CERTIFICATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20160381004A1
• Filed: 06/26/2015
• Published: 12/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Kessler, John, Larosa, Monica A, Vira, Ashok P, Kinariwala, Abdulquader A, Dhamankar, Siddhartha S., Trujillo, Gordon
• Granted Patent: US 10,581,828 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/00 Electrically-operated educational appliances working with questions and answers G09B7/00; simulators G09B9/00; advertising or displaying in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint

Abstract

A certification management system helps an organization develop and maintain a repository of current certification status of employees. The system may integrate multiple learning management systems and other enterprise level systems across the organization. The system facilitates identifying and enrolling targeted employees for any number and type of certification programs. The system may also implement and support reconfiguring certification programs, for example, during training, and enforcing recertification requirements according to maturing business needs. The system provides automated workflows that facilitate a formal, structured approach to the development and recognition of specific specialized skills at scale by infusing more consistency, rigor, and objectivity.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a communication interface configured to communicate with;

an entity profile database comprising information for a content consuming entity; and

a content database comprising substantive content assets; and

entity certification circuitry in communication with the communication interface, the entity certification circuitry configured to;

create a content certification for the content consuming entity, the content certification comprising a certification set of substantive content assets selected from the content database;

in the entity profile database, mark the content consuming entity as enrolled in the content certification, and create an association between the content consuming entity and the certification set of the substantive content assets;

retrieve status of completion of the certification set of substantive content assets by the content consuming entity; and

maintain a portal for the content consuming entity, the portal comprising a status indicator of the content certification in which the content consuming entity is enrolled.

2. The system of claim 1, where:

the status of the content certification is based on a respective status of completion of the certification set of substantive content assets of the content certification.

3. The system of claim 2, where:

the entity certification circuitry is further configured to determine a completion order for the substantive content assets in the certification set; and

link the completion order with the certification set of substantive content assets.

4. The system of claim 2, where:

the certification circuitry is further configured to;

adapt the content certification for the content consuming entity by applying a change to the certification set of substantive content assets associated with the content certification.

5. The system of claim 4, where the change to the certification set of substantive content assets associated with the content certification comprises removal of a substantive content asset that is completed by the content consuming entity.

6. The system of claim 5, where the change to the certification set of substantive content assets associated with the content certification comprises removal of a substantive content asset that is not completed by the content consuming entity.

7. The system of claim 6, where:

applying the change results in an adapted certification set of substantive content assets; and

the certification circuitry is further configured to;

change the status of the content certification for the content consuming entity according to the adapted certification set of substantive content assets associated with the content certification.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the certification circuitry is further configured to;

mark the content consuming entity as enrolled in the content certification in response to an authorization from a sponsor entity.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the certification circuitry is further configured to;

identify the set of substantive content assets in the content certification based on an entity characteristic of the content consuming entity, the entity characteristic comprised in the entity profile database.

10. The system of claim 9, where the entity characteristic comprises geographic location, organizational position of the content consuming entity, or both.

11. The system of claim 9, where the content certification comprises a first certification set of substantive content assets, and where:

the certification circuitry is configured to;

create a content recertification for the content consuming entity comprising a second certification set of substantive content assets selected from the content database.

12. An employee certification method comprising:

in a certification management portal;

creating a certification program in a certification database, the certification program comprising a first content module, the certification program associated with preselected demographic information and a nomination;

identifying an employee profile that matches the preselected demographic information and the nomination, the employee profile retrieved from an employee database;

enrolling an employee matching the employee profile in the certification program by flagging the corresponding employee profile in the employee database as enrolled;

periodically updating completion status of the certification program for the employee by retrieving completion status of the first content module of the certification program for the employee, where the completion status of the first content module is retrieved from a content database;

revising the certification program by adding a second content module;

updating the completion status of the certification program for the employee by retrieving and aggregating completion status of the first content module and the second content module for the employee, where the completion status of the first content module and the second content module are retrieved from the content database; and

sending a notification message through a communication interface to the employee, the notification message indicates a completion status of the certification program based on the aggregation of the completion status of the first content module and the second content module.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

revising the certification program by replacing the first content module with a third content module; and

updating the completion status of the certification program for the employee by retrieving and aggregating completion status of the second content module and the third content module for the identified employee profile.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

creating a recertification program for the employee profile; and

enrolling the employee in the recertification program after a predetermined duration of time since completion of the certification program by the employee.

15. The method of claim 13, where the first content module, the second content module, the third content module, or any combination thereof comprises a training class, a workshop, an assessment, a supervisor approval, or any combination thereof.

16. A product comprising:

a storage medium other than a transitory signal; and

instructions stored on the medium and configured for execution by a processor to;

create a certification program, the certification program comprising certification components, a completion criteria, and a demographic criteria;

identify target employees that match the demographic criteria of the certification program by comparison of the demographic criteria with employee profiles in an employee database;

receive a nomination from a sponsoring employee associated with the certification program, the nomination approves enrollment an employee in the certification program, wherein the nominated employee is from the target employees;

enroll the employee in the certification program;

direct the employee to the certification components according to a completion order specified by the completion criteria of the certification program;

receive completion status of the certification components from respective learning management systems;

determine completion status of the certification program based on the completion status of the certification components and the completion criteria;

update the employee profile of the enrolled employee according to the completion status of the certification program;

identify a change in the certification program;

determine an updated completion status of the certification program based on the changed certification program; and

update the employee profile of the enrolled employee according to the updated completion status.

17. The product of claim 16, wherein the change in the certification program comprises a change to the certification components and/or the completion criteria.

18. The product of claim 16, where the instructions are further configured to:

notify the employee about expiration date of the certification program;

enroll the employee in a recertification program.

19. The product of claim 18, wherein the recertification program comprises new certification components and a new completion criteria.

20. The product of claim 16, wherein the certification components comprises a first training module from a first learning management system and a second training module from a second learning management system.