Exam Development Process

LPI is committed to providing the IT community with exams of the highest quality, relevance, and accuracy. This commitment requires that our exam development process is highly detailed, time consuming, participatory, consultative and employs many of the proven techniques used by most other IT certification programs.

Psychometrics

LPI exams are created using psychometric techniques, which results in exams which are of high quality and relevance to the skills being tested. Psychometrics, the scientific study of testing and measuring mental capacity, is used throughout LPI certification development to ensure that our exams reflect the needs of the IT community and industry.

Program Structure

In the very first stage of development, the task is to develop an overall vision for what the certified individual will be able to accomplish:

• When they have attained the certification, what type of jobs should they be able to perform?
• What is the target market?
• In the case of an overall certification program, what differentiates the various levels of certification?

This originally occurred for LPI back in the fall of 1998 and early 1999 as we looked at different models for a certification program and different job descriptions. Through widespread community discussions and industry consultations, we outlined a muliple level program:

• LPIC1: is an entry level, foundation or “junior” certification for Linux professionals
• LPIC2: is an advanced level for Linux Professionals
• A variety of products have been proposed for intermediate and higher levels and include a specialist or Linux "guru" level, LAMP, and enterprise network security. Research and industry consultation on these additional certification products is ongoing

Next Steps in the "Exam Development Process":