The challenge
The Royal College of Psychiatrists' two high-stakes knowledge examinations, Paper A and Paper B, were traditionally delivered as paper-and-pen assessments through a limited network of examination venues in the UK and internationally.
Exam papers had to be produced, securely distributed to examination centres around the world and administered at fixed locations, with some candidates travelling significant distances to sit them.
COVID-19 made this established operating model impossible almost overnight. RCPsych needed to restore its knowledge examinations quickly, while maintaining assessment integrity and access for a global candidate population.
The approach
RCPsych used the disruption as an opportunity to move from paper-based examinations to a scalable computer-based assessment model with Pearson VUE.
Liam Wynne, now founder of CX Works, helped lead the transformation, working with Pearson VUE, RCPsych's examinations team and examiner community to design and implement the new delivery model.
The programme went beyond changing the method of delivery. Examiners and the examinations team were supported in adopting Pearson's ExamDeveloper platform to build and manage papers digitally, while new processes were established for candidate booking, examination delivery and operational support.
A simple candidate journey allowed candidates to apply through RCPsych and then book their examination directly through Pearson VUE.
Initially, a hybrid model provided the flexibility required during changing COVID restrictions. Candidates could sit remotely using Pearson's OnVUE proctoring service or attend a Pearson VUE test centre where local conditions allowed, enabling the examinations to continue for candidates in the UK and around the world.
Learning and adapting
Live delivery provided important evidence about how the new model worked for candidates.
Remote proctoring provided an essential solution during the pandemic, but experience showed that it was not the best long-term model for RCPsych. Candidates experienced technical and onboarding difficulties, while the highly controlled remote-proctoring environment could create a less satisfactory candidate experience.
Rather than treating the initial solution as fixed, the model evolved in response to operational experience and candidate feedback. As restrictions eased, delivery progressively moved into Pearson VUE's international test-centre network, providing a more consistent and reliable environment while retaining the benefits of computer-based assessment.
The outcome
What began as an urgent response to COVID became a permanent transformation of RCPsych's knowledge examinations.
The College moved from paper examinations distributed to a relatively small number of international venues to digitally built assessments delivered through a global test-centre network. The new model reduced the physical logistics associated with paper delivery, improved international access and provided a scalable platform for future examination delivery.
Importantly, the programme also developed digital assessment capability within RCPsych, enabling the examinations team and examiner community to work effectively within the new model.
The CX Works perspective
Successful assessment transformation isn't about choosing the most digital solution. It's about finding the delivery model that works best for the assessment and its candidates.
The RCPsych transformation demonstrated the importance of looking beyond technology to the whole assessment system — including organisational capability, operating processes, candidate experience and support.
It also reinforced the value of learning from live delivery. Implement, measure, listen and adapt: when operational evidence or candidate experience points to a better approach, the delivery model should evolve with it.
For CX Works, go-live is not the end of transformation. It is the beginning of continuous improvement.