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I've enrolled in online college to get my undergrad degree. Some of my courses were related to certificates that many people list on their resume. The questio

by csours 4y ago

I've enrolled in online college to get my undergrad degree. Some of my courses were related to certificates that many people list on their resume. The questions are very bad. Very very bad. One example: Which of the following considerations are most important when choosing a software solution: A. System Requirements B. Something else C. Distribution Method / Software Installation D. Something else My answer is Distribution Method (ie, how do you install it, or is it available as a web service). After working in tech for 20 years, distribution is still the hardest problem, and the one that can take the most time, when you consider the total time by all stakeholders. They said that is not the answer because there are software installation managers. --- I understand why that certificate has the answer they gave, and I understand why the test is in multiple choice format, I just deeply disagree with each of those decisions. After taking that test, I feel like anyone with that cert will need to be retrained after hiring. I feel like it is worse than useless for many of it's claimed benefits. (You do learn some about hardware and standards, which is nice)

periheli0n 4y ago
This is likely the result of an overworked and underpaid academic being asked to quickly draft a few questions for the online exam tomorrow. It is definitely a sign of insufficient quality control.
- WirelessGigabit 4y ago
  Not underpaid. No experience in real life software engineering. Probably thinking of this ideal world where there is planning and then a waterfall implementation.
  - csours 4y ago
    I think waterfall hits the problem on the head. The course and certification are the product of a waterfall process. Consider all the work to update the questions on the course: The course syllabus, training material, tests. There are processes for each of those, with stakeholders to sign off. If you want to change a question or add a new priority, you might make one of your stakeholders angry because that was their favorite topic and they have strong opinions. The rollout has to be planned so that people currently studying the material are not caught off guard when they take the test. I have a lot of empathy for the people involved, but it's still a bad product.

by csours 4y ago

periheli0n 4y ago

This is likely the result of an overworked and underpaid academic being asked to quickly draft a few questions for the online exam tomorrow. It is definitely a sign of insufficient quality control.

WirelessGigabit 4y ago
Not underpaid. No experience in real life software engineering. Probably thinking of this ideal world where there is planning and then a waterfall implementation.
- csours 4y ago
  I think waterfall hits the problem on the head. The course and certification are the product of a waterfall process. Consider all the work to update the questions on the course: The course syllabus, training material, tests. There are processes for each of those, with stakeholders to sign off. If you want to change a question or add a new priority, you might make one of your stakeholders angry because that was their favorite topic and they have strong opinions. The rollout has to be planned so that people currently studying the material are not caught off guard when they take the test. I have a lot of empathy for the people involved, but it's still a bad product.