Scaling a Revenue-Critical Partner Certification Program
I designed a partner certification program for a cloud-based security solutions company. The goal was to ensure partners were prepared to install products correctly, which was a prerequisite to sell this company's products.
I created an immersive scenario-based learning journey and rebuilt the certification exam to focus on application rather than knowledge recall. The program enabled a 450% increase in certified partners and contributed to over $90M in year-over-year revenue.
Executive Summary
The Challenge
The Solution Design
Assessment and Certification
Results and Impact
When I inherited the certification program, it consisted entirely of standalone videos, followed by a traditional knowledge-based exam. While the content conveyed necessary information, the experience was entirely passive and did little to help learners understand how individual concepts fit together in a real installation.
Because certification was required for partners to sell the product, the program needed to scale efficiently while ensuring that certified partners were genuinely prepared. This required more than a passive scrolling through of videos, but rather a deep understanding of the knowledge in the context of real-world situations.
I structured the certification as a modular learning journey, with each section framed around a realistic narrative. Rather than presenting content in isolation, the program hinged on characters in each module who walked learners through facts and processes in a real-world context, connecting various concepts to real-world use.
Below is an example interaction, where learners ask questions to customers about their experience using the company's security system. By simulating actual conversations, learners understand the information at a deeper level and see how system features translate into real customer outcomes.
To raise the rigor of certification, I redesigned the final exam to be fully application-focused. All questions were scenario-based multiple-choice items that required learners to interpret realistic situations and apply what they had learned, rather than simply recall facts from the content, ensuring that the certification functioned as a meaningful signal of readiness.
Below is an example question from the exam (redacted for anonymity).
The redesigned certification program enabled a 450% increase in certified partners. Because certification was a prerequisite for partner participation, this directly unlocked approximately $90M in year-over-year revenue. Internally, the program provided a scalable, standardized pathway for partner readiness and increased confidence that certified partners could successfully install and support the product.
