I joined Atlassian in April 2015 to help build their new certification program. Atlassian needed a way to help their users prove their skills and knowledge of products like JIRA and Confluence. This program would become an important resource for thousands of Atlassian administrators looking to validate their expertise.

Challenge

Creating these certifications wasn't just about writing test questions. We needed to build a framework that would actually test real-world skills that administrators use daily. Each Atlassian product had its own set of technical requirements and administrative approaches. We also needed to make sure our materials would work for people from different backgrounds, experience levels, and countries.

Approach

We started each certification with several days of "job task analysis" - essentially mapping out what administrators actually do in their jobs. This helped us understand what we should be testing before writing any questions.

For each certification, I created study materials that connected Atlassian's existing documentation with practical, everyday use. I wrote case studies based on real challenges administrators face, recorded video lectures, and developed hands-on labs.

After drafting the exams, we ran beta tests to see how the questions performed. I reviewed the statistics and participant feedback to determine whether questions needed to be kept, modified, or removed. This testing phase helped ensure the exams were both challenging and fair.

Outcomes

Between 2015 and 2017, we launched six certifications and badges: