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> Aren't objective standards important here? It is quite possible
that your
> work stinks, yet you and your employer both think it is grand.
Getting some
> way of more objectively identifying and evaluating skills is why
every
> professional organization has certification. Even us.
Ummm... if Arlen's employer and customers think his work is grand,
then what right would I have to say it stinks? The only way I could
say it stinks for SURE would be to become his audience and try to use
it. And I do mean BECOME--not "pretend to be."
I have yet to see a list of objectively quantifiable skills that
certification could test. The ability to analyze an audience, gather
information and organize it, etc. really is subjective. Give ten TCs
the same audience and the same information; I'll bet you get 10
different ways of handling it, and you wouldn't be able to evaluate
whether it worked or not until you took the finished product back to
the audience it was designed for.
Nora
nmerhar -at- chasind -dot- com
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