The foundation of secure software development is well-known; the list of recommended practices and activities is substantial but not daunting. Many developers have studied the required material and acquired the skills but, even now, cannot declare their status because our industry lacks a recognized technical certification in secure software development. So, to enable developers and their companies to signal their commitment to this essential knowledge and skill set, OMG and a set of committed companies plan to produce a program to certify practitioners in secure software development. We invite your company to join us as a sponsor and participant.
|  | Drawing on the knowledge of experts in the field recruited preferentially from sponsor companies, the program will define the five examinations and corresponding certifications shown in the figure at left and described in a bit more detail in the next section. Each of the four Advanced certifications requires passing the foundation-level exam (which carries its own certification) as prerequisite. This 5-part structure was constructed by a small group of domain experts from initial sponsor companies, working with OMG's certification expert who assured that the final configuration would cover the topics in sufficient detail while still being practical to write and validate psychometrically. The structure supported the cost estimation step necessary to define the sponsorship program described here. | | | | | PROGRAM STRUCTURE | This program structure reflects the way domain knowledge and skills are used in the different job roles and levels in our industry. The foundation- level certification tests the common knowledge elements and skill set that every secure developer should know. Passing this examination confers the OCASE Certification and is prerequisite to certification in the four advanced topics. Two language-centered topics - Java and .NET - cover both programming-specific and language-specific aspects. QA stresses quality aspects while the Manager topic, less technical than the other three, covers organizational, legal, and other related aspects. The exact coverage of each of these examinations will be determined by an expanded group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) meeting under the program. | | | | WHY SPONSORS?
FUNDING DEVELOPMENT  | A program such as this one is expensive to produce. Many steps incur significant cost, with test and question validation being the most significant but not the only contributor. OMG and the program initiators defined the program structure (shown in the first figure) in order to ground our cost estimation. The figure mentioned at the end of this section was calculated for that structure, based on OMG's extensive experience producing certification programs. We have established the retail price of taking the examinations through our test administration company Pearson VUE at $269 for the foundation level and $229 each for the four advanced topics. To fund development, the program will pre-sell bundles of 45 vouchers to sponsor companies for US$10,000. Unlike vouchers that OMG will sell to retail customers after the program publishes, each Sponsor Voucher may be used to take any of the program examinations and, when used for the base level, conveys a discount of just over 21%. All sponsor vouchers will remain valid for two years after publication of the last exam in the program. (Sponsor companies are welcome to purchase more than one voucher bundle, if they wish.) Because the program "sponsorship fee" returns vouchers, it represents an asset rather than an expense to the purchasing company (one advantage) and may be paid from either the company's training budget or marketing budget (another advantage). Sponsoring companies will receive the following benefits in addition to the vouchers: For as long as the material and versions on which the program is based remain current, their logos will be displayed on the program's entry web page; they may display the program "Sponsor" logo (left) on their website and related collateral; their company names will be featured in the program announcement press release and included in every subsequent program release; and they may nominate a knowledgeable staff person to the committee of SMEs that will determine the detailed contents of the five examinations. Sponsor companies also have access to the contents of the examinations - an asset in spite of the contents' NDA status. See this section for details. OMG calculates that we need a total of US$250,000 in sponsorship commitment to fund the program. This requires us to sell twenty-five voucher bundles. We have allotted one year to do this; if funding is not complete at the end of the year, OMG will refund 100% of paid fees. | | | | | THE PROGRAM | This certification development program will include: -
The initial implementation of the examination suite, including management of question-writing by SMEs nominated by the sponsors and companies in the domain, and psychometric review and validation via beta testing followed by statistical analysis of the results. -
Publication of the examinations by a secure third party (Pearson VUE) -
Website development and posting -
Certificate fulfillment -
Opt-in listing of candidates in an online directory -
Ongoing support of the program | | | | PROGRAM-CENTERED
ECOSYSTEM | OMG certification programs stimulate the industry to write and publish program-oriented books and courses. The training and publishing companies that produce this material then promote the technology and certification programs as they promote their courses and books, in a synergy that works to the benefit of the entire "ecosystem" that forms around each of our certification topics. This occurred for all four of our current programs (Click on the web menu button labeled "Study Material" to see what's available) and will happen for OCASE as well. Think of it as leverage: By listing a topic and covering it on the exam, the program causes books to describe it and courses to cover it. In addition to enabling readers and students to pass the exam, this coverage increases the population of developers knowledgeable in the topic.
OMG expects the experts who write exam content to go on to write preparatory books and courseware. The Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that contributors sign forbids disclosure of exam contents, to be sure, but in a way that allows - in fact, encourages - creation of material that teaches to the subject, and not to the exam. | | | | | WHY OMG?   | OMG is a major player in IT practitioner certification, currently running these four successful and popular programs: Click through any of these links to enter the program's website through its home page, and skim through to gain an overview of the organization and presentation of our programs. The OCASE program will share their robust infrastructure including website generation and hosting, candidate support including response to inquiry emails and registry in our opt-in certified professionals directory, record maintenance and certificate fulfillment, established relationship with exam administration company Pearson VUE, and ongoing program support. Production of every one of these four of these programs was completed on schedule and within budget. Tens of thousands of IT professionals around the world boast of holding OMG certifications. | | | | | NEXT STEPS | We hope you're interested in sponsoring OCASE program development. For more information about program rationale or participation, or to receive a copy of the program brochure or contract draft, contact Ed Adams, President and CEO
Security Innovation
+1-978-694-1008 X123
[email protected]
-- or --
Fred Pinkett, VP, Product Management
+1-978-694-1008 X114
[email protected] For answers to questions about certification, or specific questions about the sponsorship contract or invoicing, contact Jon Siegel, Ph.D.
Vice President, Technology Transfer and Director, Certification
Object Management Group
+1-781-444-0404 X124
[email protected]
-- or --
Becky Higgins
Marketing Specialist and Certification Program Manager
+1-781-444-0404444 X122
[email protected] | For more information or questions about the OMG Certification Program, please contact [email protected]
OCUP, OCRES, OCEB and OCSMP are joint programs of the OMG and the UML Technology Institute (UTI) Last updated on 05/31/2016  |
