ISAUnited's Modern Way of Examiniation
FlexCert 30
PERFORMANCE BASED PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT
Professional Capability Should Be Demonstrated Through Professional Work.
FlexCert 30 uses a 30-day Professional Cyber Capstone instead of a timed, knowledge-memorization exam. Candidates analyze a realistic cybersecurity simulation scenario, make defensible decisions, and produce five connected technical and executive work products.
RESEARCH & SUPPORTING STUDIES
Evidence Behind FlexCert 30
FlexCert 30 uses a structured cybersecurity capstone because professional capability is best evaluated through relevant work—not memorization alone. A NICE Community Coordinating Council green paper hosted by NIST highlights performance-based assessments as a way to measure cybersecurity competencies and the capability to perform NICE Framework tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management explains that work-sample assessments mirror job duties and can provide strong evidence of job-related performance. NCCA guidance also recognizes simulations, case scenarios, and portfolio assessments as legitimate assessment methods when they are fair, reliable, valid, and properly documented. Through interconnected cybersecurity artifacts, documented evaluation criteria, integrity controls, and a Defensible Capability Score Report, FlexCert 30 provides employers, managers, and academic reviewers with meaningful evidence of what a practitioner can apply, demonstrate, and explain.
Sources:
-
NICE Community Coordinating Council, Transform Learning Process Working Group, Use of Performance-Based Assessments to Measure Cybersecurity Competencies Project Team. (2024, March). The landscape of performance-based assessments in cybersecurity: Green paper. National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://
/document/landscape-performance-based-assessments-cybersecurity-green-paper -
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. (n.d.). Work samples and simulations. https://
/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/other-assessment-methods/work-samples-and-simulations/ -
Institute for Credentialing Excellence. (n.d.). NCCA frequently-asked questions. https://
/Accreditation/Earn-Accreditation/NCCA/FAQs
Professional Capability Deserves Recognition
For Cybersecurity Practitioners and Cyber Team Managers
Use FlexCert 30 to pursue an ISAUnited CPL for yourself—or register qualified members of your cyber team. Designed for experienced practitioners whose capabilities are not yet credentialed or whose previous certification has expired.