FORUM DEVELOPER CERTIFICATION

The VoiceXML Forum is an industry consortium that promotes VoiceXML and related languages for promoting VoiceXML and related languages for constructing speech user interfaces primarily for use over the telephone. The VoiceXML Forum has established several programs to ensure that there is a large community of qualified VoiceXML developers:

• VoiceXML platform conformance program: The VoiceXML Forum has created a test suite which validates that VoiceXML processors conform to the actual W3C language specifications. This test suite may be used by individual VoiceXML venders, and is also used by an independent software testing lab. Thus applications created by trained developers will work on all VoiceXML processors that have passed the conformance test.
• The VoiceXML education program: The VoiceXML Forum Education committee publishes a web site

(www.voicexml.org ) and e-zine that contains articles, tutorials, and informative discussions about VoiceXML. This web site also contains a list of training organizations, books, web sites, and other resources for the W3C Speech Interface Framework languages, and further details about the VoiceXML certification test.

• VoiceXML developers certification program: which certifies that developers have important knowledge and skills necessary to design, develop, deploy and maintain Speech Applications using the W3C Speech Interface Framework languages of VoiceXML 2.0, Speech Synthesis Markup Language 1.0, Speech Recognition Grammar Language 1.0, Semantic Interpretation Language 1.0, ECMAScript 262/327 and Call Control XML Language 1.0

The Standard for Knowledge and Training.

The VoiceXML Developer Certification Test sets the standard for knowledge and training required to develop speech applications. The VoiceXML developer certification test benefits both employees and their managers:

• Employer's benefits: Employers will recognize job seekers and employees that have obtained VoiceXML certification as highly competitive VoiceXML programmers with demonstrated competency in the W3C Speech Interface Framework. Employees will be more productive and better understand vender products and solutions when they have the expertise demonstrated by the certification test.
• Employee benefits: Successfully completing the test will become a benchmark for hiring, prompting, and salary increases. Completing the test adds to employ creditability and respect from both management and peers. Most important, using the knowledge gained preparing for the test will improve the employee's work performance, which will contribute to the employee's job satisfaction.

VoiceXML Developer Certification Test Development Process

The Prometric test development process, which has been developed decades of research and experience, consists of three major steps:

• Step 1: Test design: A committee of VoiceXML experts performed a job task analysis to ascertain exactly what each examinee should know. They prioritized each area and decided how much weight each area should have in accordance with the test objectives.
• Step 2: Question Development: The committee of VoiceXML experts wrote a bank questions that comply with strict psychometric standards, ensuring they accomplish the task of validating skills and knowledge of test candidates. All members of the committee agreed that the questions are technically relevant and accurate. Questions that are not universally agreed upon were discarded. The question bank was then handed over to trained psychometricians for review to ensure the questions were clear and easily understood. The questions were reviewed by language experts to check for spelling or grammatical errors and that the items follow common rules of usage.
• Step 3: Test Construction: Prometric test experts generated and administered a Beta Test to a group of sample test candidates in a live test environment. The analyzed the test questions, discarded the poor performing items and assembled the high performing items into several test forms. Each test form was psychometrically balanced to ensure the forms perform equally given any test candidate. This means each form will have the same level of difficulty, the same number of questions in each subject category, and should take the same length of time for a test candidate to complete. Finally, the psychometricians selected a cut score that represents the performance of the minimally qualified candidates. This guarantees that tests are valid, reliable and legally defensible.

Preparing for the VoiceXML Developer Certification Test

• XML experience
• Web Application development experience
• Experience with the W3C Speech Interface Framework languages of VoiceXML, Speech Synthesis Markup Language, Speech Recognition Grammar Language, and Semantic Interpretation Language, and Call Control XML language
• Experience with hands-on implementation of voice-user interfaces
• Knowledge of telephony application principles
• Experience with ECMAScript programming

• Simple call control concepts (lower priority)
• Logging and its uses
• Application architecture and flow
• Speech application development
• Speech application grammar development

The following technologies are covered by the test:

• VoiceXML 2.0
• Speech Synthesis Markup Language 1.0
• Speech Recognition Grammar Language 1.0
• Semantic Interpretation Language 1.0
• Call Control CCXML 1.0
• ECMAScript 262/327

You should be familiar with the following topics which are not explicitly tested:

• General XML languages
• General Web application techniques (e.g. Backend API, dynamic page generation)
• Knowledge of speech technology, including vendor specific speech recognition, speech synthesis, DTMF
• Persona development
• Testing tools and drivers
• Development tools

How to Signup for the Developer Certification Test

When the VoiceXML Developer Certification is ready, you can take the online test at any of nearly 5000 test centers world wide. We anticipate that the VoiceXML Developers Certification test will be available in May 2004.

The cost of the test is approximately $150 in the United States or about $230 Euros in Europe.

What will Happen on Test Day

Upon arrival at a Prometric testing center, you will be greeted by the Test Center Administrator (TCA). You are required to sign a logbook and show a government issued photo identification, with signature. An online tutorial assists candidates and on-screen help is always available. No notes, books, or reference material are allowed. The test will take about two hours.

Upon completion of the exam, the score report is instantly presented on-screen and printed. The score report includes pass/fail information. Post-test prescriptions may be used to aid you in further study. Each exam is followed by a candidate survey about the testing experience.

Test candidates who pass the test will be listed on the VoiceXML Forum's web site within two weeks after passing the test.

The Bottom Line

It takes effort to prepare for the VoiceXML Certification Test, but the rewards are worth the work. Be the first in your organization to complete this prestigious test. Demonstrate to your current or future employers that you are a qualified VoiceXML developer.