Inside Certember: How We Turned "I Don't Have Time" Into a Company-Wide Challenge

Want the cheat code? Watch Hanieh’s 3 rules for passing any certification in 60 seconds:

The "Someday" Trap

The Spark

The idea didn't come from a strategy session; it came from a moment of realisation at an AWS Community Day.

"One of the speakers was sharing tips on how to get AWS certified," Hanieh explains.

"He mentioned that his company ran internal study groups. I immediately thought: We have so many people at Patient Zero saying they want to get their certs, but they are struggling to find the time. Why are we all trying to do it alone?"

Hanieh took the idea to Joe Cooney, who loved the concept immediately, and, being the nomenclator he is (Stack Overflow is his claim to fame), coined the name "Certember."

The Setup: Gamifying

The response was immediate. 20 people (about a quarter of the company) signed up to participate.



To move from "good intentions" to "actual studying," the initiative relied on two key pillars:

• Tribes: Participants split into three streams based on their goals: AWS, Azure, and a group for Product Owners.
• Visibility: We kept the goal front-of-mind. Through a dedicated Slack channel and regular check-ins, we ensured the target didn't get buried under daily client work.

The Reality Check: From "Certember" to December

The original plan was ambitious: get certified in September. But as Hanieh notes, reality quickly intervened.

"We initially thought September and October would be enough," she laughs.

"But we were asking people to study on their own time, outside of work. November hit, work got crazy, and we realised we needed to be realistic."

Rather than forcing a "crunch," the timeline was extended to the end of the year.

"Work-life balance has to come first," Hanieh says.

"We had a few people who were ready to sit exams in November, but life happens. Extending it meant we kept people in the race rather than burning them out."

The Secret Weapon: Accountability

When Hanieh asked the team for feedback, the answer was unanimous: It was the study groups that saved them.

"That was the main point," Hanieh says.

"Work was crazy, personal life was the same. But that weekly catch-up with the team gave people the energy to push through. Even I needed that external accountability."

For Hanieh, the goal was to validate her AI knowledge.

"I was constantly studying to stay up to date, but with the rapid changes in AI, I felt I needed to force myself to revisit the fundamentals. Getting that cert at the end is a great satisfaction."

The Results

Despite the chaos of busy work deadlines, the initiative has been a massive success.

• 7 Champions have already crossed the finish line (a 45% completion rate), earning not only a certificate, but a sweet special edition PZ T-shirt (as shown in the image in this article).
• Study Groups formed organically across teams.
• Momentum is building for January, with several people prepping to sit their exams after the holiday break.

Hanieh’s 3 Tips for Your Own "Certember"

If you are planning to tackle a certification, here is Hanieh’s advice from the trenches:

1. Go Fast (Don't Drag It Out) "Next time, I would try to go through the material faster. The longer it takes, the more you need to review what you’ve already learned. If you have a few days' gap, you lose context."

2. Deep Work > Audiobooks "I started by studying 15–30 minutes a day, listening to audio while driving. That’s fine for the basics, but later I realised I needed 1–2 hour chunks of focus time to really understand the complex areas."

3. Find Your Squad "Doing it alone is hard. Doing it with a group that is all suffering through the same practice exams? That’s actually kind of fun."



Our Growing Certificate Cabinet

While the initiative was about culture and connection, the outcome is serious technical validation. We believe that if you are going to recommend a technology to a client, you should master it first.

Certember adds to our growing library of team credentials, ensuring that when we build a solution, it's backed by global standards.

Our current certification stack includes:

• AWS Cloud: From Cloud Practitioner and AI Practitioner all the way to Solution Architect Professional and SysOps Admin Associate.
• Microsoft Azure: A full spectrum, including Azure Developer Associate and Solutions Architect Expert, plus specialised security credentials like Cybersecurity Architect Expert.
• Agile & Product Leadership: Certified Scrum Masters (SCM), Product Owners (PSPO), Scrum Developers, and Agile Leadership (PAL).
• Specialised Engineering: Certified Kubernetes Administrators, ISTQB Advanced Test Analysts, and BCS UX Design professionals.