IT ethics and certification lessons we can learn from our Canadian cousins

The CIO-level business angle on the latest tech

Every now and then - usually after a costly mistake involving the misuse of information systems - someone in the U.S. raises the question about why we don't license IT professionals in this country. After all, our government regulates other professional industries such as nursing, public accounting and architecture. Why isn't there a single agency that uses a standard testing methodology to validate that a person who says he is an IT expert really is an expert?

Perhaps we should take a lesson from our enlightened neighbors to the north.  Canada does have a government-recognized designation for IT professionals, called the Information Systems Professional, or ISP. The designation was introduced in 1989 by the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS). Until then, IT practitioners were without the benefits such a professional designation offers.

After I wrote about the need for an IT Oath (http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2005/031405musthaler.html), several members of CIPS wrote to me to tell me about their organization. They tell me that my "oath" is an essential part of CIPS' high standards for practice, ethics and public protection. CIPS member John sent me the following note:

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Every now and then - usually after a costly mistake involving the misuse of information systems - someone in the U.S. raises the question about why we don't license IT professionals in this country. After all, our government regulates other professional industries such as nursing, public accounting and architecture. Why isn't there a single agency that uses a standard testing methodology to validate that a person who says he is an IT expert really is an expert?

Perhaps we should take a lesson from our enlightened neighbors to the north.  Canada does have a government-recognized designation for IT professionals, called the Information Systems Professional, or ISP. The designation was introduced in 1989 by the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS). Until then, IT practitioners were without the benefits such a professional designation offers.

After I wrote about the need for an IT Oath (http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2005/031405musthaler.html), several members of CIPS wrote to me to tell me about their organization. They tell me that my "oath" is an essential part of CIPS' high standards for practice, ethics and public protection. CIPS member John sent me the following note:

"Just saw your article in Network World, a publication of IT World Canada, and thought I'd provide you with a link to a code of Ethics and Standards followed by IT Professionals here in Canada that belong to the Canadian Information Processing Society. Please feel free to browse our Web site to see how IT professionals here in Canada are trying to protect the public interest. I would hope that members of our society would take full responsibility for their actions, and that the affects that they may have on end users or the general public be of utmost concern, and handled well with little disruption of services. See http://www.cips.ca/about/ethics/english/ethics.pdf."

So if you are interested in business ethics for the IT professional (and I know you are), read through the standards set by CIPS. It is my belief and hope that most of the IT professionals I know already observe such practices, even if they haven't signed a document stating their intentions.

Enough on ethics; let's get back to validating skills and knowledge. I'm interested in learning more how the Canadians set a national standard for IT skills. While we have no such standard in the U.S., many IT vendors, along with groups like the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), have managed to fill the gap with both vendor-specific and vendor-neutral certification programs. These programs validate a person's skills in a specific technology area or product. Often, a "well-rounded" IT professional will hold several certifications from various agencies and vendors.

For a more organized approach, CIPS has a Certification Council that is dedicated to establishing a registered and regulated information systems profession in Canada as well as to establishing the groundwork for a fully licensed profession. The council works to determine, develop and maintain the integrity, credibility, and competence of individuals active in the IT field. 

Linda Musthaler is a principal analyst with Essential Solutions Corporation.