INCOSE SEP Certification Programme
INCOSE offer a professional certification programme for all of its members. Certification is largely a US concept which is loosely based around the need to ensure that those working in a given discipline have a basic level of competence and experience to call themselves practitioners. For UK Systems Engineers, it provides recognition of competence in Systems Engineering which while not the same as chartership, may be a useful benchmark when applying for work. In general terms, the approach and intent is comparable with other initiatives, such as the APM certified Project Manager scheme.
The UK Chapter is currently working on ways to make certification more directly relevant to UK structures for chartership, etc. If a UK member has an identified need for certification, for example to work with US companies, they should go ahead and apply for it. Others might want to wait until a clear link to UK professional development has been established
Details of the different levels of INCOSE certification, how to get it and what it costs can be found at http://www.incose.org/educationcareers/certification/.
CSEP is the basic certification for practising Systems Engineers. It requires you to demonstrate 5 years of relevant Systems Engineering experience, and to provide 3 references. This is done via a written submission. There is also a short exam based upon the INCOSE Handbook Issue 3.1, which is itself largely based on the ISO standard for Systems Engineering (ISO 15288). The handbook is available free to all INCOSE members. ASEP is awarded for the exam only, and might be useful to students or those new to Systems Engineering. The Expert, ESEP, accreditation is a work in progress and a pilot programme is currently active to pipe-clean the processes, the reviews and establish a benchmark within the community. This accreditation is currently proposed and examined through experience, references and interviews rather than a formal written examination.
Full details of the process are on the website. Some key points:
- CSEP is valid for 3 years, and must then be renewed by demonstrating continued practice and personal development (no re-exam)
- CSEP costs around $400, plus $100 every three years to renew (ASEP around $200, and can then be upgraded to CSEP later).
- The exam is administered by a company called Prometric and must be taken at one of their test sites. These are located all over the world, including in the UK, details on website.
- Some training courses for the exam are available, and this is likely to grow as it becomes more popular.
While the process should be applicable to all INCOSE members, it has been setup initially for US members. So, if you have any problems with the process contact the UK Chapter and we will try to help you and feedback to INCOSE to improve the process. We also have a couple of UK members who have completed the process, and can give advice if needed.