DevOps Certifications

I keep stressing that DevOps is a mindset that needs to be embodied within the entire organization. Not just IT folks, but C-level and every other traditional division within the organization. Unfortunately, in order to determine the level of competency that Humans in DevOps have, certification programs have popped up to give prospective employers the ability to assess DevOps skills in individuals. As John Willis coined, the key ideas in DevOps are Culture, Automation, Measurement, and Sharing. You will find certification courses in all of these areas.

Some key vendors include:

• DevOps Institute (DOI): The DevOps Institute is dedicated to advancing the human elements of DevOps success. They use a role-based approach to certification that focuses on the most modern competencies and hireable skills required by today’s organizations adopting DevOps. They have an open testing program that removes the requirement of formal training allowing those who already possess the skills, knowledge, and experience in the domain to gain direct access to DevOps Institute’s extensive portfolio of certifications.The types of certifications include:
  • DevOps Foundation – The DevOps Foundation certification validates a baseline understanding of key DevOps terminology, concepts, and practices to ensure everyone is talking the same language and highlights the benefits of DevOps to support organizational success.
  • Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) Foundation – The SRE Foundation certification validates knowledge of SRE basic vocabulary, principles, and practices.
  • DevOps Leader (DOL) – The DevOps Leader (DOL) certification is intended for anyone who wants to take a transformational leadership approach and make an impact within their organization by implementing DevOps including IT team leaders, managers, directors, business stakeholders, practitioners, and consultants.
  • DevSecOps Engineering (DSOE) – The DevSecOps Engineering (DSOE) certification is intended for IT Security professionals who are skilled at security as code with the intent of making security and compliance consumable as a service. A DevSecOps Engineer uses data and security science as their primary means of protecting the organization and customer.
  • Continuous Delivery Architecture (CDA) – The Continuous Delivery Architect (CDA) certification is designed for candidates who are engaged in the design, implementation, and management of DevOps deployment pipelines and toolchains that support Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, Continuous Testing, and potentially Continuous Deployment.
  • DevOps Test Engineering (DTE) – The DevOps Test Engineering (DTE) certification addresses testing in a DevOps environment and covers concepts such as the active use of test automation, testing earlier in the development cycle, and instilling testing skills in developers, quality assurance, security, and operational teams.
  • Certified Agile Service Manager (CASM) – The Certified Agile Service Manager (CASM) certification is designed to validate knowledge of Agile Service Management and Scrum basic vocabulary, principles, and practices. A Certified Agile Service Manager (CASM) is the operational equivalent of a ScrumMaster.
  • Certified Agile Process Owner (CAPO) – The Certified Agile Process Owner (CAPO) certification validates knowledge of process owner responsibilities and the practices and tools needed to oversee the design, reengineering, and improvement of IT Service Management (ITSM) processes; particularly in the context of Agile Service Management.
• DevOps Agile Skills Association (DASA): The DASA DevOps Certification Program covers specific topics from the DASA DevOps Competence Model, helping DevOps and Agile teams to build the right mix of skills and capabilities. DASA identifies three broad levels of expertise and has developed a certification program designed for each profile.
  • Foundational Level (Know) – Builds an understanding of DevOps: scope, key concepts, terminology, and principles.
  • Professional Level (Apply) – Builds the capabilities relevant for professionals working together in a DevOps team. There are three Professional certifications: Enable and Scale, Specify and Verify, Create, and Deliver.
  • Leadership Level (Lead and Enable) – The Leadership Level focuses on the abilities to lead and enable. This Program is for Leaders, Coaches, and Product Owners.
• DevOps Research & Assessment (DORA): DORA does not offer certification programs; rather DORA brings years of Research and Assessment knowledge to teams and organizations looking for ideas on how to bring the DevOps mindset to fruition. The Accelerate State of DevOps Report from DORA is the longest-running, academically rigorous research investigation into the capabilities and practices that make DevOps and transformation effective. Teams can learn how to achieve elite performance in software development and delivery with the 2019 report. The DevOps capabilities researched in the report are explained in the book, “Accelerate” by Dr. Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim. Follow the book to implement steps to improve stability and throughput in your team or organization.

Technical certifications also exist that allow DevOps Engineers to showcase their skills and abilities in DevOps Operations. Some of the key certifications are:

• Docker Certified Associate – This Docker certification program is for the Docker practitioners with some relevant experience of working with Docker, the DevOps tool. Like other DevOps certifications, the aim of this exam is to provide a valid credential to the Docker practitioners.
• Kubernetes Certification – The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and the Linux foundation collaborate to organize the Kubernetes certification program to validate professionals working on this software. Kubernetes is one of the top DevOps tools and thus Kubernetes certifications are among the most demanded DevOps certifications. There are two certification options; The Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) and Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) programs.
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional Exam – There are a number of AWS Certifications for the candidates performing different roles and responsibilities in the AWS cloud. AWS DevOps Engineer Professional certification exam is a professional level exam that recognizes the technical skills and expertise of the candidates to provision, operate, and manage distributed applications and systems on the AWS platform.
• AZ-400: Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions Certification Exam – Among the role-based Azure certifications, AZ-400: Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions certification exam validates the skills and expertise of Azure DevOps professionals. The Azure professionals, working as DevOps engineers are mainly aspired to get this certification and so this certification lies in the list of best DevOps certifications.
• Puppet Professional Certification – One of the top DevOps certifications is Puppet 206 – System Administration Using Puppet Exam. This certificate will let you be recognized as a Puppet Certified Professional (PCP).

There are other sites like DevOps University that provide certifications as well. The sites above are the most popular to develop skills and abilities for DevOps. Nothing will eventually beat regular practicing but these guides and certifications will help you familiarize with common DevOps terminology and operational guidelines.

Email: sagar@vnvdevops.com