Accredited Certification Program Checklist:

Document reference: ACP01

July 13, 2005
Revision 1.0

Copyright^© 2005, The Open Group, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Introduction

This checklist applies to the assessment of material submitted in connection with an application by an applicant for accreditation within the IT Architect Certification Program.

Documentation checklist

The applicant should submit a full set of documentation that can illustrate that the requirements listed here have been implemented.

The applicant has some latitude as to how it meets the documentation submission requirements and the exact form and number of documents submitted may vary between applications.

Please complete the tables below.

For each document submitted, enter the name of the document in the “Document Title” column. The “Document Reference” is a short, unique identifier you assign to the document to enable shorthand references to the document. This document reference will be used in the assessment checklist when referencing a document. You may enter any relevant comment concerning the document in the “Comment” column; its use is discretionary.

Document Title	Document Reference	Comment

Requirements Checklist

Please complete the table below for every requirement. Please use the document reference in the “Documentation checklist” to indicate where evidence that the requirement is met can be found. Enter the reference in the “document in which evidence can be found” column. If the requirement is not directly addressed within a document for example records are retained on site enter an explanation in the “Applicant Comment” If a requirement doesn´t apply (e.g., Requirement 8, and there are no extended certification requirements), then enter “N/A” in the “Applicant Comment”.

Please note that where necessary, contextual text has been added to a requirement as it is documented in the relevant policy or requirements document so that it “stands alone” below without reference to other requirements. This has been done in such a way as to avoid changing the content of the requirement.

Note: ACP = Accredited Certification Program

Requirement Number	Base Requirement	Level	Reference in requirements Document
1	ACP's may certify only their own employees and contract staff who have been employed by or contracted to the ACP´s parent organization or affiliate for a period of 12 months or more.
2	The Applicant must define the Certification Program Manager (CPM). If an ACP´s CPM is a role that is distributed among several people, one person Must be nominated as CPM for the purposes of Accreditation.	Must	3
3	The CPM must be responsible for quality, Accredited Certification Program.	Must	3
4	The CPM must be responsible integrity of the Accredited Certification Program	Must	3
5	The IT Architect Certification Program assessment criteria (Conformance Requirements and Certification Policy) must be instantiated within the Accredited Certification Program's own assessment criteria .	Must	4.1
5a	Does the Accredited certification Program make use of the Certification Package Template.	May	Pending incorporation
6	There must be a clear delineation between base and extended certification requirements.	Must	4.1
7	The Accredited Certification Program's documentation should be consistent with the IT Architect Certification Program documentation, which is to say it should contain no contradictions or omissions.	Should	4.2
8	Though it may possibly define special procedures for extended certification requirements.	May	4.2
9	There must be an explicit and complete mapping between the ACP's documentation and the IT Architect Certification Program assessment criteria.	Must	4.2
10	The Applicant's program documentation must define ·Job Titles·	Must	4.3.1
11	The Applicant's program documentation must define Description of organizational context and authority.	Must	4.3.1
12	The Applicant's program documentation must define Education.	Must	4.3.1
13	The Applicant´s program documentation must define Training.	Must	4.3.1
14	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of: the day to day operation of the program.	Must	4.3.1
15	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of: Constituting and populating the Certification Board(s).	Must	4.3.1
16	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of: Appointing the Chair(s) of the certification board(s).	Must	4.3.1
17	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of: Approving the certification outcome report (the signature represents that the certification process has been carried out in accordance with process and procedure).	Must	4.3.1
18	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of: Determining the outcome of problem reports.	Must	4.3.1
19	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of: the appeals process.	Must	4.3.1
20	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of Approving revocation (the signature represents that the revocation is based on objective evidence and that there are adequate grounds for the revocation).	Must	4.3.1
21	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of Primary interface with the Certification Authority.	Must	4.3.1
22	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of The advocacy and approval of appropriate Accredited Certification Program procedures and manuals to assure the quality, repeatability, reproducibility and objectivity of the certification Program.	Must	4.3.1
23	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of the design, maintenance and control of the Accredited Certification Program, Quality and Procedures Manual or it's functional equivalent.	Must	4.3.1
24	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of the internal audit of Certification Procedures and other Quality Related documents it references against the requirements of the Certification Authority.	Must	4.3.1
25	Certification Program Manager (CPM), must be responsible for the effective oversight and quality of the annual internal audit of the Accredited Certification Program, against its documented procedures and processes.	Must	4.3.1
26	The above list of duties is a non-exhaustive list and other duties may be defined.	May	4.3.1
27	The accredited organization must document the names, responsibilities and job titles of those who are responsible within the organization for each of the duties stated above, together with the mapping between each duty and individual.	Must	4.3.1
28	The Certification Program Manager may serve on the certification board.	May	4.3.1
29	If the Certification Program Manager serves on the certification board (s)he but must do so without conflict of interest particularly in the context of any subsequent appeals.	Must	4.3.1
30	The Evaluation Procedures must be defined and documented sufficiently to ensure the repeatability, reproducibility and fairness of evaluation of Candidate IT Architects within the ACP and to enable the CA to ensure repeatability, reproducibility and fairness of Evaluations between the ACP and other ACP´s.	Must	4.3.2
31	The documented processes must define the maximum duration of all steps in the process.	Must	4.3.2.1
32	The documented processes must define the mechanisms by which incomplete applications by Candidates are resolved.	Must	4.3.2.1
33	The documented processes must define the checklist to be followed by the ACP staff that ensures that all steps in the evaluation are followed.	Must	4.3.2.1
34	The documented processes must define the means to communicate the outcome of the documentation audit to the Candidate.	Must	4.3.2.1
35	The documented processes must define the means to communicate the outcome of the Certification Board evaluation to the Candidate.	Must	4.3.2.1
36	The documented processes must define the means to communicate a successful outcome of the Certification Board evaluation plus the Certification Record to the CA.	Must	4.3.2.1
37	The ACP staff will audit the submitted application to ensure it is complete and well formed.	Must	4.3.2.2
38	The Candidate will be required to correct any errors or inconsistencies before the Evaluation can continue.	Must	4.3.2.2
39	The documented process and acceptance criteria for auditing a candidate's Application Package must be complete and consistent with the CA's evaluation criteria.	Must	4.3.2.2
40	The Certification Board will evaluate each application against the Conformance Requirements by following the ACP´s documented Evaluation Procedures.	Must	4.3.2.3
41	The Certification Board will evaluate each certification application and make a written recommendation to the CPM regarding certification.	Must	4.3.2.3
42	At least two thirds of the members of the Certification Board must concur with the recommendation to certify.	Must	4.3.2.3
43	Should an application be rejected, the Certification Board will state the reasons in writing and provide a written set of recommendations for the CPM to pass to the Candidate to facilitate future enhancement to the Candidate's compliance to the Conformance Requirements.	Must	4.3.2.3
44	The documented evaluation process must ensure that a candidate's Application Package and associated documents are objectively evaluated for full conformance with the Conformance Requirements and must ensure that the results of evaluation against all the Evaluation Criteria are recorded.	Must	4.3.2.3
45	Certification Board members must be Open Group Certified IT Architects.	Must	4.3.2.3
46	Certification Boards will consist of a minimum of three members.	Must	4.3.3
47	ACP´s are strongly advised to ensure that they have a pool of potential Certification Board members that is sufficient to deal with the expected volume and geographic distribution of applicants.	Should	4.3.3
48	It is strongly suggested that Certification Board members, should be the most senior and have the most experience within an organization, should have a minimum of 6 years of experience practicing or contributing to the profession and mentoring IT Architects.	Should	4.3.3
49	The ACP´s Certification Board procedures must document the selection criteria and process, the term of appointment and the process to be followed when board members are replaced.	Must	4.3.3
50	These procedures must also address how the ACP will deal with their expected volume of applicants for certification.	Must	4.3.3
51	The ACP´s Certification Board documented procedures must also ensure that there is consistency in decision making both geographically and over time.	Must	4.3.3
52	The Chair of the Certification Board must facilitates the meeting(s) making appropriate introductions and explanations to candidate IT Architects of the process and general management of the work of the board.	Must	4.3.3.1
53	The Chair of the Certification Board must have a responsibility to monitor the objectivity of other board members and to draw to their attention any inappropriate subjectivity or prejudice.	Must	4.3.3.1
54	The Chair of the Certification Board may drafts the certification board report or may delegate this task to a named individual.	May	4.3.3.1
55	When the Chair of the Certification Board delegates the drafting of the certification board report the Certification Board Chair must take full responsibility for the content of the report.	Must	4.3.3.1
56	The Chair of the Certification Board must report to the CPM for the conduct of the board.	Must	4.3.3.1
57	The Chair of the Certification Board must act as single point of contact for the board to the CPM and the Certification Authority.	Must	4.3.3.1
58	The Applicant must document the workflow of the certification process.	Must	4.3.4
59	The workflow of the certification process may be documented either in textual description flow diagrams or both.	May	4.3.4
60	Review and approval points must be clearly defined together with the maximum duration of the review and approval.	Must	4.3.4
61	The Applicant must document the processes it uses to determine the overall outcome of the evaluation.	Must	4.3.5
62	The Applicant must document the processes it uses to inform the candidate of that outcome.	Must	4.3.5
63	The Applicant must document the procedures and processes it uses to ensure that the certified IT Architects renew their certification.	Must	4.3.6
64	The Applicant must document the procedures and processes it uses to ensure that certified architects remain in conformity with the conformance.	Must	4.3.7
65	The Applicant must document the procedures and processes it uses to determine the consequences of a Certified IT Architect failing to remain in conformity with the conformance requirements.	Must	4.3.7
66	The interface with the CA must be documented.	Must	4.3.8
67	The interface with the CA must meet the requirements set out in the Accreditation and Certification Policies.	Must	4.3.8
68	The applicant must define and document its quality assurance procedures.	Must	4.3.9
69	The quality assurance procedures must ensure that the operations of the applicant's program are repeatable, reproducible and objective.	Must	4.3.9
70	The ACP must operate a documented appeals process that meets the requirements of the Certification Policy.	Must	4.4
71	The ACP must operate a documented interpretations process to deal with perceived errors in its program documentation or the certification process itself.	Must	4.5
72	The ACP must document how it reports problems encountered with the CA´s documentation into the CA´s problem reporting process.	Must	4.5
73	ACP´s are required to provide a mechanism for their applicants to request support and clarification of certification requirements, policies and procedures.	Must	4.6
74	ACP´s extended certification requirements must be effectively documented and communicated to the participants of the accredited program.	Must	4.7
75	Extended certification requirements may not relax the skills, experience or process requirements of the Open Group program.	Must	4.7

The Open Group IT Architect Certification Program