SFIAplus– Competitive advantage through structured skill development

SFIAplus – Competitive advantage through structured skill development SFIAplus from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, is the industry’s most widely adopted and relevant best practice benchmark in IT skills, training and development. It creates a common language around skills in IT and gives employers and practitioners a framework on which to align their knowledge, skills and experience, and plan their development. By using SFIAplus, organisations worldwide are raising the level of professionalism within their IT teams and meeting their business objectives through technology-led innovation.

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SFIAplus in detail

How can I use SFIAplus in my organisation? The SFIAplus framework can help individuals understand where they are within a department, where they can progress and what they need to do to get to the next level. It allows them to track their own professional development and take responsibility for their career progression.

SFIAplus was developed to help employers get more from their IT teams. It’s the competency model built around The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) which underpins IT talent strategies in over 2,500 organisations in 195 countries.

‘SFIAplus offered the flexibility to tailor roles to the specific needs of our SFIAplus is a three dimensional model, providing absolute clarity around the skills you need to meet business employees. We now have objectives. It contains the SFIA framework of IT skills plus detailed training and development resources, offering a basis on which to build additional competency, training and development detail for all 97 skills and 362 tasks (skills at a level). future talent management • For each SFIA skill, SFIAplus contains EIGHT additional programmes’ skill resources • For each SFIA task, SFIAplus includes SIX additional task components

Gene Bernier Director of ITS Program Management Office Kimberly-Clark

SFIAplus provides information for each skill which helps career development planning by illustrating the typical characteristics of an individual in a given area of IT operating at a given level, in terms of:

Relevant in today’s industry

• the background you would expect them to have • work activities they’d be expected to carry out • knowledge and skills that can support their performance • training and development they should undertake • professional certification they should look to achieve • professional memberships that would benefit them

SFIAplus has been created, reviewed and edited by a team of industry experts ensuring it is accurate, relevant and reflects current best practice. It is aligned with BCS Professional Certifications and membership grades, as well as other industry recognised frameworks including ITIL®and the Government IT competency framework.

Find out more about the differences between SFIA and SFIAplus by watching our video at bcs.org/sfiaplus

Organisations using SFIAplus can align knowledge, skills and experience to clearly identify and define career paths and effectively plan training and development activity. It provides clarity around the IT skills they have internally and the skills that are transferable between other projects and areas of IT.

Putting SFIAplus into practice Using SFIAplus, BCS works with organisations to enhance the performance of their IT function and align skills and competencies with business objectives. This ensures that the organisation has the right people in the right place at the right time. Business advantage through structured skills development We provide support to both public and private sector organisations for a wide range of business issues, no matter how complex. From recruitment, skills gap analysis and talent management programmes to large change and transformation programmes, we can help to ensure your organisation’s skill resource supports you in gaining competitive advantage through IT. The diagram below shows how we partner with organisations to:

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• understand business requirements • build a picture of the skills and competencies needed • analyse what skills you have and what you require • implement effective development plans

Listen and understand

We listen to your business requirements to establish an understanding of the support you need to meet your objectives.

Build

Analyse

We then design the skills and competency landscape to support your business – you can’t develop your people without first understanding the IT skills you need.

With your skills and competency landscape defined, we assess your people against it to uncover skills gaps and areas of development, including organisational design and culture.

Develop

Once you have a full understanding of your skills gaps, you can invest in development to ensure you have the right people in the right place at the right time.

SFIAplus competitive advantage through structured skill development SFIAplus enables employers and practitioners to measure capability, plan resource and develop performance effectively using a common language for IT skills. Whether you are an IT professional, an employer of IT in the public or private sector, or involved in the recruitment or training of IT practitioners, SFIAplus offers multiple benefits.

THE BENEFITS For IT employers • Delivers business advantage through structured skills development • Builds on SFIA by providing specific, industry related detail • Helps attract, retain and develop IT talent • Provides a common language, a shorthand for specifying skill levels • Ensures consistency of approach to building job profiles and creating development plans • Provides gap analysis reports • Supports any stage in your organisation’s strategy implementation • Aligns to the Institute’s professional certifications, career framework and membership grades • Inspires high performance and supports IT professionals in achieving CITP status For IT professionals • Reflects the current skills required by the industry • Provides a common benchmark against recognised standards • Pinpoints the right job for you by defining your skills • Helps you identify a clear progression path and development opportunities • Aligns to the Institute’s membership grades and supports you in achieving CITP status • Helps you plan the steps in your career path • Provides a consistent language for IT skills, shared by colleagues and employers • Offers benefits at every stage in your career

‘SFIAplus provides real transparency to career and development planning, raising team morale and improving retention.’ Mark Leonard Executive Vice President Infrastructure Services Unit Colt

bcs.org/sfiaplus

To find out how our corporate partners have benefitted, read our client case studies at bcs.org/sfiaplus Partner with the experts We help global enterprise align its IT resource with strategic business goals. We work with organisations to develop people, forge culture and create IT capabilities fit to not only lead business change but to meet companywide objectives and deliver competitive advantage.

BCS The Chartered Institute for IT First Floor Block D North Star House North Star Avenue Swindon SN2 1FA T +44 (0) 1793 417 747 E [email protected] bcs.org/sfiaplus © BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, is the business name of The British Computer Society (Registered charity no. 292786) 2015

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Contact us today: +44 (0) 1793 417 755 bcs.org/sfiaplus

SFIAplus The global IT skills, training & development framework Category

Skill

Code

Level 1

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Strategy and architecture Information strategy

Advice and guidance Business strategy and planning

Technical strategy and planning

IT governance IT strategy and planning Information management Information systems co-ordination Information security Information assurance Analytics Information content publishing Consultancy Technical specialism Research IT management Financial management Innovation Business process improvement Enterprise and business architecture Business risk management Sustainability strategy Emerging technology monitoring Continuity management Sustainability management Network planning Solution architecture Data management Methods and tools

GOVN ITSP IRMG ISCO SCTY INAS INAN ICPM CNSL TECH RSCH ITMG FMIT INOV BPRE STPL BURM SUST EMRG COPL SUMI NTPL ARCH DATM METL

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Business change management

Portfolio management Programme management Project management Portfolio, programme and project support Business analysis Requirements definition and management Business process testing Change implementation planning and management Organisation design and implementation Benefits management Business modelling Sustainability assessment

POMG PGMG PRMG PROF BUAN REQM BPTS CIPM ORDI BENM BSMO SUAS

5

2 2

2

3 3 3

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4 4 4 4 4

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User experience

Installation and integration

Systems development management Data analysis System design Network design Database design Programming/software development Animation development Safety engineering Sustainability engineering Information content authoring Testing User experience analysis User experience design User experience evaluation Systems integration Porting/software configuration Hardware design Systems installation/decommissioning

DLMG DTAN DESN NTDS DBDS PROG ADEV SFEN SUEN INCA TEST UNAN HCEV USEV SINT PORT HWDE HSIN

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5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

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Service transition

Service operation

Availability management Service level management Service acceptance Configuration management Asset management Change management Release and deployment System software Capacity management Security administration Penetration testing Radio frequency engineering Applications support IT infrastructure Database administration Storage management Network support Problem management Incident management Facilities management

AVMT SLMO SEAC CFMG ASMG CHMG RELM SYSP CPMG SCAD PENT RFEN ASUP ITOP DBAD STMG NTAS PBMG USUP DCMA

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2 2

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

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Quality and conformance

ETMG LEDA TMCR ETDL TEAC PEMT RESC PDSV QUMG QUAS QUST CORE SFAS DGFS

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Sales and marketing

Sourcing Contract management Relationship management Customer service support Digital marketing Selling Sales support Product management

© BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT is the business name of The British Computer Society (Registered charity no. 292786) 2015

SORC ITCM RLMT CSMG MKTG SALE SSUP PROD

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Level

The degree of responsibility that an IT practitioner exercises.

Task

A Skill at a Level.

Task component

Six additional SFIAplus components defining the Task. (See example below)

The SFIA Skill covers Title, Description and Code. For each SFIA Skill, SFIAplus includes eight additional Skill resources. The SFIA Task covers Title, Description and Code. For each SFIA Task, SFIAplus offers six additional Task components. 4

5

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• • • • • • • •

Related SFIA skills Technical overview, including typical tools and techniques Overview of training, development and qualifications Careers and jobs Professional bodies Standards and codes of practice Communities and events Publications and resources

These provide an extra level of detail about what is expected from an individual working at this level. Some examples taken from the additional Task components for Project management at level 5 are shown below: • Background: has gained experience (typically four years with some at level 4) in any SFIA Skill which involves project work • Work activities: includes leadership, estimating and managing the change control procedure • Knowledge and skills: includes analytical thinking, project risk management and contract negotiation • Training activities: includes business case preparation, project definition, planning and risk management and an introduction to systems development, including development life cycles • Professional development: includes research assignments, acting as a mentor and increasing knowledge of broader IT issues through reading or attending seminars • Qualifications: BCS IS Project Management certificate (Advanced Level) would support career progression and skill development

Gene Bernier Director of ITS Program Management Office Kimberly Clark

Find out more at bcs.org/na 6 6 6 6 6 6

7

Relationships and engagement Stakeholder management

Included to help with Skill identification.

‘SFIAplus offered the flexibility to tailor roles to the specific needs of our employees. We now have a basis on which to build future talent management programs.’

6

4

Code

Task components

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4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Eight detailed SFIAplus topics related to the Skill. (See example below)

• Project Management Institute www.pmi.org • Association for Project Management www.apm.org.uk • BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT www.bcs.org

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Skill resource

Each Skill resource provides in depth information to support development planning, for example the Skill resource for Professional bodies gives details of:

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A recognizable area of IT competence within the workplace.

BC1229/LD/POST/0615

People management

Learning and development management Learning assessment and evaluation Learning design and development Learning delivery Teaching and subject formation Performance management Resourcing Professional development Quality management Quality assurance Quality standards Conformance review Safety assessment Digital forensics

Skill

Skill resources

Skills and quality Skill management

Skills are grouped for convenience into categories and subcategories describing broad areas of work.

Examples of the additional Skill resources and Task components for Project management at level 5 are given below.

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Category, Subcategory

Project management

Delivery and operation Service design

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What’s in the ‘plus’?

Development and implementation Systems development

SFIAplus contains the SFIA framework of IT skills plus detailed training and development resources. The result is the most established and widely adopted IT skills, training and development model that reflects current industry needs. SFIAplus enables employers and IT practitioners to identify career paths and plan training and development.

7

Change and transformation Business change implementation

The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) is the global skills and competency framework that describes IT roles and the skills needed for them. It is supported by companies, government and academic institutions worldwide.

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Kimberly-Clark’s strategic focus on growing talent, coupled with rapidly changing technology and the increasing demand to contain spend, meant they needed a low cost solution that could be swiftly implemented. By working with consultants from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, they have aligned the job roles of their US and UK IT functions with SFIAplus, cementing the foundations for their IT employees’ on-going career development.

CASE STUDY

Kimberly-Clark works with Institute consultants to build role profiles aligned with SFIAplus for 600 IT staff in the US and UK.

‘ SFIAplus offered the flexibility to tailor roles to the specific needs of our employees. We now have a basis on which to build future talent management programs.’ Gene Bernier, Director of ITS Program Management Office

THE SETTING Kimberly-Clark is a multi-national company providing brands that enhance the world population’s health, hygiene and well-being. Their IT function is spread across the globe. The organization has undergone considerable change with mergers and acquisitions. In addition, increasing competition in the marketplace and the need to keep costs to a minimum have emphasized the importance of investing in people and developing them to meet current and future business needs. This has provoked a company-wide strategic focus on talent management.

THE ASPIRATION Within their IT function, Kimberly-Clark had to identify a talent management solution that could be swiftly implemented and accommodate the rapidly changing technology environment they must build and support. Their IT employees needed more transparency of job profiles across the organization for a clearer understanding of the career opportunities available to them. Kimberly-Clark chose to work with consultants from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, to align the industry standard skills and competency framework, SFIAplus, with their organization by creating detailed corporate role profiles for their IT staff. SFIAplus appealed to Kimberly-Clark because it is easily customized to meet business requirements.

The SFIAplus standard enables users to quickly build job descriptions which they can edit to fit the organization structure. Once job descriptions are created, staff skills gaps can be analyzed, necessary skills identified and development plans created and managed. With 800 IT staff worldwide, KimberlyClark placed their initial focus on their US and UK teams, starting with a pilot in 2009 involving 30 project managers.

THE TRANSFORMATION Roll out of the program began in August 2010. The program goals were to build comprehensive role definitions for all 600 staff (170 job descriptions) which would include skill requirements, leadership, job level and technical requirements. The Institute’s consultants worked closely with stakeholders in the US and the UK implementing a four stage program. This consisted of a knowledge sharing workshop to familiarize key team members with SFIAplus, a ‘straw man’ exercise producing first drafts of all 170 role profiles, followed by role profile workshops in which these drafts were reviewed and edited. The last stage was a knowledge transfer session so key staff could gain an understanding of the process behind creating role profiles in order to provide ongoing internal support to the IT teams. ‘Standardizing some of the roles in our company proved difficult at times. However SFIAplus offered the flexibility to tailor roles to the specific needs of our employees’ says Gene Bernier, Director of ITS Program Management Office.



THE RESULTS • Swift implementation • Aligned corporate role profiles for 600 staff • Consistent language and benchmarking across the IT function • Implementation of a solid career development platform • Recognition by employees that Kimberly-Clark is investing in them • Foundation for future talent management

Every IT team member in the US and UK now has a SFIAplus industry aligned corporate role profile as well as a clearer understanding of exactly what is required from them in their role. The organization can now use a consistent language and benchmark across IT functions facilitating the career development and the appropriate transition of people, skills and roles. Recruiting has been made easier, as Gene explains: ‘With detailed job descriptions and a strong learning and development strategy in place, we can recruit more effectively and maintain the good work we have done into the future. Having professional consultants really helped us to build a sustainable model and we now have a basis on which to build future talent management programs.’

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Unilever IT Academy SFIAplus standard ensures best practice at IT Academy

SFIAplus standard ensures best practice at IT Academy

In terms of relevant scope, and

The company’s intranet-hosted IT Careers Framework enables its 5,000 strong IT community to develop skills and capabilities which are based on industry best practice – the skills, training and development standard SFIAplus from The Chartered Institute for IT. Identifying future requirements Daryl explains: ‘The Framework enables our people to identify the skills and capabilities that would be required for any future role they would like to pursue. The development programmes should raise their skills level and lead to external accreditation as well as internal assessment.’ It was while looking at the skills and capabilities aligned to industry best practice that the Academy came across the Institute’s IT skills, training and development standard, SFIAplus. SFIAplus contains the SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) framework of IT skills plus detailed training and development resources.

Beck says: ‘The credibility of the Institute’s badge – that label of industry best practice – meant that our Career Framework was easily accepted.’

For further information contact the Institute on +44 (0)1793 417 747 or visit www.bcs.org/solutions

Work on the Framework officially started in January 2006. A cross regional team identified ten “role families” from the 78 skills held in SFIAplus. Role profiles were then created for each of the role families and aligned to a future IT function.

‘In terms of relevant scope, and in terms of geographical uptake, we have found nothing similar to SFIAplus’

Employees are now able to access the profiles and assess their own IT skills against those required for either a potential or current role. They can then enrol onto a relevant development programme to enable them to reach the required skill level as well as gaining appropriate external accreditation.

Daryl Beck Director of IT Academy

Benefiting the business and individuals Beck says: ‘It’s all about enabling Unilever to gain competitive advantage through IT. For this we need to ensure that we have an IT function with the necessary IT skills and capabilities based on industry best practice. For the members of the IT team it is about having the right qualifications, being professional and enabling the business to move forward.’

BCS  The Chartered Institute for IT First Floor  Block D  North Star House  North Star Avenue  Swindon  SN2 1FA T +44 (0) 1793 417 747  F +44 (0) 1793 417 547  E [email protected]  Website www.bcs.org © The British Computer Society (Registered charity no. 292786) 2010

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For a fast-evolving global organisation like Unilever, change is a fact of life, and exploiting IT effectively is one of the company’s key weapons in the race for competitive advantage, believes the director of its IT Academy, Daryl Beck.