Salesforce have announced that there will no longer be a programming assignment for the Platform Developer II certification – and so Developers will now only be required to complete four Trailhead Superbadges in order to “prove” their coding ability – (http://certification.force.com/pkb/articles/Public_KB/Changes-to-Platform-Developer-II)
We have seen the lengths that people are willing to go to when it comes to exaggerating or completely fabricating their Salesforce experience/skills, so in our opinion this announcement has devalued the Platform II certification.
Sure, there will be many Salesforce Developers who will work hard to achieve the superbadges and become Platform II certified, but there will definitely be people who “achieve” the certification through cheating the system.
Seeing the Platform II certification on a candidates resume has previously made us sit up and take notice. It has given us a greater level of comfort that Salesforce themselves have analysed the candidates practical development skills and approved the quality of their work.
Now that there is no time limit and no requirement for the candidate to explain/discuss their solution – Does the Platform II certification really validate anything that the Platform I doesn’t?
We would be interested in hearing your thoughts on today’s announcement. Do you feel the same way about this change in the certification process or do you think it’s the right move by Salesforce?