Determining Quality Practices

Certificationandaccreditationare two critical processes that are essential to ensuring quality practices and services. One of the overriding concerns or goals should be to attain “quality” and develop a means to measure or assess its effectiveness. Quality assurance is a means of assessing quality and includes both planned and systematic actions that management deems necessary to provide confidence that the product or service satisfies any specific requirements for quality. These actions may be the result

From:Handbook of Digital and Multimedia Forensic Evidence

Edited by: J. J. Barbara © Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

of good scientific practice, best practices in the industry, regulatory requirements, or other controlling factors. A business that is providing technical consultant services pertaining to intrusion protection must be just as concerned about the overall quality of its practices as does a firearms examiner who identifies a projectile to a suspect weapon. Although quality is involved in both situations, the end result can be drastically different if quality measures are not in place. In the first instance, lack of specific technical knowledge (poor quality) could lead to a company’s computer network being vulnerable to unauthorized access and the possible loss of intellectual data. This could be very costly in economic terms to the company. In the second instance, inaccurate or questionable analytical results (poor quality) may cause a suspect to be convicted of a homicide and, in some states, face the death penalty. Even though the end results are drastically different, there really should not be any difference in how management assesses the quality of its work product.

1.1. Individual Certification

When any business or entity seeks to hire a person, they usually consider the individual’s educational background and his or her overall knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). Most of us are aware that it is not always the most qualified individual that is hired to fill a particular vacancy. Available resources, including salary and benefits, often can be the controlling factors in determining who eventually is hired. Irrespective of resources, in the information technology (IT) industry, many individuals with preexisting certifications are very attractive to management:

Corporations are dependent on cutting-edge computer and information technology to operate efficiently in an ever-competitive market driven economy. However, more often than not, these corporations lack the internal resources to effectively implement new technologies required to meet their needs. In these instances, they rely on information technology professionals to help implement technology driven solutions such as setting up a secure website or integrating their traditional brick and mortar business with Internet driven business models. They may also turn to IT professionals to help them manage the data management processes or automate their help-desk support systems(1).

Once hired, the individual usually undergoes some sort of training regarding the software and hardware that he or she is expected to operate or oversee (severs, routers, etc.). Generally, the training will also include the practices of the business or organization. After the initial training has been completed, the individual then assumes his or her duties. In some instances, the business or organization self-certifies the individual when he or she has met certain standards, such as educational and training requirements, and has demonstrated a level of competence. However, certification should not be considered as a substitute for actual hands-on experience. Ideally, it is the combination of both experience and certification that provides an individual with the best all-around KSAs specific to the task. As is often the case, management may require employees to attain additional job-specific certification(s). From management’s perspective, having certified staff serves as a means to demonstrate the quality of the product or service being offered. However, even though they require their staff to attain certification(s), certification itself is considered as an individual achievement. If the certified employee leaves the company, he or she leaves with his or her certification.

All of us are familiar with certification whether we realize it or not. When your vehicle is serviced at the car dealership, many (if not all) of the service technicians are “certified” to perform specific vehicle repairs. Not only does this provide the consumer with a degree of confidence, but also it is necessary for the automobile dealership to demonstrate that they offer quality services.

1.2. Accreditation Defined

Accreditation differs from certification in that it always pertains to the business or organization. It is part of an overall quality assurance program and can demonstrate that management practices and operations, personnel, procedures, the quality system, and the physical plant can meet or exceed certain national and/or international standards. Accreditation is usually considered as a voluntary process. However, if the services offered are of a forensic nature, then it is imperative that the entity become accredited. Several states have already passed legislation that requires any entity performing forensic analysis within that particular state to attain accreditation if the results of their analyses will be used in a court of law for prosecution purposes. Other states are considering similar legislation. Legislatures and the criminal justice system as a whole recognize the benefits of accreditation. Two of the essential standards and criteria that are indigenous to accreditation require that there be written, approved, standardized operational procedures and that the examiners undergo annual proficiency testing.

The combination of individual employees holding applicable certifications and accreditation (if applicable and available) can provide a means for the business or entity to demonstrate that its services are quality orientated. Although this is not any guarantee that errors or mistakes will not occur, an overall quality assurance program can and will lead to a better end product.