The makings of an eCommerce subject matter expert

December 09, 2013 Written by NetSphere Category: Websphere Commerce

When hiring or outsourcing an individual or a firm for eCommerce website development, any retailer can agree: a subject matter expert is the candidate of choice. What is difficult to find consensus on, however, is what constitutes an SME.

In the 2008 best-seller, “The Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell inspired readers by saying that if an individual devotes 10,000 hours, boiled down to a 40-hour work week over the course of five years, they will achieve the status of expert in their chosen line of study. His 10,000-hour rule, which reiterates the mantra of “practice makes perfect,” conveys the idea that after a handful years in one specific field, an individual can claim SME nobility.

Gladwell’s theory, however, is also one that is worthy of debate. Just this summer, in fact, the conversation spread like wildfire online, finding its way onto media outlets like the Huffington Post, The New Yorker and Forbes. The argument covered everything from how those hours are being spent to what type of work experience was held prior to launching the 10,000-hour challenge.

For eCommerce developers, certification in a specific platform is often times the badge of an SME. Take IBM’s WebSphere Commerce, for example. To gain certification at an intermediate level, system administrators must already possess extensive product knowledge to even consider taking IBM’s test. Leading up to a certification, skills should include the ability to:

Install and configure the product for production and staging environments
Perform migration to WebSphere Commerce V7.0
Scale up and deploy in a WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment environment
Publish a store, configure it, and verify that it is working
Perform ongoing site and store administration and maintenance tasks
Use administration tools
Enable and configure payments framework
Configure WebSphere Commerce messaging transports
Set up and control WebSphere Commerce site security
Load data into WebSphere Commerce database
Perform troubleshooting and diagnostic tracing
Apply fixes and fix packs
Install feature packs and enable features
Deploy and update customized code
Monitor and tune system performance

IBM also recommends basic knowledge in eCommerce practices, mark-up languages, J2EE technology and integration techniques. And beyond that, IBM adds additional prerequisites for taking the test, such as operating system knowledge, skills in network administration and relational database administration, experience in administering a web server and email server experience with WebSphere Application Server V7.0 with emphasis on administration and tuning, as well as experience with clustering.

Considering this is IBM’s intermediate certification, achieving expert status in five years may be an aggressive goal. Not saying that it’s impossible, just that for those hiring or outsourcing a developer, it may be worthwhile to quiz candidates on the above-mentioned skills before taking their stake at SME at face value.

The eCommerce landscape is increasingly competitive, and therefore, working with the right developers will be paramount to success. And regardless of whether Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule creates subject matter experts, few can argue with his statement that “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.”

To ensure that your eCommerce strategy is driven by established know-how, contact NetSphere Strategies. We are staffed by a team of certified developers and are happy to help.

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Abbe Miller is the marketing manager at NetSphere Strategies, located just outside Chicago. NetSphere Strategies is a boutique eCommerce company positioned to help businesses transform their online presence by providing a full complement of services that starts with our strategic consulting and creative design teams, then continues with building innovative solutions and providing ongoing post-project support.

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