[kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Re: Software Certification Kenya. ICT Board Project to support the BPO/ITES sector

Tue Feb 2 11:26:43 EAT 2010

Thank you for your questions. many have written to me directly to seek
clarification.

I have received a flurry of questions on the status report and I will
respond to those that are of a recurring nature directly on this list while
pointing listers to the website www.ict.go.ke for more information and
updates on aspect of the projects.

*
*

*Objective of the assignment*

The objective of this assignment is to recruit a leading international
academic institution or standards body to develop and implement an
internationally recognized and sustainable software developer certification
program (Certification Program) for Kenya. The Certification Program will
have multiple components, including content and processes for local software
developers to prepare, register and be certified; an Internet enabled
credentialing program; and an initial pilot testing, evaluation and fine
tuning of the Certification Program. The program should be underpinned by a
sustainable business model.**

* Scope of services*

i.  *Inception Report and Business Plan:*  Provide an Inception Report that
contains a description of start-up activities, the detailed work plan,
methodologies, and an estimate of the time allocation for involved personnel
from both the Government of Kenya and the organization’s team. In addition,
to provide a business plan that spells out the resources to be deployed and
the results proposed to be achieved. The business plan should also propose
long term, sustainable business model options for the Certification Program.

ii.                 *Content Development:* Develop appropriate content for
certification in close collaboration with relevant partners; including
leading international and local IT companies, academic institutions,
governments, international standards bodies and industry/trade associations.
The developed content should have their explicit support in terms of
relevance and quality, be based on the latest technologies and extensible to
address the major languages (C, C++, Java), operating systems, language
combinations, and software development tools and environments.

iii.               *Certification Process Development: *Develop an
internationally recognized, authentic, secure and valid process for software
developer certification. This process should be developed in consultation
with leading IT companies and academic institutions as well as have the
buy-in of at least two industry associations of established countries in the
area of BPO, and two countries aspiring to establish themselves in this
domain. Countries should be chosen to be representative of at least three
regions out of the following: Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and
Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, East Asia and other
parts of Sub Saharan Africa. In addition, the processes should be based on
proven experiences in similar certification programs. The testing process
should be representative of real-life, professional software development.
The examinations should also be refreshed annually; and extendable to
address the full software development life cycle (including post-deployment
maintenance) and modern issues (including the development of secure software
systems). The examination must be developed using recognized techniques for
validation and verification of quality. Linkages may be established with one
or more organizations with leading testing and certification mechanisms to
ensure that the certification will be conducted in a secure and proctored
setting.

iv.                *Provision of Internet-Enabled Credentialing
Program:*Provide a web-enabled credentialing program, including
functions for online
registration, preparation and certification.

v.                  *Piloting:* To pilot the Certification Program with an
initial batch of at least 50 enrollees, comprising of local software
developers who should be benchmarked against a control group.

vi.                *Evaluation Reports:* Conduct an evaluation of the pilot
to prepare a detailed report to recommend strategies and action plans for
improving the Certification Program. An evaluation should also be conducted
on gaps and weaknesses in software development skills, so as to recommend
changes in curriculum and pedagogy required as part of broader education
reforms in Kenya.

vii.             *Program Refinement and Local Capacity Building:*    Refine
the Certification Program based on the agreed recommendations of the
Evaluation Report, and develop capacity within the country to conduct the
assessments for certification.

viii.           *‘Live’ Rollout:*  Commence ‘live’ rollout of the
Certification Program with assessment of certification by local
institutions, with the target of testing at least 200 local software
developers. In addition, to obtain the commitment of leading companies
operating globally and locally to use the results as a necessary
pre-requisite for their hiring decisions.

ix.                *Mass Rollout and Marketing, and Business Model
Implementation:  *Implement mass rollout and marketing campaign for the
Certification Program across Kenya, with a target to test at least 500 local
software developers. In addition, to implement a business model for the
Certification Program that is internationally recognized, financially
self-sustaining and affordable for local software developers by the end of
this consultancy service (24 months after contract signature). A final
report is to be prepared to highlight the next steps to be taken by Kenya
for the Certification Program, including future steps on training content
development, certification process and local capacity building.

Paul Kukubo
Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board
PO Box 27150 - 00100
Nairobi, Kenya

12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street

Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960

Fax: +254 20 2211962
Cell: + 254 735 180001

website: www.ict.go.ke
skype: kukubopaul
googletalk: pkukubo
____________________
Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub

Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT,
through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for
socio economic enrichment
Sent from Nairobi, Kenya
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