Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit. Accreditation is a specific organization's process of certification. According to the U.S.

National Council on Measurement in Education The National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) is a U.S. based professional organization for assessment, evaluation, testing, and other aspects of educational measurement. NCME was launched in 1938 and previously operated under the name Na ...

, a certification test is a credentialing test used to determine whether individuals are knowledgeable enough in a given occupational area to be labeled "competent to practice" in that area.

Types

One of the most common types of certification in modern society is

professional certification Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply ''certification'' or ''qualification'', is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications ...

, where a person is certified as being able to competently complete a job or task, usually by the passing of an examination and/or the completion of a program of study. Some professional certifications also require that one obtain work experience in a related field before the certification can be awarded. Some professional certifications are valid for a lifetime upon completing all certification requirements. Others expire after a certain period of time and have to be maintained with further education and/or testing. Certifications can differ within a profession by the level or specific area of expertise to which they refer. For example, in the IT Industry there are different certifications available for software tester,

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined ...

, and

developer Developer may refer to: Computers *Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications * Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games * Web de ...

. Also, the

Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology The International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (IJCAHPO) is an American nonprofit professional association for Allied Ophthalmic Personnel (AOP). Founded in 1969, the IJCAHPO provides certification and educatio ...

offers three certifications in the same profession, but with increasing complexity. Certification does not designate that a person has sufficient knowledge in a subject area, only that they passed the test. This of course apples only to exam-based certifications. Education-based certifications, require that a person completes a course of study that satisfies certain body of knowledge claims to demonstrate that the person has sufficient knowledge in the subject area. Certification does not refer to the state of legally being able to practice or work in a profession. That is licensure. Usually, licensure is administered by a governmental entity for public protection purposes and a professional association administers certification. Licensure and certification are similar in that they both require the demonstration of a certain level of knowledge or ability. Another common type of certification in modern society is product certification. This refers to processes intended to determine if a product meets minimum standards, similar to

quality assurance Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to ensure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...

. Different certification systems exist in each country. For example, in Russia it is the GOST R Rostest. Other types include: * A

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applic ...

is issued to signify the airworthiness of an aircraft manufacturing design *

Academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including und ...

s *

Cyber security certification IT security standards or cyber security standards are techniques generally outlined in published materials that attempt to protect the cyber environment of a user or organization. This environment includes users themselves, networks, devices, all ...

Digital signature A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents. A valid digital signature, where the prerequisites are satisfied, gives a recipient very high confidence that the message was created b ...

s in

public-key cryptography Public-key cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, is the field of cryptographic systems that use pairs of related keys. Each key pair consists of a public key and a corresponding private key. Key pairs are generated with cryptographic a ...

* Digital certification * Diving certification * Environmental certification * Film certification, also known as the motion picture rating system * Food safety certification *

Music recording sales certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

, such as "Gold" or "Platinum" * Nursing credentials and certifications * Professional certification (computer technology) * Sustainability certification

Standards and Certification

Certification is dependent on meeting specific requirements that are defined in a

technical standard A technical standard is an established norm or requirement for a repeatable technical task which is applied to a common and repeated use of rules, conditions, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, ...

. This is either an

international standard international standard is a technical standard developed by one or more international standards organization, standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use worldwide. The most prominent such organization ...

or a private standard. ISEAL Alliance and Global Food Safety Initiative are examples of private organizations who represent the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

. Promoting certification in supply chains of private corporations by recognizing scheme owners who adopt private standards. In comparison, the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

and Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) recommend international standards. Scheme owners using private standards require scheme fees, which is typically an annual payment for issuing a certificate. Whereas international standards do not allow scheme ownership and do not require fees to issue a certificate. Further differences between international standards and private standards are explained in a paper from ISO.

Attestations of Conformity

Attestations of conformity can be made: * First-party attestations of conformity, an individual or organization providing the good or service offers assurance that it meets certain claims. * Second-party attestations of conformity, an association to which the individual or organization belongs provides the assurance. * Third-party attestations of conformity, also referred to as third party certification, involves an independent and impartial assessment performed by a certification body, also referred to as conformity assessment body, declaring that specified requirements pertaining to a product, person, process, or management system have been met. In respect to third-party, a Notified Body is an accredited body which is entitled by an accreditation body. Upon definition of standards and regulations, the accreditation body may allow a Notified body to provide third-party certification and testing services. All that ensures and assesses

compliance Compliance can mean: Healthcare * Compliance (medicine), a patient's (or doctor's) adherence to a recommended course of treatment * Compliance (physiology), the tendency of a hollow organ to resist recoil toward its original dimensions (this is a ...

to the previously-defined codes but also to provide an official certification mark or a declaration of conformity.

In software testing Certifications

For

software testing Software testing is the act of examining the artifacts and the behavior of the software under test by validation and verification. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to apprecia ...

, the certifications can be grouped into exam-based and education-based. For exam-based certifications the candidate must pass an exam, which can also be learned by self-study. For example, for International Software Testing Qualifications Board Certified Tester by the International Software Testing Qualifications Board or Certified Software Tester by QAI or Certified Software Quality Engineer by American Society for Quality. Education-based certifications are the instructor-led sessions, where each course has to be passed. The Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP), the Certified Agile Software Test Professional (CASTP), the Certified Test Manager (CTM) and other certifications b
Institute for Software Testing
ref> are such examples. It is common for people who require certifications to undergo paid structured learning to help them achieve their goals.

References

{{Authority control Professional titles and certifications