The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) is making
improvements to its Information Systems Professional (ISP)
designation program by creating a body of knowledge all IT
practitioners should attain.
The Mississauga, Ont.-based society is also updating its code of
ethics to reflect changes in the compliance and privacy landscape
in Canada, and extending the ISP designation to groups that have
not been eligible in the past such as academics and experienced IT
professionals without computer science degrees.
Asking IT professionals to sign on to what they considered in
the past as a generalist's certificate - is viewed by some as not
provding immediate dollar value, says John Bouffard, president of
CIPS.
That's a perception that needs to change, he says.
The IT profession is about 50 years old, still relatively young
compared with other professions, says Kerry Augustine, an ISP since
1991 and a director at Great West Life in Winnipeg. Only about
1,500 people have the ISP designation, out of a potential pool of
about 300,000 IT workers Canada-wide. IT professionals typically
seek technical and vendor certifications, but businesses are
increasingly dissatisfied with this narrow knowledge.
"Many people are getting these vendor designations who may know
the product but can't execute or apply it within organizations,"
says Augustine.
Organizations are also getting increasingly impatient with IT's
dismal track record.
"Sad to say, success is gleaned from failure in other areas, and
it's raising awareness of the need for professional status in IT,"
says Augustine, alluding to research by the Standish Group about
the high rate of IT project failures and the Hartwell Group about
software glitches, both resulting in losses of millions of dollars
to businesses.
The need for better management of IT risks is fuelling change in
the business world. "IT is like a spider's web - touch one corner
and the whole thing can shake," says Bouffard.
Broad knowledge of IT and its impact on an organization is
needed to improve decision-making and accountability in IT. "We
believe, in order to apply a professional code of conduct, we must
first begin with assessing risk so an organization is fully aware
of what it's embarking," says Augustine.
There are all manner of risks for CIOs, from regulatory
compliance to hiring the right people.
And the biggest risks are in unknown areas.
"We are finding when we talk to companies that their auditors
aren't saying their systems and processes are robust," says
Bouffard. "What they're saying is 'what we looked at appears to
comply with commonly accepted practices.' It's negative assurance
and that's troublesome.
Most companies have policies and procedures, but problems come
in new unknown areas that aren't covered off.
"We believe it's important as certified professionals to
implement the IT practices that auditors will evaluate, as that's
our risk factor," he says.
Compliance pressure is also affecting boards of directors and
how organizations handle reporting to customers, shareholders and
stakeholders, says Augustine.
"IT has the opportunity to step up and demonstrate its
capabilities by injecting aspects of quality practice," he says.
"They can demonstrate they no longer have to be under the direct
thumb of the CFO - they can be accountable to the board by
governing their practice discipline."
Bouffard says an ISP designation embodies trusted competence and
intentions, supported by a common body of IT knowledge, a code of
ethics and a disciplinary body. By analogy, he compares it to the
capability maturity model (CMM), which embodies best practices in
software development.
"When companies adopt CMM and codify software development
practices, their success is more reproducible. A person with an ISP
is in a better position to provide reliable IT services," he
says.
Globalization is also highlighting the need for an
internationally recognized professional IT designation. Many
immigrants with IT backgrounds come to Canada's shores, only to
learn their credentials are not recognized.
"Canada is currently negotiating a general agreement with other
World Trade Organization (WTO) countries on trade and services.
Canada's offer, for temp workers coming here to work on projects,
is to recognize possession of an ISP or equivalent as determined by
the CIPS," says Bouffard.
This also works in reverse as more and more Canadian companies
expand overseas. Augustine points out that Great West Life recently
made some acquisitions, and now has a new site in Ireland. "So how
do I know when I'm hiring someone in Dublin or Toronto if their
skills and competencies are the same?" he says.
Bouffard points out that the ISP designation is gaining ground,
particularly in the public sector, as more and more organizations
add "ISP preferred" to job postings. "At a recent presentation, Jim
Alexander [the acting CIO of Canada], mentioned the government is
looking into professional certification for IT workers, and that's
encouraging," he says.
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