assessing skill in it should be so difficult when
professionals in so many other fields seem to be able to do so.

I do agree that "a test" can't effectively recognize skill. After all,
the professions that do certify for skill don't do it that way.

Keith