[kictanet] Software Certification Kenya. ICT Board Project to support the BPO/ITES sector

Thu Feb 4 19:55:33 EAT 2010

Our software developers are no better than other individuals and
institutions in Kenyan society.

It never ceases to amaze me how organizations / institutions hire & corrupt
individual software developers and then blame them for failing to deliver.
It is cheaper to pay an individual developer 300K or 400K for a 3 month
project than to pay a software organization 1M to do the same with 2
developers in 2 months. Hiring an individual software developer may seem to
pay off initially until software upgrades are required and the individual
developer (& possibly intellectual property) is nowhere to be found - most
likely tied up by some other project in some other institution, town or even
EAC nation. How many software developers can resist being their own boss
(ego) with much freedom (to innovate or mess up) when there are so many
ignorant Kenyan organizations willing to hire them outside a team?

On another note, we should focus on outsourcing to help us entrench
standards that will enable us to innovate more. With outsourcing we are told
what to do by our clients. With innovation we create new products or
services that our society and clients may never have even thought of or even
requested to improve aspects of their lives or work. Fortunately we (as
Kenya & the EAC) will never be as big as India in outsourcing. As such we
will move into innovation faster than if India was not so entrenched and
dominant in outsourcing. In fact my view is that we will end up somewhere
between India (outsourcing) and Israel (totally innovative). Have you ever
wondered why there are so few if any major Indian software or web brands
when their computer scientists and software engineers contribute some much
innovation to American software, web and IP Network companies?

On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 4:11 PM, joseph wafula <muliaro at yahoo.com> wrote:

> software certification is anoble idea, however the main problem experienced
> is not lack of capability to develop good and therefore quality software.
> where quality means software that meets all the requirements of
> client/customer. the problem is enforcement of ethics in Software
> development industry. May be next time ICT Board will consider supporting
> the development of Code od ethics for this sector and establishment of an
> overseeing body..
>
> Regards
>
> Dr Wafula
>
> --- On *Thu, 2/4/10, Paul Kukubo <pkukubo at ict.go.ke>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Paul Kukubo <pkukubo at ict.go.ke>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Software Certification Kenya. ICT Board Project to
> support the BPO/ITES sector
> To: muliaro at yahoo.com
> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Thursday, February 4, 2010, 3:36 AM
>
>
> I have received many direct emails and I thought I might want to respond to
> one publicly and BCC the gentleman who raised the issues. Thank you for your
> email.
>
> My answers are in red.
>
> 1. Scope of the project-Is it meant to cover software alone or how does it
> integrate other pertinent aspects of ITES & BPO
> A. yes. for now certification covers software development both for
> individuals and for organizations developing software. without pre-empting
> the procurement process, this standards may take the form of certification
> for process methodology. This basically means that once you
> have certified the method by which the firm or individual writes his code,
> you can vouch for the standards of the underlying code. One of the
> challenges many projects have locally (an indeed internationally), is that
> the software designers dont document what they are doing and you are left at
> their mercy once they have finished, another challenge is most projects dont
> allow for testing the code or the software that is written. Others because
> the same person who wrote the code has the responsibility to provide final
> test results for it.  Indeed software development, document and testing is
> often outsourced and provides an interesting outsourcing opportunity.  There
> is another project on the establishment of a BPO centre of excellence centre
> which is under way.
>
> 2. Character of the project- Does the board intend to entirely transfer the
> certification mandate to a private enterprise. Why not remain at the centre
> to guide and oversee progress with intermitent consultancy support?
> B. The thinking is still open on this. Candidates for this consultancy may
> well be educational institutions who can collaborate with local institutions
> for a long term capacity transfer. In the case of South Africa, this is
> housed at the University of Witwatersrand in a semi-autonomous arrangement
> known as the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering.
> http://www.jcse.org.za/. This particular one is  a 3 way partnership
> between academia, business and government and has a much more enriched
> mandate than we are envisioning initially.
>
> 3. Duration- 2 years are grossly insufficient for all the tasks envisioned.
> Certification can only work successfully along a continous time plan. Some
> assumptions cited within the terms list are meant for fun. eg the testing
> targets for 200/500 developers. Supposing no one turns out for those tests
> where will liability rest? Or are we assuming that people are extremely
> looking forward to those tests?
> This is true. The project just gets us started with the funding available.
> We forsee developing a more long term project as indicated in 2. These have
> to be multi-year commitments.
>
> 4. Degree of stakeholder participation- Certifications are life and death
> issues because they determine whether you qualify for the pay roll or not.
> Such matters can not be left to private investors.
> As indicated in 2 above, a partnership model would take care of this. I
> certainly share the view, However well regulated private investors can
> mitigate these risks were we to take a private sector only route.
>
> 5. Integration of existing efforts- This project may not necessarily have
> to start from scratch. There are multiple instances of related efforts which
> just require some little fine tuning.
> I am happy to convene a stakeholder discussion on this issue, (and all the
> wider issues generally). We shall seek your assistance. The consultants
> terms of reference will however include establishing the state of play in
> the market. We can augment this with other inputs.
>
> 6. Span of resources and their source. How much worth of Kenyan currency is
> at disposal for this activity. What other options can be considered using
> the same towards the goal in question
> I will confirm this here later. Other options include setting up
> a specialized unit at the universities, adding this to university
> curricular. Any other suggestions. Actually all these are also things must
> be eventually done.
>
> 7. Outcome- Is the final product meant for the local market or the foreign
> one. There seems to be an unfounded assumption that once we embrace foreign
> standards international business will come looking for us. Is the emphasis
> on the soon to be papers or on the skill quality they will trigger?
> Excellent question. We do need better standards in everything. (An example
> here is the quality of Masonry, or Carpentry. Is the issue that we don't
> enforce standards or that at a basic level, we have lost the reference to
> standards in the first place?, or is it that Masons and Carpenters with half
> backed skills have been allowed to proliferate the industry? or even perhaps
> all the above!). Because we all committed to developing a world class ICT
> sector, the attitude towards the basics must be that everything matters.
> This is a sustainable approach. ICT is a human capacity sector.
>
> 8. Given the critical nature of standards and certification, wouldnt be
> more prudent for the Board to invest in a full fledged department that will
> handle the pertinent matters in that dimension. Waiting for KASNEB, KBS to
> set the pace for ICT certification and standardization can be deemed as
> inertia on the Board's part.
> As far as ICT standards are concerned the Ministry is already working on
> various dimensions as you may be aware. The Board's role here is very
> project specific in order to meet the BPO /IT enabled services sector growth
> as outlined in the Vision 2030.
>
>
> Asante
>
> 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
>
>
>
>>
>>   On 2/2/10, Paul Kukubo <pkukubo at ict.go.ke<http://us.mc362.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>   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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<http://us.mc362.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> This message was sent to: kamothonjenga at gmail.com<http://us.mc362.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kamothonjenga%40gmail.com
>
>
> hi
> -----Inline Attachment Follows-----
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<http://us.mc362.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> This message was sent to: muliaro at yahoo.com<http://us.mc362.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/muliaro%40yahoo.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> This message was sent to: murigi.muraya at gmail.com
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/murigi.muraya%40gmail.com
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20100204/389a41c4/attachment.htm>