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Partners and Esri Certification Exam Development

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06-28-2023 09:41 AM
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TinaBrewington
Esri Contributor
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Partners are considered an extension of Esri, and, with that, we offer Partners the opportunity to collaborate with us on a range of initiatives to include participation in Esri Technical Certification exam development. Read this article to learn more about Esri exam development, why it matters to partners, and how you can participate in future events.

What is Esri exam development?

To ensure our certification exams are of the highest quality, align with the Esri software best practices, and meet the needs of the GIS Industry, our exams are updated routinely, every 18-24 months. To ensure we meet these standards, we seek the participation of qualified candidates within the ArcGIS community during exam development.

As these exams are developed, they go through different phases of exam development, or exam states as we call them. These exam states are considered milestones that occur prior to and following our exams being published and made available to the public. Two of these exam states are where partners can to get involved in the development process: blueprint surveys and beta testing.

Blueprint Surveys and Beta Testing

The state of an exam can be found on the Exam Details page. Visit Esri Academy and click an exam card to view exam details and see the exam state at any time.

  • Blueprint Survey – A blueprint survey only takes about 20 minutes to complete and helps us describe the exam's "minimally qualified candidate." Learn more about our Blueprint Surveys here.
  • Beta Testing – The beta exam allows participants to be among the first to achieve a new certification if they pass the exam. In this stage, participants are asked to provide feedback via comments for each of the questions on the exam. This takes about 2.5 hours total. Learn more about Beta Exams here

Why Participate?

Esri Technical Certifications are crucial to a successful partner strategy. Not only are there Esri certification requirements for certain partner agreement tiers and partner specialty designations that must be renewed every 2-3 years, but they demonstrate subject matter expertise within your organization to give you confidence in delivering quality services and solutions to your customers. For individuals, Esri certifications are a great to way to validate your GIS skills and further your career within your organization. 

Since certification plays such an imperative role to partners and the individuals in their organization, having the ability to help shape the content of future exams by participating in exam development helps not only you but your fellow GIS professionals ensure the content on any exams we offer meet industry standards and best meet your professional development needs. 

How to Participate

  1. Visit the Exam Development Participation board to view upcoming exam development dates
  2. Click on upcoming events to view details and RSVP to the events where you feel you meet the definition of a minimally qualified candidate and are able to participate
  3. Receive a notification when the exam development participation windows open

Stay Connected

Subscribe to the Esri Partner Network in Esri Community to keep up with the latest in partner training & certification. If you have any questions, ask them here

About the Author
I am a Sr. Global Training Specialist within Esri Training Services. I support various global training programs such as the International Training Program, the Esri Partner Network, and the Technical Certification Program. My goal is enabling our global Distributors, Partners, and Customers through training and certification!