KCS v6 Practices Certification Instructions
KCS v6 Practices is an advanced certification to demonstrate thorough, deep, and broad understanding of KCS.
- Prerequisites: Attending a KCS v6 Practices Workshop is recommended but not required. Many KCS v6 Practices Workshops provide an option that includes the certification exam.
- Format and Pricing: $450 proctored exam of about 65 scenario-based, multiple choice questions with a 2 hour time limit. Sample test fee (optional): $85. Exam retake fee: $170. All fees are non-refundable. The KCS Certification is currently only available in English. Testing centers are worldwide. No supporting materials are allowed during the exam. Exam policies and procedures are provided on the testing center website after scheduling the exam.
Intended Audience
- Program and project managers for KCS adoption
- KCS adoption team members
- Supervisors and first- and second-line managers
- Trainers, Coaches, or Consultants
- Knowledge workers who aspire to be coaches or managers
- Product managers and architects for technology and tools that enable the KCS practices
- Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of KCS Principles, Concepts, and Techniques
Topics and Learning Objectives
The exam is based on material outlined in the KCS v6 Practices Study Guide and designed with the following question in mind: If you hired someone to manage or advise you on a KCS adoption, what would you expect them to know?
The v6 Practices Certification designates individuals who demonstrate a thorough understanding of:
- KCS Principles and Core Concepts
- KCS methodology including the Solve Loop, Evolve Loop, KCS roles, KCS measures, Content standard and workflow, and best practices for KCS adoption.
- KCS Practices and techniques, and the rationale behind them
- KCS benefits and how to communicate the value of KCS
- KCS measures and how they evolve over time
- How to adopt and sustain KCS as well as functional requirements for tools and tool integration
- Dealing with frequently asked questions and common objections
- Ability to identify critical success factors and measurements for KCS adoption
- How to engage champions and drive KCS adoption across the enterprise
The certification standards and exam are developed and maintained by a committee of Members from the Consortium for Service Innovation. No specific product or technology is covered in the exam. Specifics about individual company content standard, roles, workflow, and life cycle states that are unique to an organization are not included in the exam.
Sample Test
The optional $85 sample test provides an opportunity to get a feel for the nature and style of questions and the test navigation of the KCS v6 Practices certification exam. The sample test is taken online at your convenience (it is not proctored, as the formal exam is) and contains about 30 example questions. It should take about 30-45 minutes to complete.
You will not get a pass/fail result from taking the sample test. The example questions included on the sample test are generally easier than the formal exam so doing well in all sections is not an indication as to how well you will do on the formal exam. The sample test can be taken only once within a seven-day time period. If you would like to retake the sample test, registration will be available in Webassessor seven days from your last sample test date after paying the sample test fee ($85) again.
Registration, Exam Delivery Options, Scheduling Exam and Payment
- Go to http://www.webassessor.com/serviceinnovation and Log in if you have an account or click Create New Account.
- Register for Exam.
- Select + KCS v6 Practices Catalog to view exam selections. The full list of available exams will be displayed; be careful to select the correct exam with the correct delivery method.
- If you plan to go to a Kryterion Test Center or online-proctored delivery, choose one of those
- Only choose "Instructor Proctored with Prior Workshop" if you are taking a workshop and your instructor is proctoring the exam onsite at the end of the workshop.
- Choose your exam delivery method and follow instructions for the method you select:
- Payment by credit card or prepaid coupon code.
- Enter credit card information and click check out.
- Often times a company may provide a test taker with a pre-paid Coupon codes. If entering a coupon code insert click APPLY and also click check out!
- IMPORTANT! Enure you receive "Examination Registration Confirmation" email, which contains important information about your exam.
Reschedules, Cancelations, and No Show Fees
You may reschedule your own exam appointment 72 hours (3 days) before your scheduled Kryterion Test Center exam and 24 hours before your Online Proctored Exam. You do this by logging into your Webassessor account. There is no charge for making changes prior to the exam cancellation period before your scheduled exam. If you reschedule inside this period, there is a reschedule fee of $100.
Due to the costs incurred for each exam, you will forfeit the cost for any unattended exam.
Special Accommodations
It is your responsibility to request any special accommodations you may require through the Consortium for Service Innovation and test center arrangements at least 30 days prior to the date you wish to schedule your test session. If you require a special accommodation and have not already made arrangements, please cancel this exam prior to exam cancellation period and follow these instructions for getting registered for this special accommodations exam.
Some special accommodations, such as a translator, professional reader, or a separate testing room, may require an additional fee. If you are a non-native English speaker, and would like additional time to complete the exam, there is no fee, but you need to make arrangements with the Consortium for Service Innovation prior to scheduling the exam.
Exam Results
At the completion of the exam a Pass/Fail result will be displayed. No score is given after completing a KCS v6 Practices certification exam. The intent of the exam is not to teach, but to test if you have the minimum amount of knowledge to meet the requirements of the KCS certification you are seeking.
The pass line or cut score is not the same as an A-F grading scale.The pass line is set at the minimum amount of correct answers needed to demonstrate understanding based on the questions on the exam.
The passing percentage was determined using psychometric calculations and statistically sound sample testing results. The percentage of correct answers required to pass is not released in order to protect the integrity of the exam.
There is no partial credit given for a questions with multiple answers. If any one of the selection is incorrect you will not receive credit for that question.
If a Fail result is displayed, the candidate will receive an email containing feedback regarding the major topics areas on which to focus before retaking the exam. If there is no feedback provided, there was no major topic area to focus on and all areas should be reviewed.
If you get a high percentage of items wrong in one section of objectives, your exam result email will tell you which section to study, if you fail and don't receive any specific section information, please refer back to the Study Guide provided and review the objectives as a whole.
If the candidate's exam registration was paid for by the candidate's company, that company has the right to receive the Pass/Fail exam result. Registrations paid for by an individual candidate will be kept confidential.
Exam Retake
To retake a non-passing exam, a retake fee of $170 (plus applicable taxes) and a 30 day wait period is required. Log back into the Consortium Webassessor site to see the exam in your account if you have previously failed.
Should a second retake be necessary, an additional retake fee of $170 (plus applicable taxes) and 30 day waiting period is again required. The exam cannot be taken more than three times.
The candidate will receive an exam completion email containing feedback regarding the major topics areas on which to focus before retaking the exam. If you get a high percentage of items wrong in one section of objectives, your exam result email will tell you which section to study. If you fail and don't receive any specific section information, please refer back to the Study Guide provided and review the objectives as a whole.
Certification Renewal
Certification begins on the date of passing the online exam and ends one year after the Consortium for Service Innovation releases the next iteration of KCS Practices certification. KCS v6 certification was released on September 1, 2016.
KCS Community Rules of Conduct
Participation in Consortium for Service Innovation certification activities indicates that you have read and agree to the Member Rules of Conduct. Lack of adherence to these rules of conduct will be grounds for loss of certification status and exclusion from the KCS network at the Consortium for Service Innovation's discretion.