This Weeks Progress

Several more conversations with vendors regarding testing, test preparation, psycometrics, etc. We're in contact with at least a half-dozen organizations. So far, they've all expressed an interest in working with us. Several have offered to help us with a 'writers workshop' where they show us how to write good questions for tests; how to keep track of them in an 'item bank' (database); and how to move things from creation to analysis to preparation to delivery. Some are exclusively based on Microsoft products, and while that doesn't turn us completely off, it make things awkward from a usability standpoint. Discussions are continuing and we hope to narrow the field late next week.

We've also begun the process of incorporation. We're looking at both the US 501(c)(3) model, and the Canadian Incorporation:Not-For-Profit model. Both have advantages. We're also checking with both the NetBSD Foundation and the FreeBSD Foundation to learn from their experiences. So far, we don't see any reason we can't be a 501(c)(3). More to come on this important topic soon.

The BSD Usage Survey is ready. The English version has been sent to the translation teams. We hope to have at least a couple of translations ready by the release of the survey on Monday, Sept 12. This is an important survey and we want to get the word out about it. It's much shorter than the first survey- only 19 questions. Look for the announcement on Monday.

There were some lively discussions on the email list this week on both a code of ethics and on the business plan. Check the archives for details.

Just a followup note on the business plan- yes we do have a plan. Yes, we are actively developing it. Yes, we will publish it. If you have questions, comments, concerns or would like to help, send an email to the public list. Most of what needs to be done is to research the market in three specific areas- BSD usage (hence the above survey); other Unix certifications (Solaris, HP, Linux, others) for recent certification numbers; and finding a good gauge of employer interest. If you have info on these topics please send us a note.

The NDA is ready- the only outstanding item is the jursidiction. We will have to wait for incorporation for that. We'll post the text to the public list for comments this weekend.

Finally, the Certification Requirements document for the first certification is starting to take shape. Here's a question- would you like 75-100 hard questions, or 50 harder questions? Ahh, the pain of testing... :-)