The ABCs of E-Discovery Certification by the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists

Building a psychometrically-sound certification examination is not easy. The ACEDS process is long, complex and inclusionary. All segments of the e-discovery community are involved. It takes hundreds of hours, dozens of experts, hundreds of survey responses, a psychometric firm, an experienced professional staff, and much perseverance. This is how it's done the right way.

In a nutshell, the e-discovery certification process on which ACEDS embarked in February 2010 has involved these major steps:

1. The continuous assistance and collaboration, starting in March 2010, of more than 40 diverse experts who have participated in every important psychometric phase of the process;
    
2. A weekend-long meeting in a Miami hotel conference room of 11 experts from around the United States who identified more than 400 "job tasks" of multidisciplinary e-discovery specialists;
    
3. A nationwide survey of 272 questions that ACEDS commissioned a top psychometric firm, Kryterion, to conduct. The survey received 431 responses from persons in many disciplines and locations;
    
4. Continuous guidance by Kryterion on psychometric competency assessment standards and procedures. Kryterion renders similar services to a distinguished array of private and public sector clients, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and civilian, intelligence and military US government agencies;
    
5. Hundreds of hours of experts' time spent writing and reviewing 212 possible exam "items," or questions. With six and seven persons at times on a question review telephone call, some items are debated for as long as 30 minutes to assure their clarity, appropriateness, psychometric soundness, semantic clarity, lack of ambiguity and "legal defensibility" and relevance in measuring e-discovery competence;
    
6. The close application of rigorous quality control measures by the ACEDS professional staff, which has years of experience in creating and managing a professional certification program.

The CEDS credential will be an objective standard of knowledge and skill

The unitary e-discovery certification examination that ACEDS will introduce on November 1, 2010, will earn for successful candidates the Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) credential. This certification will validate e-discovery knowledge and skill and provide objective, verifiable evidence of competence in sound e-discovery policies and procedures. The CEDS certification is a multi-disciplinary credential for e-discovery professionals across various occupations and industries. Here are answers to the many questions we have received from ACEDS members, certification candidates and website visitors. Visit ACEDS.org/forum to post your comments and questions.

Here are the major areas and 78 subtopics that will serve as the basis for competency assessment in the ACEDS examination.

We've done it before with great success. Our track record speaks for itself, most notably with the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) credential, which we created and launched in 2001. Today it is the world standard bearer in a similar multidisciplinary field.

The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) today has 7,500 certified and 10,000 total members in about 140 countries. The CAMS certification is held by thousands of corporate, government, financial institution and other officials.

The CEDS certification is built along the exact same lines as the CAMS certification and follows the same psychometric principles of soundness, integrity and professionalism. Both organizations adhere to the standards of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE).

We are well-equipped to devise and construct the ACEDS certification because our professional staff has years of certification, training and education experience.

ACEDS also seeks to enrich the careers of its members by expanding their contacts, horizons and networks through live and online events, including an annual conference in March in South Florida. It will also provide them with career and job aids, including salary surveys, and connect them with e-discovery specialists and ACEDS members in other domestic and international regions.

ACEDS follows the models of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), which awards the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) certification, and ACAMS, which awards the Certified Anti-Money Laundering (CAMS) certification to persons who pass an examination and meet certain requirements.

Both are privately funded, independent associations that cater to the professional needs of thousands of corporations and US, state and local government agencies whose employees share common challenges and concerns. Organizational and individual members of ACFE and ACAMS include some of the largest organizations, and their employees, in the United States and the world, and many civilian and military US government agencies.

The examination will launch on November 1, 2010. Computer-based, proctored testing, and online registration and scheduling, will be available year-round at more than 500 Kryterion-ACEDS testing locations worldwide, including 314 in the United States and 28 in Canada.

This convenience permits persons to become a Certified E-Discovery Specialist with great ease. Because the examination is computer-based, the results are provided to the candidate immediately at the end of the examination starting January 2011.

1. What is the focus of the CEDS Exam?
   
   ACEDS is the first independent e-discovery certification program that is not tied to a product, consulting service or software. It adheres to strict psychometric competency principles to assure that the examination is a fair, unambiguous test of knowledge and skill and is legally defensible. ACEDS hired one of the leading global psychometric and testing firms, Kryterion, to assure testing soundness, security and integrity.
   
   The examination will provide an assessment of a candidate's knowledge and skill on best practices. It will not be a test of knowledge of any product, training course or software. ACEDS is self-funded and totally independent of vendors, attorneys and consultants.
    
2. Does ACEDS follow any independent, objective standards in the implementation of its certification examination and program?
   
   Yes, ACEDS follows the standards of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE). In September 2008, the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA), now known as ICE, published new standards for "assessment-based certificate programs." It distinguishes these programs from professional certifications. According to this ICE standard, a certificate program is an education and training program that provides specific course instruction and awards a certificate to those who take and pass the specific course of instruction.
In contrast, a professional certification program, as ACEDS follows, is a competency assessment based on industry knowledge and practice, fully independent of training courses and course providers. This certification is granted only to those who meet the assessment standards. The CEDS examination meets the highest standards of a professional certification program.


3. What benefits will a person who earns the CEDS credential derive?
   
   
By earning the CEDS certification, a person who works in any aspect of e-discovery at or with a corporation, law firm, government agency, consulting firm, technology company, legal staffing firm or other entity will validate his or her e-discovery skills and display objective, verifiable evidence of competence in the e-discovery process.
ACEDS believes that persons who earn the CEDS certification will enhance their career, provide reassurance to their employers that they know how to do e-discovery the right way and advance their careers more rapidly and with greater pay. ACEDS is committed to assuring that the certification examination over time maintains the highest psychometric standards.


4. How did ACEDS determine the areas of policy and practice that will be covered in the certification exam?
All the psychometric steps taken by the many experts in this long process, as detailed above, and the responses to the field survey that ACEDS conducted, contributed to fashioning the 15 major areas and 78 sub-topics that will be the basis of the certification exam. They are listed below.


5. What type of questions will the certification exam ask?
The CEDS examination consists of application-based "items," or questions, meaning a multiple-choice question with a four-choice option based on a scenario related to e-discovery processes.


6. What subjects will the ACEDS certification examination cover?
    
The certification exam will test a candidate's knowledge in 15 major areas of electronic discovery, covering many things from cost controls and budgeting to document review and international challenges.

7. How do I know the ACEDS certification program and examination are being constructed by professionals who know what they're doing?
8. Is the ACEDS certification tied to any vendor, software manufacturer or law or consulting firm?
   
   No, ACEDS is self-funded and is owned and operated by professionals with decades of combined experience in running first-class certification programs, training programs and independent member associations. ACEDS is strictly vendor-neutral.


9. What type of organization is ACEDS?
ACEDS is a membership association committed to enhancing the capabilities, recognition, job performance and careers of its members. It seeks to improve the knowledge and skills of its members so they may do their jobs better and help their employers — in the private and public sectors — achieve better results, reduce costs and contain risks.

10. Are there associations that follow similar business models as ACEDS?
11. When and where will the ACEDS certification examination be administered?
12. Will ACEDS offer Certification Examination Preparation Seminars and an Exam Preparation Manual? Yes, at about the time the examination is ready on November 1, ACEDS will offer the CEDS Examination Preparation Manual. Soon thereafter, ACEDS will offer an online seminar at ACEDS.org.
    
    Persons who take the online seminar will receive the CEDS Examination Preparation Manual at no extra charge. Please visit the website for updates on the status of these learning and exam preparation tools.
     
13. Will ACEDS provide a CEDS Certification Candidate Handbook explaining eligibility requirements for taking the examination?
    
    Yes, ACEDS will post on its website on September 27, 2010, a Certification Candidate's Handbook with all eligibility and pricing information. You may post additional questions at ACEDS.org/forum.
     
14. What experience and educational requirements must a CEDS certification candidate meet before taking the exam?
     
The requirements will be available in the CEDS Examination Candidate Handbook that will be posted at ACEDS.org on September 27, 2010.


15. What security procedures will ACEDS follow to assure the integrity of the examination and the persons who take it?
    
    ACEDS will offer the certification examination in a sophisticated, high-stakes setting. Candidates authorized to take the exam must follow specialized security protocols of Kryterion in the testing venue and room. These include biometric management methods to assure identity, video surveillance, proctored environments, high-walled cubicles and other security measures. ACEDS will follow the same standards as those imposed for examinations for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and FINRA securities licenses.

(For more information and to register for the CEDS certification examination, call 786-517-2701, email dpelland@aceds.org )