KCS PRACTICES v5 CERTIFICATION INSTRUCTIONS

KCS PRACTICES v5 CERTIFICATION INSTRUCTIONS KCS SM Versin 5.0 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION

Cntact Infrmatin... 3 Abut the KCS Practices v5 Certificatin... 4 Intended Audience... 4 Eligibility Requirements... 4 Overview f the Prcess... 5 Hw t Cmplete the Online Applicatin... 5 Certificatin Fees... 5 Accessing the Credential Management System... 5 Certificatin Prcess Statuses... 6 Abut the Practices v5 Certificatin Exam... 6 Optins fr Taking the Exam... 6 Educatin and Reading List... 7 Exam Tpics and Objectives... 7 Exam Results... 9 Exam Retake... 9 Languages... 10 Certificatin Renewal... 10 KCS Cmmunity Rules f Cnduct... 10 KCS is a service mark f the Cnsrtium fr Service Innvatin 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 2

Cntact Infrmatin KCS ACADEMY www.thekcsacademy.net (650) 596-0772 certman@thekcsacademy.net THE CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION www.serviceinnvatin.rg (650) 596-0772 ONLINE CREDENTIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM http://www.thekcsacademy.net/certificatin 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 3

Abut the KCS Practices v5 Certificatin The KCS Practices v5 Certificatin is ffered by The KCS Academy. The Practices v5 Certificatin designates individuals wh demnstrate a thrugh understanding f the KCS cncepts including the Slve Lp, Evlve Lp and best practices fr KCS adptin. The certificatin standards and exam are develped and maintained by a cmmittee f members frm the Cnsrtium fr Service Innvatin. Intended Audience This certificatin is intended fr individuals wh require a thrugh understanding f bth the methdlgy and its adptin. This includes peple wh manage r advise n the adptin and cntinuus imprvement f the KCS practices. This certificatin is als apprpriate fr prduct managers whse prducts align with r enable the KCS practices. Individuals pursing KCS Practices Certificatin are: Cnsultants Prgram and prject managers fr KCS adptin KCS adptin team members Supervisrs and first- and secnd-line managers Prduct managers and architects fr technlgy and tls that enable the KCS practices Eligibility Requirements There are n prerequisites t start the KCS Practices v5 Certificatin prcess. T earn certificatin, a candidate will demnstrate that they have the knwledge necessary fr a successful KCS adptin and ptimizatin f the KCS results ver time. Mre specifically, the KCS Practices v5 Certificatin cvers the fllwing: The cncepts and benefits f KCS Dealing with frequently asked questins and cmmn bjectins A thrugh understanding f the fllwing: Slve and Evlve lps KCS rles KCS measures Best practices fr adptin Functinal requirements fr tls and tl integratin Fr mre detail n what is cvered in the Practices v5 Certificatin Exam see the KCS Educatin and Reading List later in this dcument. 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 4

Overview f the Prcess 1. Registratin: http://www.thekcsacademy.net/certificatin/ (use the Get Certified buttn n the right side f the page) 2. Submit the Practices v5 Certificatin Payment frm (left side navigatin under Certificatins click Prgram Applicatins and Order Frms ) 3. Payment frm prcessing and acceptance by the Academy 4. Dwnlad and study the KCS Adptin Guide (left side navigatin under Dwnlads click Dwnlad Center, click Dcuments tab, select left arrw n in right clumn) 5. Schedule the exam (instructins will be sent via email nce yur recrd is prcessed, 1-2 business days) 6. Certificatin renewal is required with in 6 mnths f the KCS Practices Guide v6 release date (v6 release is expected t be January 2014) Hw t Cmplete the Online Applicatin All candidates must use The KCS Academy nline credential management system t apply fr certificatins. This system enables yu t track yur certificatin prgress, dwnlad frms, submit payments, access certificatin recrds, and add yurself t the credentials registry. Once the certificatin payment is apprved, the candidate has the respnsibility t schedule and take the exam within ne year. Within 1-2 business days f payment, the candidate will receive an email cnfirmatin with instructins n hw t schedule the exam. Certificatin Fees Certificatin fee: $450 Practice test fee: $85 (ptinal) Exam retake fee: $170 All fees are nn-refundable. Accessing the Credential Management System www.thekcsacademy.net/certificatin Use the Get Certified buttn n the right. New users shuld Register Nw. Existing users, sign in. 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 5

Certificatin Prcess Statuses N status (but have registered n the credential site) Applicatin in prgress Eligible t test Certified Retake after nt passing exam ($170 + 30/90 day wait perid) Retake after n shw ($170) Expired grace perid (within 30 days after expiratin date, determined by the release f KCS v6) Expired (mre than 30 days after expiratin date) Retired Abut the Practices v5 Certificatin Exam The KCS Practices v5 Certificatin exam is cmprised f 60-70 multiple-chice questins. The alltted time t cmplete the exam is tw hurs. Mst candidates will cmplete the exam in 90 minutes r less. There are n breaks during the exam. A team f KCS practitiners develped the questins n the exam. The exams are validated thrugh psychmetric analysis. Optins fr Taking the Exam There are three ptins fr taking the exam: 1. Hsted at a prctred testing center 2. OLP nline prctred 3. Client prctred at a prctred client site r as part f a wrkshp Details abut each ptin and wrldwide testing center lcatins are available after registering in the credentials management system. N reference materials can be used during the exam. Exam plicies and prcedures are prvided n the testing center web site after scheduling the exam. 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 6

Educatin and Reading List Attending a KCS Fundatins Wrkshp is recmmended but nt required. The fllwing reading list is strngly recmmended: KCS Practices Guide Measurement Matters paper KCS Adptin Guide KCS Verified Prgram Instructins All dcuments can be accessed fr free at www.thekcsacademy.net. Exam Tpics and Objectives The exam is based n the dcumentatin listed in the Educatin and Reading List abve. N specific prduct r technlgy is cvered in the exam. Specifics abut individual cmpany cntent standard, rles, wrkflw and life cycle states that are unique t an rganizatin are nt included in the exam. The exam is based n the generic practices as described in the KCS dcumentatin. The exam was built with the idea f answering the fllwing questin: If yu hired smene t manage r advise yu n a KCS adptin, what wuld yu expect them t knw? The exam bjectives include (a study guide): KCS Principles and Cncepts Identify the basic cncepts f KCS. Identify the value f KCS t the business and t the custmers. Identify vilatins t the KCS practices. Identify the differences between the KCS methdlgy and Knwledge Management (KM) tl/technlgy. Identify the characteristics and differences in the Duble Lp Prcess (Slve and Evlve). Identify the key elements and benefits f the demand driven cncept in KCS. Identify the key elements and benefits f the sufficient t slve cncept. Identify the key elements and benefits f the just-in-time versus just-in-case cncept. Capture Identify what is apprpriate t capture fr the incident and what is apprpriate fr the KCS article. Identify why capture in the wrkflw is imprtant in a KCS envirnment. Structure Identify why structure fr reuse cntributes t the verall KCS prcess. Identify why cmplete thughts nt cmplete sentences cntributes t the verall KCS prcess. 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 7

Reuse Identify hw search early, search ften cntributes t the verall KCS prcess. Identify why seek t understand what we cllectively knw cntributes t the verall KCS prcess. Identify KCS best practices fr determining when searching becmes unprductive. Identify why search wrds and phrases captured fr new KCS articles cntributes t the verall KCS prcess. Given a scenari, identify hw search wrds and phrases captured fr a new KCS article cntributes t the verall KCS prcess. Identify the imprtance f the visibility f a framed r Wrk-In-Prgress KCS article. Imprve Identify hw reuse is review cntributes t the verall KCS prcess. Identify why flag it r fix it cntributes t the verall KCS prcess. Identify the cnditins under which it is apprpriate t flag r fix a KCS article. Identify behavirs f cllective wnership f an rganizatin's knwledge base. Prcess Integratin Given a set f prblem slving steps, identify the crrect rder the steps shuld be cmpleted. Identify why search early, search ften is imprtant in the prblem slving prcess. Identify why seek t understand befre seeking t slve is imprtant in the prblem slving prcess. Identify criteria fr determining if a statement is relevant. Cntent Health Identify the criteria fr publishing t an external audience. Identify hw KCS articles relate t ther dcuments (manuals, design dcuments, etc.). Given an incident scenari, identify the statements that shuld be included in the reslutin sectin f the KCS article. Identify the imprtance f the characteristics and attributes (metadata) f the KCS article. Identify when t create a new article vs. updating a KCS article. Identify what needs t be knwn t determine if reference material shuld be linked t a KCS article. Identify what needs t be knwn t determine if supprting/supplemental material shuld be attached t a KCS article. Identify the purpse, features, and functins f KCS article states. Given a scenari, identify the transitin criteria fr Wrk-In-Prgress t Draft. Identify the transitin criteria fr Apprved t Published. Identify hw the demand-driven cncept influences which audiences the KCS article is visible t. Identify the benefits f Just-In-Time publishing. Identify the benefits f a Cntent Standard. 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 8

Identify the elements f the KCS methdlgy that cntribute t the creatin f quality KCS articles. Identify the definitin f a KCS article. Identify the custmer requirements fr KCS articles that were revealed in the Cnsrtium s cntent requirements survey. Perfrmance Assessment, Rles, and Respnsibilities Identify the imprtance f the licensing mdel. Identify the benefits f the licensing mdel t the individual KCS Publisher. Identify the circumstances in which a KCS Publisher wuld lse their license. Given a scenari, identify the causes f duplicate KCS articles in the knwledge base. Given a scenari, identify the causes f findability prblems. Identify the actins the KCS Publisher shuld take t reslve findability prblems. Identify the causes f Cntent Standard vilatins. Given Cntent Standard vilatins, identify the actins the KCS Publisher shuld take. Identify the causes where KCS articles are nt mving thrugh the article states (cnstipatin). Identify the characteristics, rle, value, and functin f a KCS Cach. Identify the value f a KCS Publisher. Identify ways t prmte and measure the KCS behavirs and cllabratin. Identify the metrics that are activities vs. utcmes. Identify the strengths f radar charts. Identify the characteristics f an activity measure. KCS Adptin Identify the fur phases f adptin. Identify the intent and benefit f adptin waves. Identify why the measurement system must evlve in each phase. Identify the criteria fr a gd KCS Cach and the best practices fr selecting caches. Identify key tl functinality required t supprt KCS. Identify the intent f the KCS scenaris. Exam Results At the cmpletin f the exam a Pass/Fail result will be displayed. If a Fail result is displayed, the candidate will receive an email cntaining feedback regarding the majr tpics areas n which t fcus befre retaking the exam. Exam results are cnfidential and will nt be disclsed withut the candidate s permissin. Exam Retake All certificatin criteria must be met within ne year frm payment submissin t receive the certificatin. T retake a nn-passing exam, a retake fee and a thirty-day wait perid is required. 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 9

Shuld a secnd retake be necessary, a retake fee and a ninety-day waiting perid is required. The exam cannt be taken mre than three times. Languages The KCS Certificatin is currently nly available in English. Testing centers are wrldwide. Certificatin Renewal Certificatin begins n the date f passing the nline exam and ends 6 mnths after the Cnsrtium fr Service Innvatin releases versin 6 f the KCS Practices Guide. Versin 5 f the KCS Practices Guide was released in January f 2011. The Cnsrtium releases a new versin f the Practices Guide every 24-36 mnths. KCS Cmmunity Rules f Cnduct D N Harm: Be respnsible and dn't misrepresent yurself, claim false credentials r expertise, r give advice in a way that might cause smene harm. Dn't incite r advcate harmful, dergatry r illegal practices. Mst f what the Cnsrtium fr Service Innvatin and the KCS Academy Inc. creates is ffered with a "right t use with attributin" agreement. Tw exceptins t the right t use with attributin are the licensed materials fr the KCS wrkshps and the cntents f the Certificatin Exams. "D N Harm" includes d n harm with respect t the integrity f the licensed materials and the value f the Certificatin Exams. Yu agree nt t cpy, distribute r discuss the questins and/r answers n any f the Academy's Certificatin Exams r in any way diminish the value and integrity f the Certificatin prgrams. Sunshine Rule: Dn't d anything that yu wuld be embarrassed abut having cvered in an article n the frnt page f the Wall Street Jurnal. And, if in dubt, dn't. Cmmunicatins: This is yur netwrk. Mst peple have a cmmn-sense feel fr what is and what is nt apprpriate in the netwrk and generally the netwrk plices itself. The fllwing bundaries f acceptability r grund rules are ffered fr reference shuld the need arise. Offensive Messages: Messages persnally attacking, calling names, r therwise harassing r being disparaging t anther member, r any ethnic r religius grup will be deleted. Offensive and/r vulgar language is nt apprpriate. 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 10

Adult Cntent/Illegal Activity: Messages cntaining sexually riented r suggestive dialg, cntent, r links t such will be deleted. Messages with links t r suggesting illegal activity will als be deleted. Either culd result in lss f access t the netwrk. Religius and Plitical Tpics: These tpics generally just cause bad feelings and d nt align with the intent f the KCS netwrk. Other: The Academy will make an effrt t remve ANY bjectinable cntent in a reasnable time. We reserve the right t remve any cntent withut prviding a reasn. Vendr Specific Rules: There are vendrs and cnsultants wh have prducts and services that may help peple reslve issues r increase their success with KCS. These vendrs and cnsultants are welcmed and encuraged t participate in the discussins. Prduct features r service fferings may be discussed in respnse t an inquiry, hwever, t avid the intrusin f vert sales messages in netwrk interactins vendrs are asked t: Restrict pstings t respnses t custmer inquiries which may be directly reslved by yur prduct, and please indicate specifically hw yur prduct r service may reslve the issue. Expliting (spamming) the members f the netwrk fr persnal r cmpany gain will nt be tlerated. Clearly specify yur vendr affiliatin (with mre than just an email address please). D nt discuss pricing r purchase requirements. Instead, engage utside the KCS netwrk via - mail, phne, r yur web site. Mst vendrs currently participating add value, but failure t adhere t any f these rules will result in cntent being deleted and pssible lss f access t the KCS netwrk. (Nt t mentin the bad image inapprpriate behavir will create fr yur cmpany.) Lack f adherence t these rules f cnduct will be grunds fr lss f certificatin status and exclusin frm the KCS netwrk at the KCS Academy's discretin. 2012 CONSORTIUM FOR SERVICE INNOVATION PAGE 11