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IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIA

Ron McLarenRon McLaren

SFIA

Skills FrameworkSkills Frameworkfor thefor the

Information AgeInformation Age

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIASFIASFIA

What it is What it’s for How it was it developed

thanks to text matters

Background- no real agreement over what the key IT skills are- a need for greater professionalism in the IT industry

So what?

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIAHave you heard this?Have you heard this?

Don’t have the right skills Don’t know what’s

expected of them Projects fail …

Corporate processes don’t work Productivity is low/unknown HR don’t understand … Re-organisation causes more

problems than it cures

No opportunity to learn No training budget

I don’t get the interesting work

How do you get promoted round here?

Do we pay well enough?

Our best people leave Wrong people at interviews


Don’t have the right skills Don’t know what’s

expected of them Projects fail …

Corporate processes don’t work Productivity is low/unknown HR don’t understand … Re-organisation causes more

problems than it cures

No opportunity to learn No training budget

I don’t get the interesting work

How do you get promoted round here?

Do we pay well enough?

Our best people leave Wrong people at interviews

Plan, manage

Assess

Reward

Develop

Acquire

Deploy

Common reference pointCommon reference point

SFIA

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIASkills – what do we mean?Skills – what do we mean?

Software development

Professional Skill

Process

Life cycle management

Behavioural SkillResult orientation

Java

Knowledge

ActionAction

ActionAction

ActionActivity

Prepare release plan

Experience

Have demonstrated competence by …Role profile contains all of these


Describes a type of professional identity, not a job or task.

Answers the question “what are you?”

not “what are you doing?”

Summarises key competencies

Individuals in the same role show variety

It’s the centre of gravity that counts, not the boundaries

You only need a dozen or so

Role profileRole profile

Ideally:

I’m a TestEngineer

Role Profile: Test Manager Author: Chris Smith 1 January 2006

PURPOSE: Test Managers help ZAPCO develop an deliver quality IT services by providing the testing and verification function for development projects. Deployment of new services requires the Test Manager’s approval.

ACCOUNTABILITIESTest strategy and its communicationManagement of all phases of testing, including plans, resources, costs, timescales, test deliverables and auditabilityNew services fit for deployment on time and within budget (shared)Release approval (shared)No business impact arising from defectsDefinition of the state of a service, and of the implicationsSelection of project testing standards, influencing development teams to conform to those standards, produce quality deliverables; Identification of process improvementsContribution to corporate standards and best practiceIncreasing expertise of staff managed

KNOWLEDGE / EXPERIENCE / QUALIFICATIONSBusiness impact of the serviceITIL Release managementITIL Configuration managementDevelopment LifecycleWide range of test tools and methodsSignificance of the specialised areas of testingISEB Testing Practitioner or equivalentSound appreciation of all, depth in at least one of these: functional testing, test automation, performance, resilience, security, penetration, human factors

SKILLSTEST 5 Systems testingBPRT 5 Business process testingSURE 3 Supplier relationship managementQUAS 5 Quality AssurancePRMG 5 Project managementMETL 5 Methods and toolsSPIM 5 Software development process improvement

MANAGEMENT CONTEXTManages managers and technical staffPeople development and performance management responsibilityReports To Project Manager/Director

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIESBusiness awarenessResults orientationQuality orientationLeadership

DIMENSIONSStaff managed: > 30Multiple sub-projects on mutiple sitesProject value in excess of £10 million

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIASkills ManagementSkills Management

Lower project risk Higher productivity More relevant learning Lower recruitment costs Less confusion More effective processes Higher job satisfaction, retention

Getting it right contributes to


Defined at up to 7 levels

SFIA StructureSFIA Structure

78 skills grouped in six Categories

DevelopmentStrategy & planning

Info

rmat

ion

m

anag

emen

tC

on

sult

ancy

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIASix Skill CategoriesSix Skill Categories

Development

Ancillary skills

Business change

Service provision

Procurement and management support

Strategy & planning

Each containing skills (organised in subcategories)

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIAWriting the skillsWriting the skills

Integration & editorial group

Specialistgroup

Service management

etc

Architecture

Specialistgroup

Content creation

Specialistgroup

Editorial group integrated the topics; specialist groups defined skills at various levels. But how various ?

A hive of activity

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIAConsistency of level?Consistency of level?7

levels

77

2244

55

33

11

66

How did we avoid this …

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIAConsistent LevelsConsistent Levels

77

66

55

44

33

22

11

A generic definition for each level expressed in terms ofautonomy, influence, complexity, business skills

follow

assist

apply

enable

ensure/advise

initiate/influence

set strategy, inspire, mobilise

… and a short memory-jogging tag

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIAIn reality …In reality …

11 follow

22 assist

33 apply

44 enable

55 ensure/advise

66 initiate/influence

77 set strategy, inspire, mobilise


Level 2Develops an understanding … drafting, illustrating, printing … Develops a broad understanding of technical publication concepts, tools and methods and the way in which these are implemented. Works with colleagues and clients to create …

Level 2Develops an understanding … drafting, illustrating, printing … Develops a broad understanding of technical publication concepts, tools and methods and the way in which these are implemented. Works with colleagues and clients to create …

DevelopmentDevelopment

SKILL CODEDOCMSKILL CODEDOCM

OVERALL DEFINITIONThe planning, design and creation of information content, to be delivered electronically or otherwise. This includes managing the quality assurance and publication process.

SUBCATEGORYHuman factorsSUBCATEGORYHuman factors

DIAGNOSTIC

Level 3Designs individual documentation plans for documentary items. Organises reviews of draft material. Manages the configuration of documentary items and documentation project files, within own area of responsibility. Organises final review and testing …

Level 3Designs individual documentation plans for documentary items. Organises reviews of draft material. Manages the configuration of documentary items and documentation project files, within own area of responsibility. Organises final review and testing …

Level 4Determines the documentation needs of users. Designs individual documentation plans. Creates drafts ... production and distribution of approved documentary items. Manages the configuration of documentary items …

Level 4Determines the documentation needs of users. Designs individual documentation plans. Creates drafts ... production and distribution of approved documentary items. Manages the configuration of documentary items …

Level 5Develops standards and procedures to support documentation strategy. Designs overall support information package plans. Manages small teams … Advises on appropriate documentation formats and documentation systems …

Level 5Develops standards and procedures to support documentation strategy. Designs overall support information package plans. Manages small teams … Advises on appropriate documentation formats and documentation systems …

Level 6Develops strategies for delivery of support information … preferred media, rules for format of content, and reprographics strategy if relevant. Manages documentation projects …

Level 6Develops strategies for delivery of support information … preferred media, rules for format of content, and reprographics strategy if relevant. Manages documentation projects …

SKILL NAMEContent creationSKILL NAMEContent creation


55

44

33

22

11

People and skillsPeople and skills

Pro

gram

min

g

Sys

tem

s de

sign

Met

hods

& to

ols

66P

rogr

amm

ing

Sys

tem

s de

sign

Met

hods

& to

ols

SeniorDeveloper

PrincipalDeveloper

One skill does not define a job or role

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIATop Level ViewTop Level View

Now widely used

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIASome usersSome users

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIADeveloping SFIADeveloping SFIA

Change it!

and again and again and again and

1997: An informal use of dead trees and postage

The output was a series of skill definitions


Level n+1Level n+1

Level n+1Level n+1

1998: Hierarchical structure1998: Hierarchical structure

CategoryCategory

Subcat.Subcat.

Level nLevel n

SkillSkill

Tags with SGML markup

Framemaker+SGML

Perl scripts

FRAMEWORKCONTENT

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIARevision workshopsRevision workshopsFRAMEWORK

CONTENT

Filemaker database on Mac

SGML Files to print and web

engines

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIASFIA Version 3SFIA Version 3SFIA now very popular: much larger scale projectOn-line access for reviewers and editors

FRAMEWORKCONTENT

PLONEContent Management System

XML

REVIEWERS

EDITORS

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIAWeb-based consultationWeb-based consultation

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIAOn-Line commentsOn-Line comments

Proposed revisions in green

Existing text of SFIA v2 in black

Other comments from users – (blog style)

REVIEWERS

Updated SFIA using Epoz – a through-the-web editor based on Java script running on the editor’s browser)

EDITORS

PUBLISHING: Python scripts XML (~IBM DITA) Framemaker PDF Print

mif2go SFIA v3

IIIIIIIIIIIISFIASFIAOn view at SFIA.org.ukOn view at SFIA.org.uk

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