12/18/2002 -- In an interview with CertCities.com earlier this month, Tony Croes, director of certification for Hewlett-Packard, said that the company has made more progress toward launching its new certification program that will integrate pre-merger HP and Compaq titles.

The official Web site for the program launched Nov. 15, but contains only basic information. Details such as how pre-merger titles will fit into the full structure will not appear until February 2003, Croes said. Croes told CertCities.com that the company is currently working on reducing the total number of exams from 160 to approximately 100 and deciding which pre-merger titles will be grandfathered into the program. 'We'll grandfather [people into the new program] where possible; where 90 percent of the content is common or the goals are common," he explained. "If [the difference] gets larger than 25 percent, there will probably be some form of continuing education requirement."

Since the November 15 announcement, Croes said that HP has decided to add a new high-end title to the operating systems track, Certified Systems Developer, which will consist of a lab exam -- as will several other titles.

For more details on the progress of the new HP Certified Professional Program, as well as a graphic outlining the basic program structure, click here to read our interview with Croes. -B.N.