These days, candidates expect to be able to take the next step in their certification process as seamlessly as possible. And after all that work to become eligible to test, shouldn’t it be easy to schedule the exam? Test vendor integrations for exam eligibility, scheduling, and score reporting don’t just enhance the candidate experience. They also take administrative tasks of the plate of your already-busy program staff.
Whether you’re integrating with your first exam vendor or switching to a new vendor (and thus, a new integration), the process will never be completely, 100% “plug and play.” That’s because while integrations often share common elements and processes, each program and exam scheduling system captures and requires distinct data attributes. While the foundation remains the same, specific settings and functions are tailored to each organization’s requirements. Our LearningBuilder certification management platform, for example, has a flexible architecture with a highly extensible data model. As a result, data attributes can vary — sometimes widely — between implementations. Even two programs’ integrations with the same testing partner can vary, based on what the organization has contracted the exam provider to deliver. Each integration will need to align with each program’s unique system configurations and exam characteristics.
A typical integration between our LearningBuilder certification management software and a test administrator usually looks something like this:
When an applicant becomes eligible to test in LearningBuilder, their eligibility data is sent to the exam provider. The candidate then goes from LearningBuilder to access the test scheduling site and registers for their exam. Most testing partners can provide scheduling information (a.k.a. “bookings”) back to LearningBuilder so that the system knows who has scheduled and who has not.
Once the candidate has taken the test, LearningBuilder receives the exam results back. From there, the candidate becomes certified and moves into recertification. Or, if the candidate fails the test, they become eligible to retake it — depending on the program’s retest rules.
Here’s a quick walk-through of the data exchange process and its components to equip you for your next test partner integration:
Test Vendor Integration Components: From Eligibility Onward
Integrations with test administrators can entail all major points in the exam process, or just some of the following components:
Eligibility/Authorizations to Test (ATT)
The certification exam process begins with eligibility. The Authorization to Test (ATT) integration is the industry standard to notify the exam vendor of a candidate’s eligibility. A candidate cannot schedule an exam until the vendor receives that eligibility.
Once a candidate achieves eligibility, a typical ATT integration will involves the exchange of the following data between your system and the test vendor:
- Essential demographic information
- Unique identifiers for both the candidate and the exam eligibility instance
- Valid testing date ranges as defined by your program
- Codes for any negotiated accommodations
The particulars of this data will depend on each system’s data attributes and the nature of the integration. Depending on the program, there may be candidates that are eligible for two exams at the same time. LearningBuilder treats each as a separate and distinct eligibility.
Exam Scheduling
Once a candidate is eligible to test, scheduling integrations streamline and automate the scheduling process. The way a scheduling integration “works” can vary from vendor to vendor.
For example, sometimes LearningBuilder shares a candidate’s email address with the test vendor as part of the ATT. Then, the vendor will email the candidate with instructions to schedule. Other times, the candidate can click a link within LearningBuilder to automatically log into the test vendor platform via deep link or Single Sign-On (SSO). Or, the email can come from your organization via LearningBuilder’s automated notifications. In some cases, the vendor shares the scheduling information with LearningBuilder, making it available to candidates without switching systems. Again, the particulars may differ depending on what the test vendor offers, and what the program has negotiated with both parties.
Exam Score Reporting
For organizations that test candidates year-round, implementing an automated exam results integration is vital. This direct data connection allows test scores to flow automatically from the testing provider into your system, immediately triggering the next steps — whether that’s issuing certification or setting up a retake. Organizations that test in specific windows typically establish a secure system-to-system file transfer. If a third-party psychometrician reviews the exam and sets the cut score (rather the exam provider), an upload option may be most appropriate. Manual data entry, which is both time-consuming and prone to errors, is also available, though not recommended.
LearningBuilder automatically processes exam results when it receives them. When a candidate passes, the system can update their status to “certified” and begin their recertification timeline. If they don’t pass, the system can immediately provide information about retaking the exam. This automation ensures quick, accurate processing and clear communication with candidates about their next steps. LearningBuilder can even generate detailed PDF score reports that break down a candidate’s performance in different areas of the exam.
How the Heuristic Solutions Team Streamlines Test Vendor Integrations
At Heuristics, we’re always finding ways to work smarter, not harder for our clients. We’ve done a lot over the past year or so to streamline third-party data integrations, and we’re not finished. Whether you’re initiating a new integration or integrating with a new system, here are some of the ways that we’ve made the process less complex and time-consuming:
We Tap Into Our Experience
LearningBuilder integrates with all of the major certification exam vendors. Each integration we launch adds to our growing knowledge bank. By working with an abundance of diverse clients and systems over the years, we’ve developed deep insights and extensive technical know-how. This accumulated expertise allows us to provide more refined, efficient solutions that are tailored to your specific program needs.
We Streamline the Implementation Process
Experience has also taught us exactly what information from both our clients and vendors is essential for successful integrations. We’ve used what we’ve learned to develop worksheets that capture these crucial details upfront, making the process more efficient for everyone involved. This means we can begin meaningful work immediately without too much back-and-forth, saving valuable time in the project’s early stages.
We Proactively Monitor Data Exchange
Over the years, we’ve implemented error-monitoring protocols to detect data exchange issues. While this service requires human review and resolution, clients that invest in it prefer issues to be resolved before impacting candidates. Though this is not necessary for all integrations, it is often a consideration for complex or high-volume programs.
We Reduce the Need for Custom Development
We’ve also refined our technical approach to integration services in order to prioritize efficiency. Rather than requiring extensive code changes and frequent deployments, our current methodology emphasizes configuration-based solutions that are less technically complex to work with. By reducing technical overhead, we can greatly reduce the time to launch a client integration.
Partnering for Success
While the Heuristics team has made the integration process work smarter, you and your team can help ensure we start off on the best foot possible. There are five major pieces of the integration puzzle that, if you can provide up front, will go a long way toward reducing the time and effort needed to launch:
Identify Essential Resources
For successful integration, we’ll always need:
- A dedicated contact from your organization to ensure clear and consistent communication throughout the project.
- Direct access to an exam vendor point-of-contact to support faster alignment on data parameters.
- Any available technical documentation and technical specifications, to provide a crucial starting point for integration work.
If your team can compile these for us before initiating the new integration, it will make a big impact on our overall efficiency, allowing us to move forward as quickly as possible.
Consider Team Timing and Availability
While an integration is meant to remove the need for human intervention, a lot of human power and collaboration is necessary to get to that point. Holidays, extended project delays, leave, staff handoffs, and other “human world” inevitabilities may arise to threaten an implementation timeline. It can be helpful to build an understanding of these fluctuations into your timeline and schedule. And, don’t forget to make sure your testing partner is available!
Define a Data Strategy
It’s always important to know what data will be exchanged through any given integration. The following components will determine how data is “mapped” between your system and the exam vendor:
- The critical information that needs to flow between systems.
- The authoritative source for each data element.
- How frequently you want the system to update that information.
We’ll also need to understand your typical data patterns and volume fluctuations, particularly during peak periods (like exam windows).
Anticipate Higher-Touch Scenarios
Sometimes, an integration needs to include certain elements that require a bit more planning and execution time than usual. When might an integration need a little extra “TLC?”
- If exam eligibility data and exam results pass through a third-party aggregator, it introduces the opportunity to expand a data attribute or modify data elements. When the aggregator does not offer a test environment, it can lead to surprises during launch or when it comes time to import exam results.
- Often, an exam scheduling system can support certain types of accommodations (like extra time, for example). When accommodations are approved before the eligibility is sent to the testing partner, the relevant code can be included to make the candidate’s scheduling experience easier.
- One of the less anticipated outcomes of Live Remote Proctoring (LRP) are technical issues resulting in exam cancellations. Including this status in the exam results lets LearningBuilder support the retake process for LRP cancellations.
Will any of your candidates submit one application for two exams delivered at different times? If there are extenuating circumstances, like one of the two exams is canceled, it can create complications on the back end. These situations require additional thought regarding how the data is stored in each system and what triggers (or retriggers) the exchange of that data.
Testing…Do You Read Us?
The success of any integration hinges on the ability to test it thoroughly from end to end. One of the best risk mitigation strategies is for your partner to provide a test environment. The earlier we know the the “lay of the land” as far as the available testing environments, the more efficiently we can deploy a testing strategy that captures the unique characteristics of your program.. If we’ve worked with a vendor before, we also likely have some idea of their testing environment capabilities. If we haven’t, then we may need to know more to properly scope the integration project work.
LearningBuilder Integrates the Certification Ecosystem
We built LearningBuilder to serve the software needs of credentialed industries and professions, and we’ve spent the last 15 years learning from the experts: our clients. Reliable, right-sized integrations with all major certification exam test administrators, as well as AMS, CRM, and LMS platforms, payment gateways, credential verification databases, and digital badging systems, are just one of the ways we can streamline your certification management processes.
Are you curious to learn more about our integration capabilities and implementation services? Schedule a time to connect with us and discover the LearningBuilder difference.
