The Journey of Shopware Solution Specialist Certification: Empowering the Community
In January 2021, a spark of innovation ignited within the Shopware community board. The passionate members discussed the idea of creating a comprehensive new certification that would elevate the expertise of professionals in the field. However, Shopware, at the time, had not allocated any resources to develop new training and certification programs. Undeterred, a dedicated group of enthusiasts decided to take matters into their own hands and initiated a project with the working title “Shopware Solution Specialist.”
As the project took its first steps, the team diligently worked to craft the syllabus for the Solution Specialist certification, a crucial foundation for the program. By March 2021, the first edition of the syllabus was ready, marking a significant milestone in the journey.
Recognizing the power of community engagement, Shopware United began involving the broader Shopware community in May 2021. Community members were called upon to contribute their knowledge and expertise by providing questions and answers for the upcoming certification. This approach not only fostered a sense of ownership among the community but also ensured that the certification reflected real-world challenges and scenarios.
Over the months from June 2021 to April 2022, various activities were undertaken, both digital and on-site, to expand the question base for the certification. Additionally, feedback from the community allowed for adjustments and refinements to the syllabus, making it more comprehensive and relevant.
In May 2022, the enthusiasm for the project reached new heights when Shopware United sponsored and co-organized the pre-party event for SCD 22 at the Tobit Campus in Ahaus. The event served as an excellent platform to promote the upcoming certification and collect additional questions from the audience. As a token of appreciation, contributors received stylish Shopware Solution Specialist shirts.
June 2022 brought a turning point for the project when Shopware itself expressed interest and decided to join forces. This collaboration aimed to finalize the certification, ensuring it met the highest standards and became an official part of Shopware’s partner program. A meeting was organized in September 2022 in Amsterdam, where around 20 community experts from different countries participated in a two-day workshop. During this workshop, the final syllabus was confirmed, existing question-answer sets were reviewed, and new questions with answers were created to enrich the certification.
The subsequent months from October 2022 to March 2023 witnessed intensive internal collaboration between Shopware United and Shopware. Together, they finalized the syllabus, fine-tuned the question-answer sets, and integrated everything into the certification tool. The team meticulously reviewed all questions for validity and relevance, ensuring they remained up-to-date with the evolving technology landscape.
In April 2023, the project underwent its first beta-testing phase. Around 40 individuals took part in the trial to assess the exam’s pass rate, time settings, and overall user experience. This invaluable feedback allowed the team to make necessary adjustments, guaranteeing a seamless experience for future students.
As May 2023 arrived, Shopware and Shopware United introduced the comprehensive Shopware Solution Architect Training course. This comprehensive program covered all aspects of the syllabus, empowering candidates to acquire the necessary skills to pass the Solution Architect certification successfully.
Recognizing the significance of the German-speaking market, Shopware took the initiative to translate the complete certification into the German language in July 2023. This decision aimed to cater to the vast German-speaking audience, ensuring they too could benefit from this prestigious certification.
The journey of the Shopware Solution Specialist certification exemplifies the power of community collaboration and collective passion. What started as a simple idea within the Shopware community blossomed into a transformative program, empowering professionals and enhancing their expertise. The certification’s success owes much to the dedication and vision of the community members, Shopware United, and Shopware itself, all of whom worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality. As technology continues to advance, the Shopware Solution Specialist certification stands as a testament to the power of unity in driving progress and innovation within the e-commerce landscape.
January 2021 | Project Idea was born: Within the Shopware community board, the idea of creating a complete new certification was discussed. As Shopware did not put any resources at that time into building new trainings and certifications, Shopware United decided to create a project under the "working name" Shopware Solution Specialist. |
March 2021 | First edition of the syllabus was created: To start of the project, the first version of the syllabus for the Solution Specialist was created. |
May 2021 | Community got involved: Shopware United started informing and involving the Shopware community into this project. Community members got ask to provide questions and answers for the upcoming certification. |
June 2021 - April 2022 | Different activities either digital or onside to grow the question base for the new exam. The syllabus got adjusted as well. |
May 2022 | Pre SCD event sponsored by Shopware United: Shopware United did sponsor/co-organize the pre-party event for SCD 22 at the Tobit Campus in Ahaus. We again did promote the new certification and collected addition questions from the audience. Every person, which provided a question with answers, got a very nice shirt. |
June 2022 | Shopware got interested into the project, so we combined forces with Shopware. The plan was to finalize the certification together, so that the new Shopware 6 Solution Specialist certification would become part of the partnerprogram of Shopware. |
September 2022 | Shopware and Shopware United organized a meeting in Amsterdam. Around 20 community experts out of different countries joined a two days workshop. Within the workshop the final syllabus got confirmed, existing question/answerset got reviewed and additional questions (plus answers) got created. |
October 2022 - March 2023 | A lot of internal work between Shopware United and Shopware to finalize Syllabus, Question-/Answerset and getting everything into the certification tool. All questions had to be checked if valid and still up to date. |
April 2023 | We did beta-testing of the new exam with around 40 people to check, if passrate, time-settings etc. are working out for future students. |
May 2023 - July 2023 | A complete Shopware Solution Architect Training course got created by Shopware and Shopware United. It covers all areas of the syllabus. People which would take that complete training course should be able to pass the Solution Architect certification. |
July 2023 | Translation of the complete certification into german language started. Shopware requested, that the certification should not only be available in english, but also in german to cover the german speaking market, which is still the most important market for Shopware. |