How Well Do Integrators Know Their Stuff?

By IPVM Team, Published May 07, 2014, 12:00am EDT (Info+)

Integrators, how well do you know your stuff?

We are expanding our industry leading quiz program to add 2 new quizzes, targeted at both integrator technical and sales people.

Members, you can take them below OR if you are a group admin you can assign quizzes to your co-workers to see how much they really know.

The sales quiz focuses on business and design fundamentals that any solid sales person should have. 

The tech quiz focuses on technology and install fundamentals that good technicians or integrators possess.

Anyone can take either quiz, we simply built these 2 quizzes around these common roles.

Testing Your Co-Workers

I strongly encourage you to assign these quizzes to your co-worker. Sure, you will take it and ace the quiz, but how much do your co-workers really know?

Comments (17)

Seth Thompson

05/08/14 12:54pm

well im not a sales man that is for sure.......

Love it. Thanks

Undisclosed

05/08/14 03:05pm

Reasonable questions. I got unspectacular scores on both (I herd packets not pixels, not shocked.)

Olaf Kreutz

05/08/14 03:42pm

John, I cant say that I liked either quiz. Both seem to be designed to test how many people read all your tests and articles vs. what is actually feasible. My former boss used to drill us on designing test questions where only one answer can be correct and your test questions many times were too vague. The question about how many SD cameras can a 5MP camera replace is a good example. In teh answer you acknowledge that "16" is the correct answer but point to your article that says many more factors impact the decision. I think we all understand that nobody screws 16 SD cameras to a wall and builds a 4x4 picture...

Seth Thompson

In reply to Olaf Kreutz | 05/08/14 03:43pm

I do it all the time. LOL

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Olaf Kreutz | 05/08/14 03:49pm

Olaf, thanks for your feedback. If you have other topics or questions to suggest, please share.

As for ambiguity, I agree that is a problem for test, in general. However, not reading things carefully is a problem for test takers.

For instance, you say, "In teh answer you acknowledge that "16" is the correct answer". That's false. What we say is this: "It is true that 5 MP resolution is equal to ~16x SD, based purely on total pixel count." Nowhere do we say that 16 is the 'correct' answer. Indeed, 16 is a far worse response to "How many SD cameras can a 5 megapixel camera replace?" then the correct choice of 'not enough information'.

Ultimately, people can do what they want with the quizzes. Use them for fun. Use them to teach their teams. Ignore them, etc.

That said, I do agree with your general point of the art / challenge of making quizzes precise enough. Feel free to share any other suggestions on question structure or other topics.

Rukmini Wilson

In reply to John Honovich | 05/08/14 04:57pm

[Member Disclaimer: I chose incorrectly on the SD/MP question]

John, you might change 'Can' to 'Will' for a better question.

'Can' is ambiguous in this sentence, as it is commonly used to denote a possibility. As in 'ever'.

I know you Can change it, but Will you?

David Westberry

IPVMU Certified | 05/08/14 03:57pm

I have to agree some of the questions need to be revised. I am a former field tech and now work in house. I felt some questions didnt provide enough information to provide the correct anwer but that wasnt an option or there were some that had more than one correct and that wasnt an option.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to David Westberry | 05/08/14 05:48pm

David, please comment specifically on questions, otherwise it's impossible to know whether we made a mistake or you misunderstood the question / issue. We are happy to review detailed feedback.

David Westberry

IPVMU Certified | In reply to John Honovich | 05/08/14 06:40pm

I didnt want to publicly post questions from the tests to keep things fair for others taking them. I appreciate you putting these up. Some of the questions are arguable and I feel need more information to answer properly.

[MOVED TO ITS OWN DISCUSSION HERE]

I feel the relevance of some of these, as sort of stated in another post, could be improved on.

I want to thank you for your service here and for a lot of the good information I have learned.

Please feel free to delete my responses.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to David Westberry | 05/08/14 07:36pm

David, Thanks!

I moved those points / questions into a new thread so we can discuss them at length and not give away anything here.

See: Objections / Issues On The Integrator Quizzes

Matt Ion

02/15/15 08:51am

Well a couple thoughts about the "Sales" quiz:

#2, interesting to see 80% of people got it "wrong"... or did they? Depending where you shop and what big-box packages you look at, varifocal isn't all THAT rare. Since most are offshore brands without *manufacturer* tech support, what tech support IS available can be pretty hit-and-miss.

#4, a year or so ago I would have gone with WDR... more and more these days, after experience with Axis, Dahua and Hik cameras in just such situations as that described in the question, I'm finding a good BLC feature (especially if it includes user-definable exposure zones) is more effective than WDR in this kind of situation. WDR is great where the overall scene has larger dynamic range... BLC is still better when you have to deal with strong backlighting.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Matt Ion | 02/15/15 11:26am

Matt, please be specific about big box stores. What are you seeing in big box stores? Cite specific stores and specific kits.

From all that we have seen at physical stores - Costco, Sam's Club, etc. the typical manufacturer is Q-See or Samsung and they are always fixed focal lenses.

As for WDR, are you claiming true multi-exposure WDR or electronic WDR? And who's BLC? Axis' BLC? Or what manufacturer?

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Matt Ion

In reply to John Honovich | 02/16/15 12:43am

I don't shop a lot in big box stores (actually, not at all when it comes to security gear), so I can't give you a ton of specifics... all I can say is, I've used the same argument before (fixed lenses only), gone to look up some LOCAL package systems to prove my point, and found that varifocals really aren't that rare. Not saying EVERYONE is using them exclusively... just saying that you can't assume all the cameras will be fixed lenses.

One example: AvertX brand from Costco Canada - bullets are all fixed, domes are all autofocus and remote zoom, 3-9mm.

As far as the WDR, I've dealt mainly with the Axis P3384 (which I believe is "true" multi-exposure), and assorted Hik and Dahua cams. I've put the Axis in restaurant dining rooms as well as tight shots on the doors, and while the WDR is great for the whole room with varied lighting and bright sunlight coming in perimeter windows, it really doesn't work that well for the ID shots, where you SPECIFICALLY want to capture a subject that's in shadow, surrounded by bright light. Setting BLC and defining an exposure area that matches the approximate lighting you get on customers' faces (like a door stanchion) is far more effective.

Again... YMMV. Theory says WDR should be better in this case... my own experience differs.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Matt Ion | 02/16/15 12:51am

The question: "Your prospect says his boss is pushing him to get a kit online or at a big box store because the product cost is much lower."

So you are citing a $450 camera to disprove our scenario where the "product cost is much lower"? That's neither low cost nor a kit.

And returning to the tech support claim, you are citing a brand that definitely does provide tech support (including remote connections), disproving your original point.

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Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified | In reply to John Honovich | 02/16/15 03:00am

There are some out there, whether these are as cheap as what you had in mind, I don't know.

These are both tech supported it's true. But still, even if the question is technically correct, maybe another should be substituted for two reasons:

  1. Arguably, even if phone tech support is provided free, the quality and the availability of that support would probably be as important as whether there were any varifocal cameras in the kits. At least to a 'boss'.
  2. Since cameras are still dropping in price, while features are growing, varifocals are even more likely to be part of other kits in the future.
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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #1 | 02/16/15 11:23am

"varifocals are even more likely to be part of other kits in the future."

The question is not about the future.

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Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified | In reply to John Honovich | 02/16/15 12:00pm

Maybe just get rid of the 'online' part of the question then?

GW 4,6,16 channel kit all channels varifocal from $799

Aposonic 4 channel kit/3 bullet 1 varifocal $299

USG 1080P 4 channel kit with 4 varifocal domes $899

Do you know if these brands have tech support?

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