CWNP - Who "certifies" Planet3?

Author

Who "certifies" Planet3?

meijin

2003-06-11, 11:46 am

I was just sitting here thinking a few minutes ago (and yes, I know how dangerous this can be!) and I was wondering if there is any group or organization that "certifies" Planet3 and their certifications?

I ask specifically about Planet3 because Kevin and Devin often pop in here and read and respond to messages.

As for myself, I really don't care one way or the other. This is not ment as some sort of attack against Planet3. It is more a question in general about the certification process.

For instance, if I want to start an organization that issues degrees, I generally need some sort of acreditation body to certify my organization. Know what I mean? Is the same true in the certification world?

Thanks!

kevinator

2003-06-12, 5:09 pm

Great question, and one that boggled our minds as we started out on this exciting adventure in late 2000.

There is no "body" in the industry that takes the role of making sure that the CWNP Program stays in line. That role is taken up by the industry itself, even more so because the CWNP program is vendor neutral, meaning that we offer instruction on the technology, rather than just one "brand X".

The way that the CWNP program earns and achieves credibility and market acceptance is through both individual acceptance by those who earn the CWNP certifications, and by those companies that place a certain value on their employees earning these certifications.

For example, manufacturers such as Funk Software, Colubris Networks, AirMagnet, Symbol, WildPackets; and integration firms such as those listed in our CWNP Solutions Provider program (http://www.cwne.com/solutions_provider/index.html) have reviewed our offerings and recommended or required them to their VARs, partners, or employees.

Furthermore, we don't just make this stuff up. Rather, we use a model that is very similar to that of CompTIA's model. This process is quite rigorous and time consuming, as those of you who have waited for a long, long time for CWSP can attest. We contract with Subject Matter Experts from all over the globe to contribute, review, assess, critique, and otherwise "police" (for lack of a better term) the material that we produce as part of the CWNP Program. The material comes from the market, and therefore, represents the market.

Of course, we have our own ideas as to what topics should be included, and how certain technologies should be taught, but those ideas are weighed heavily against the opinions and input of the SMEs mentioned above.

Finally, we listen to the IT professionals, like the users of this forum, who read our books, take our practice exams, attend classes taught using our courseware, and take our certification exams at Prometric. We receive a constant deluge of feedback, some positive and some negative. Every word is read and archived for the next update of each piece of material for each certification level. The recent update to the CWNA exam (http://www.cwne.com/about/news/060403.html) is a good example.

Long, long winded answer to a very good quesion: who 'certifies' CWNP? You do. If the market believes the CWNP Program has value, then it has value. It is our goal to make sure that we are always adding value to the IT industry through our material and our certifications.

Thank you for asking.

Kevin
CWNP Program

Devinator

2003-06-12, 9:38 pm

This was too good of a question to not answer. I think Kevin's answer is dead on, though I have additional thoughts on the matter.

We've had this question many times, and over the years, we've seen a few things to substantiate our answer. We began working with WLANA some years ago toward the goal of educating end-users of wireless LAN gear. It was then (and still is) their mission to promote the industry and to educate users. They have been less than progressive in accomplishing these goals and have seen much less success than organizations like the Wi-Fi Alliance due to an overwhelming focus on WLAN gear instead of WLAN education. The focus on the gear and the standards has the industry chasing its tail while individuals need education. Due to WLANA not pushing education of individuals in the way that they state in their mission statement, we (Planet3) took up the cause. We have sought backing from vendors, consultancies, individuals (industry professionals), and even other industry organizations. We've won and lost battles, but overall, things are moving along wonderfully. We are accomplishing the mission of educating & certifying individuals on this fast-changing technology.

For obvious reasons, many SMEs from various backgrounds and many manufacturers across the WLAN industry have given their support (technically) to our program to make it what it is. To reiterate who certifies P3 - it's you - the industry professional, it's the employer demanding a certified employee, and it's the WLAN vendors. Planet3 is simply the catalyst to provide this necessary service to the industry. CompTIA dropped it, Cisco has sparcely engaged it, and individual WLAN vendors have their own products to teach. Our hope is that it is currently and will become more so the industry standard for WLAN certification.

slinthi

2003-06-13, 12:43 am

Thanks to Kevinator and Devinator for their informative postings. What both forum members describe is similar in nature to what we do at an academic institution through a more formal accreditation process. I believe what sells the CWNP program is quality education and testing. As I've mentioned in the past, their CWNA study guide is a first class technical book. I will be using it when I add a new course for our Spring 2004 semester.

In conjunction with my efforts to develop the requisite skill set to teach wireless technology, I learned yesterday that I received a $10,000 "mini-grant" from the California Department of Education to obtain wireless training this summer. Grant funding for training, particularly in light of existing economic conditions and our State's budget problem, is difficult to obtain. Some measure of my success resulted in my ability to sell to grant readers the importance of wireless technology as the future for data communications.

Rest assured, those of you seeking CWNP status are focused on a growth market. Once security concerns are alleviated the market for wireless LANs will explode.

Regards,

Steve Linthicum
Professor, Computer Science
Sierra College
Rocklin, CA

meijin

2003-06-13, 5:59 pm

Kevin, Devin and Steve:

Thanks for the great replies and for taking my question in the spirit that it was asked.

I think it also time to commend the folks at Planet3. They listened to the complaints against v1.0 of the CWNA test and looked at the issue objectively...and made the necessary changes to make it better. Not alot of groups would have done that. Hell, you could not even get emails to the people that really "matter" and most of the other companies doing certifications!

I have taken alot of wireless classes and certifications and I can honestly say that I learned more in my prep for the CWNA than any of them have provided. It doesn't mean I did not learn anything from the other classes/certifications. I did. But the CWNA was the most information for me.

Anyway, thanks again for the good answers and also for the hard work you guys have done.

Michael

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