Wednesday, February 12, 2020

15 Top-Paying IT Certifications for 2020

Here's an interesting article from Global Knowledge. Notice that the top certifications are focused on cloud, security, and risk. Importantly, both here and from some of the pundits discussing this, you'll see that in many cases multiple certifications matter, demonstrating a broad level of knowledge, and the average level of experience may be more than you think.

Take a look at the details here:
https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/resources/resource-library/articles/top-paying-certifications/.

Top-paying certifications:

  1. Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect — $175,761
  2. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate — $149,446
  3. CISM – Certified Information Security Manager — $148,622
  4. CRISC – Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control — $146,480
  5. PMP® – Project Management Professional — $143,493
  6. CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional — $141,452
  7. CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor — $132,278
  8. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner — $131,465
  9. VCP6-DCV: VMware Certified Professional 6 – Data Center Virtualization — $130,226
  10. ITIL® Foundation — $129,402
  11. Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals — $126,653
  12. Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate — $125,993
  13. CCA-N: Citrix Certified Associate – Networking — $125,264
  14. CCNP Routing and Switching — $119,178
  15. CCP-V: Citrix Certified Professional – Virtualization — $117,069

Monday, February 10, 2020

Scaled Agile Framework®: SAFe® for Lean Enterprises

Image Credit: https://www.scaledagileframework.com

I'm a supportive fan of what Dean Leffingwell, Creator of SAFe® and Chief Methodologist at Scaled Agile, Inc., has done with Agile development. He's created an excellent body of work. Please take a minute to view his website for more information and learn how to leverage his work and lower your project risk with your own teams.

Why is this important? Let's say your strategy and technology decisions are correct. Tactical execution is difficult. Presuming your strategic direction is on target, how do you get there? Effective execution can be learned, and here's one place to start. The unfortunate reality is that poorly executed projects often result in insecure systems. Security controls are poorly implemented or left out entirely. I've often said that simply based on the paperwork alone, I get a good feel for how well the security controls are implemented. Stop taking shortcuts. Do it right the first time.

Following is from his website:

The latest version, SAFe 5.0, is built around the Seven Core Competencies of the Lean Enterprise that are critical to achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage in an increasingly digital age: 

  1. Lean-Agile Leadership – Advancing and applying Lean-Agile leadership skills that drive and sustain organizational change by empowering individuals and teams to reach their highest potential 
  2. Team and Technical Agility – Driving team Agile behaviors as well asl sound technical practices including Built-in Quality, Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), Agile testing, Test-Driven Development (TDD), and more 
  3. Agile Product Delivery – Building high-performing teams-of-teams that use design thinking and customer-centricity to provide a continuous flow of valuable products using DevOps, the Continuous Delivery Pipeline, and Release on Demand 
  4. Enterprise Solution Delivery – Building and sustaining the world’s largest software applications, networks, and cyber-physical solutions 
  5. Lean Portfolio Management – Executing portfolio vision and strategy formulation, chartering portfolios, creating the Vision, Lean budgets and Guardrails, as well as portfolio prioritization, and roadmapping 
  6. Organizational Agility – Aligning strategy and execution by applying Lean and systems thinking approaches to strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations, and governance 
  7. Continuous Learning Culture – Continually increasing knowledge, competence, and performance by becoming a learning organization committed to relentless improvement and innovation