Competency Explorer Use Case Analysis

>> OC Network Home >> TAW >> Competency Explorer >> Use Case Analysis

The use case titles and descriptions were generated automatically from the Use Case Google Sheet produced by the RWSC. The Levels of importance for each use case is based upon a survey provided to RWSC members that was completed on April 28, 2022. The survey is results are also recorded in the second tab of the above linked Use Case Google Sheet.

The complementary page Competency Explorer Feature Analysis lists each feature identified here with the use cases it is required for.

Common Assumptions

Many, if not all the use cases assume that:

• The competency definitions are available to the search service.

1 Document Competencies

As an instructional designer, I need to work with faculty to document competencies addressed by their courses in order to to support adequate student assessment as aligned to a particular job role.

Actor: Instructional Designer; cluster Alignment.

Data Object: Competency, Course, Workrole.

Level of importance: 2.55.

Role of the Search Service: find the competencies and provide the documentation about them.

Search Service Requirements:

• Search by work roles (or occupation/job/specialty) to find & display associated competencies.
• Show the relationship between a competency and workrole(s) (etc.) in search results, when the data is available.

Data Assumptions:

• Competency data with links to/from workroles (or occupations/jobs/specialties) exist in the registry data.

Other Assumptions / requirements::

• Teaching and assessment are assumed to be managed (by some other system) in a way that relates them to the competencies.

2 Alignment of Competencies

As a competency frameworks developer, I need to align the skills and competencies in my frameworks to the skills and competencies in other frameworks using links defining levels of similarity to assist in interoperability with organizations using those frameworks.

Actor: Cross Organizational Roles; cluster Alignment.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Competency, Measure of Fit.

Level of importance: 2.58.

Role of the Search Service: The search service will allow the competency framework developer to find competencies in frameworks that are described in one or more nodes, to which they may document an alignment from competencies in the framework they are developing.

Search Service Requirements:

• Search service returns results based on a competency description.
• (optionally) the results returned have some indication of how close the match between the query and the results.

Data Assumptions:

• The standard being used for the framework being developed has the means of expressing alignment from competencies in that framework to those in another, with a measure of "fit".

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• The developer will have access to an application or tool to use to create their framework,
  • this application or tool will allow alignments to be documented.

3 Mapping Competencies

As an instructional designer at an educational provider, I need to map skills and competencies identified by an employer looking for training opportunities to the skills and competencies in the college's courses and training programs.

Actor: Instructional Designer; cluster Mapping.

Data Object: Competency, Course.

Level of importance: 2.64.

Role of the Search Service: Help instructional designer find relevant competencies based on info provide by employer.

Search Service Requirements:

• Search service returns results based on a competency description.
• (optionally) the results returned have some indication of how close the match between the query and the results.
• Results must include: those properties that contextualize the competence, e.g. links to courses, jobs, if they exist.

Data Assumptions:

• Data on competencies that are learning objectives of courses are available to the search service.

Other Assumptions / requirements: Instructional designer already has access to employer's required skills but needs to find relevant skills that are learning objectives in the courses offered.

4 Selection Criteria Creator Information

As an instructional designer searching for competency frameworks to guide course development, I need sufficient descriptive information about the type and status of the creators of each framework such as profit vs. non-profit, industry group, academic.

Actor: Cross Organizational Roles; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Course, Organization (Type).

Level of importance: 2.4.

Role of the Search Service: Provide information about creators of frameworks.

Search Service Requirements:

• In results page, display information / link to information about creators of a framework.

Data Assumptions: Information about framework creators (at least a name and URL) is available in the data. There is a distinct possibility that this will not be available in all metamodels.

Other Assumptions / requirements: Assume that given a link to the framework creator's website the required information can be found.

5 Strength of Fit

As an organization, we need to statistically measure the similarities or strength of fit between competencies in two different competency frameworks that have been published by two different organizations and expressed, perhaps, in different meta-models (via both algorithmic transparency and provision of good documentation).

Actor: Organization to Organization; cluster Alignment.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Competency, Organization.

Level of importance: 2.36.

Role of the Search Service: Provide access to the definitions of the identified competencies in the required meta-model, and a measure of similarity.

Search Service Requirements:

• Translate between formats & deliver competency definitions in required meta-model [this capability already exists].
• Provide access to related documentation.
• Measure similarity between competencies (acknowledging that it might be difficult).
• Provide information about how measure of similarity was arrived at.

Data Assumptions:

• The mapping exists to get from the initial meta-model to that required.
• Links to documentation exist

Other Assumptions / requirements:

Notes: discussed May 11. Meta-model is the OCFC term for what is called format in initial use case. Similarity may be made on other measures than statistical.

6 Align Credentials to Industry Recognized Frameworks

As a designer of digital credentials, I need to align the competencies of those credentials to the competencies in the most recognized industry frameworks used by specific employers.

Actor: Cross Organizational Roles; cluster Alignment.

Data Object: Credential, Competency, Industry (classification), Employer (Organization).

Level of importance: 2.58.

Role of the Search Service:

• Allow the user to identify the relevant competencies in recognized industry frameworks.

Search Service Requirements:

• Determine the "most recognized frameworks," e.g. based on usage statistics? links made to framework?
• Given a competency description and target frameworks, identify and return the closest matching competencies in the target framework.
  • optionally this may be a "bulk process", i.e. provide an array of competency descriptions, get matches for each.
• (optionally) the results returned have some indication of how close the match between the query and the results.

Data Assumptions:

• Competency descriptions are in frameworks with some indication of industry recognition.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• The means of expressing an alignment between discovered competencies and credential is available to the designer.

7 Map Training to Industry Recognized Frameworks

As an employer issuing digital badges / micro-credentials to employees for internal training, I need to map the training competencies to competencies in recognized industry competency frameworks.

Actor: HR/Training; cluster Mapping.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Competency.

Level of importance: 2.55.

Role of the Search Service:

• Allow the user to identify the relevant competencies in recognized industry frameworks

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a means of identifying an industry, find frameworks relevant to it.
• Given a description of a training competency and an industry, find other relevant competency descriptions.

Data Assumptions:

• Competency descriptions are in frameworks with some means of identifying the relevant industry.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• The badge issuer has means to express the mapping in the competence descriptions they control, i.e. tooling, support in meta-model etc.

8 Map Competencies to Competencies in Recognized Frameworks

As an employer issuing digital badges / micro-credentials to employees for internal training that can support the employees' career advancement, I need to map the training competencies to jobs that have been benchmarked to competencies in recognized industry frameworks.

Actor: HR/Training; cluster Mapping.

Data Object: Competency Framework (Training & Industry), Competency, Jobs.

Level of importance: 2.45.

Role of the Search Service: find competencies in recognized industry frameworks, based on other known competencies.

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a description of a competency, return related framework and competency descriptions.
• Identify those related competencies that are returned that are in recognized industry frameworks.

Data Assumptions: Competency descriptions are in frameworks with some indication of industry recognition.

Other Assumptions / requirements: digital badges / micro-credentials issuer has means to express the mapping in the competences descriptions they control, i.e. tooling, support in meta-model etc.

Assume the benchmarking is handled elsewhere.

9 Map Badges to Industry Recognized Frameworks to Support Career Pathways

As an employer issuing digital badges / micro-credentials to employees for internal training, I need to map those digital badges / micro-credentials to jobs benchmarked to recognized industry competency frameworks that support lateral, vertical and latticed career advancement pathways in the organization.

Actor: HR/Training; cluster Mapping.

Data Object: Credential, Competency Framework, Job.

Level of importance: 2.36.

Role of the Search Service: Identify jobs / occupations that require many of the same competencies as the badges reference, so that possible career steps may be identified.

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a number of competency descriptions, find jobs /occupations that require the described competencies (e.g. find similar competencies and hence the jobs that they reference).
  • In the results display, cluster the competencies found by job/occupation and order by job/occupation with most retrieved competencies.

Data Assumptions:

• The competence descriptions reference the jobs / occupations that require them, or this information can be inferred from a references in the other direction.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• Support of lateral, vertical and latticed career advancement pathways in the organization, and benchmarking is handled elsewhere.

10 Result display options

As a university professor searching the OCFC for industry-defined competencies I'll want to align to from my course learning outcomes, I need the OCFC search engine to give me the option of: (a) displaying the actual knowledge, skill and disposition statements that satisfy my search; OR (b) displaying a list of competency frameworks in which those statements can be found by me browsing the content of each framework.

Actor: Faculty; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Competency.

Level of importance: 2.64.

Role of the Search Service: Find competencies and display results.

Search Service Requirements:

• Display the KSA statements of the competencies satisfying the query.
• Provide the means to select a display option: a framework view, a KSA view, or a combined framework/KSA view.

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

11 Search for Occupation Alignment

As a student interested in a specific occupation, I need to search the OCFC network for competencies aligned to that occupation.

Actor: Learner; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Occupation.

Level of importance: 2.45.

Role of the Search Service:

• Find competences / frameworks for a known occupation.

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a means of identifying an occupation, return related framework and competency descriptions.

Data Assumptions:

• The competence descriptions reference the occupations that require them, or this information can be inferred from a reference in the other direction.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

12 Search for Training Alignment

As a student interested in an occupation requiring specific competencies, I need to use the OCFC to find education and training opportunities where I can attain those competencies.

Actor: Learner; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Occupation, Learning Opportunity.

Level of importance: 2.09.

Role of the Search Service: Identify competencies required for specified occupations.

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a means of identifying an occupation, return relevant frameworks / competency descriptions.

Data Assumptions:

• The competence descriptions reference the occupations that require them, or this information can be inferred from a reference in the other direction.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• Some other service will be able to identify education and training opportunities based on competency descriptions.
  • That service may need to know what competencies the student already has attained in order to find suitable training opportunity (e.g. using LER).

13 Information about Creator or Provider

As an instructional designer searching for competencies through the OCFC, I need to have information *identifying* the creator or provider of the competencies.

Note: similar to #4

Actor: Instructional Designer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Competency Framework, Creator/Publisher (identify).

Level of importance: 2.45.

Role of the Search Service: Provide information identifying the creators of frameworks.

Search Service Requirements:

• In results page, display information / link to the creators of a framework.

Data Assumptions:

• Information identifying the framework creator is available.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

14 Description of Creator or Provider

As an instructional designer searching for competencies through the OCFC, I need to have information *describing* the creator or provider of the competencies.

Note: similar to #4 & #13

Actor: Instructional Designer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Competency Framework, Creator/Publisher (describe).

Level of importance: 2.36.

Role of the Search Service: Provide information describing the creators of frameworks

Search Service Requirements:

• In results page, display information / link to information about the creators of a framework.

Data Assumptions:

• Information describing the framework creator is available.
  • There is a distinct possibility that this will not be available in all metamodels.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

15 Search for Industry Certification Alignment

As an online education provider, I need to find the competencies that are aligned to a specific industry certification.

Actor: Online Education Provider; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Credential (industry).

Level of importance: 2.73.

Role of the Search Service: Identify competencies aligned to specified industry certifications

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a means of identifying an industry certification, return relevant frameworks / competency descriptions.

Data Assumptions:

• The competence descriptions reference the industry certifications that require them, or this information can be inferred from a reference in the other direction.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

16 Skill Gap Analysis

As an instructional designer, I need to identify the skills gaps of clients' employees in order to provide training to fill those gaps.

Note: the relevant part of this for the search service is closely related to #7 which involves finding an industry recognized framework that includes the competencies the employees need. This assumes the employer does not have a formal representation of those competencies.

Actor: Cross Organizational Roles; cluster Analysis.

Data Object: Competency, Course, Employee (skills profile), Workrole (skills profile), Job (skills profile).

Level of importance: 1.91.

Role of the Search Service: Allow the user to find the relevant competencies in industry frameworks

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a means of identifying an industry, find frameworks relevant to it.
• Given a description of a training competency and an industry, find other relevant competency descriptions.

Data Assumptions:

• Competency descriptions are in frameworks with some means of identifying the relevant industry.
• Assume there is a relevant framework of competencies required for the clients' employees.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• Some way of mapping between similar but differently expressed competencies is available that will allow identification of matches and omissions between the competencies the employees have and those they need.

17 Search for Credentials aligned with Competencies

As a curriculum developer for an educational provider, I need to find industry certifications with required competencies that align to competencies taught and assessed in courses and programs for our existing and new certificates and degrees.

Actor: Instructional Designer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Credential (Industry)(College), Course, Competency.

Level of importance: 2.73.

Role of the Search Service: Identify industry certifications that require many of the same competencies as are covered by a learning opportunity / credential.

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a number of competency descriptions, find industry certifications that require many similar competencies.
  • i.e. find similar competencies to a list of competency descriptions and display them clustered by relevant industry certification.

Data Assumptions:

• The competence descriptions reference (directly or indirectly) the industry certifications that require them, or this information can be inferred from a reference in the other direction.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• Ideally competencies associated with courses and programs are already encoded in machine-readable form.
• Some way of mapping between similar but differently expressed competencies is available that will provide a measure of strength of fit.

18 Find Competencies from Credential

As a prior learning director at an educational provider, I need to find the competencies associated with specific industry certifications and crosswalk them to the competencies in our courses to determine equivalencies.

Actor: Prior Learning Director / Registrar; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Credential (Industry), Course.

Level of importance: 2.55.

Role of the Search Service:

• Given a specific industry certification, find the competencies required to obtain it.
• Determine and/or indicate equivalence between competencies (i.e. those in industry certification & those taught in courses).

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a means of identifying an industry certification, return relevant frameworks / competency descriptions.
• Given a competency description and target framework, identify and return the closest matching competencies in the target framework.
  • optionally this may be a "bulk process", i.e. provide an array of competency descriptions, get matches for each.
• (optionally) the results returned have some indication of how close the match between the query and the results.
• Ideally, the first and second items (finding framework and matching competencies) could be daisy-chained.

Data Assumptions:

• The competence descriptions reference (directly or indirectly) the industry certifications that require them, or this information can be inferred from a reference in the other direction.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• It is possible to "determine and/or indicate equivalence between competencies,"—this may require a separate service.

19 Map Student's Job Competencies to College Courses

As an educational provider in the prior learning director role, I need to map the validated competencies achieved by a student on the job to competencies in the college's courses.

Note: similar to 3, mapping competencies.

Actor: Prior Learning Director / Registrar; cluster Mapping.

Data Object: Competencies, Student, Job, Course.

Level of importance: 2.18.

Role of the Search Service: Help education provider find relevant competencies based on list of competencies.

Search Service Requirements:

• Given some identification of validated competencies achieved by a student, find descriptions for those competencies.
• Given a competency description, find similar competencies in another identified framework (the competencies in the college courses)
  • optionally indicate the closeness of match between the competencies.
  • optionally do this for several competencies in a batch.

Data Assumptions:

• The competencies are in the index.
• There is enough information about the students validated competencies to find them.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• Educational provider already knows competencies addressed in college courses
• Educational provider has access to students validated achievements
• Some other service exists to map between sets of competencies

20 Map Student's Military Competencies to College Courses

As a college prior learning director, I need to map a student's military training and/or work role competencies to my college's course and certificate competencies to determine the number of prior learning credits to be awarded.

Note: similar to #19, same approach.

Actor: Prior Learning Director / Registrar; cluster Mapping.

Data Object: Competency, Workrole (Military), Course, Credential.

Level of importance: 218.

Role of the Search Service:

Search Service Requirements:

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

21 Display info about Usage License

As an employer searching for competencies using the OCFC search service, the competency frameworks returned by my searches must indicate whether there are licensing constraints on my use of the frameworks or the competencies they contain.

Actor: General Employer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Competency, License.

Level of importance: 2.73.

Role of the Search Service: Display info about Usage License

Search Service Requirements:

• In results page, display information / link to information about the licence of a framework.

Data Assumptions: Info about Usage License is available.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

22 Indicate Occupation in results display

As an employer searching the OCFC, I need to have some indication either through color coding text or other visual device that a skill returned by the search has been mapped to an occupation in a taxonomy.

Actor: General Employer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Occupation (taxonomy).

Level of importance: 2.09.

Role of the Search Service: Indicate occupation in results display

Search Service Requirements:

• In search results, display an indication of mapping to occupation.

Data Assumptions:

• Competencies or the frameworks they are in have been mapped to an occupation

Other Assumptions / requirements:

23 Indicate Occupations with Labels and Links to Description

As an employer searching the OCFC, I need any skills returned by the search that have been linked by their creators to occupations in a taxonomy to display the textual labels of those occupations and provide a link to their source descriptions.

Actor: General Employer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Occupation (taxonomy).

Level of importance: 2.64.

Role of the Search Service: Indicate occupation info in results display

Search Service Requirements:

• In search results, display a label & link to the occupation description.
  • optionally resolve link and display description.

Data Assumptions:

• Competencies or the frameworks they are in have been mapped to an occupation, and a label and link are available for this occupation.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

24 Search Results Indicate Source Registry

As an instructional designer searching the OCFC for competencies, I need the results returned to indicate through text and/or logo the registry or library in which the competencies are made available.

Note: read this to cover the source of the framework as well as the node in the network.

Actor: Instructional Designer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Registry (host).

Level of importance: 2.36.

Role of the Search Service: Indicate source registry

Search Service Requirements:

• In search results, display a label/logo of source registry.
  • be aware of accessibility implications of displaying logo.

Data Assumptions:

• Info about source of the framework is provided (which may not be the same as a the source node)

Other Assumptions / requirements:

25 Map Competencies Across Instructional Delivery Methods

As (a person) creating training materials for other trainers, I can map competencies or skill statements at a granular level to align across different instructional delivery methods.

Note: use case is open to many different interpretations

Actor: HR/Training; cluster Mapping.

Data Object: Competency, Learning Opportunity, Instructional Delivery Method.

Level of importance: 2.2.

Role of the Search Service: Help the person find relevant competencies.

Search Service Requirements:

• Search service returns results based on a competency description.

Data Assumptions:

• It is possible to identify competencies associated with different instructional delivery methods

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• The instructional designer has the means to express the mapping/alignment.

26 Find Occupations with similar skill requirements

As a person, I need to input a person’s validated cluster of skills in an occupation with waning demand and have returned a list of: (a) in demand occupations with skills adjacent to those currently held by the person; and (b) skill gaps needing to be filled for successful transition.

Actor: Career Support Organizations + Advisors+ Workforce Planning; cluster Analysis.

Data Object: Competency, Occupation (skill profile), Person (skill profile).

Level of importance: 2.09.

Role of the Search Service:

• Allow the user to identify the competencies required for an occupation

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a list of skills, identify the occupations that have the greatest number of similar skills.
• List the skills for the occupations identified that were not in initial list.
  • assume that it is possible to indicate which of these are "in demand".

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• info about the person's validated cluster of skills is available.

• info about which occupations are "in demand" is available.
• it is possible to map from one description of a skill to another.

27 Issue Badges for Acquired Skills

As a provider of skills in the informal sector, I need to provide the learners with digital badges for their newly acquired skills.

Note: Could involve several things, identifying skills, finding badges, linking to skills in a badge.

Actor: Alternative Learning Provider; cluster Alignment.

Data Object: Competency, Credential.

Level of importance: 2.

Role of the Search Service: Allow the provider to identify skill descriptions that match those they provide.

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a description of one or more skills, find matching skills.
• Provide a URI / description for skills that can be referenced as an achievements in a badge

Data Assumptions:

• Competencies from informal learning have been determined

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• Skills provider has the means to issue badges

28 Skill Gap Analysis

As a company training provider with a skills analysis complete for an employee in a specific work role, I need to determine the skills gap between the learner’s (or larger succession plan) current work role and the skills requirements of a new work role in order to design a training plan for the employee.

Note: similar to 16 (skills gap analysis in instructional design)

Actor: HR/Training; cluster Analysis.

Data Object: Competency, Person, Work role, Learning Opportunity.

Level of importance: 2.18.

Role of the Search Service: Possibly none, if both skills frameworks are already available to company training provider, or find skills associated with work roles.

Search Service Requirements:

• Provided with two lists of skills or work roles with associated skills, display the difference

Data Assumptions:

• The skills associated with a work role can be identified and listed

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• Probably require a service to match different statements of the same skills (in case the the skills in the two work roles are described differently).

29 Align Informal Skill Attainment to Frameworks

As a (person)/(as a provider of ) having skills from alternative and nonformal learning settings, I need to establish how the skills gained align to a competency framework so that I can identify and map to documented skills.

Actor: HR/Training; cluster Alignment.

Data Object: Competency.

Level of importance: 2.4.

Role of the Search Service: Find and identify skills

Search Service Requirements:

• Search service returns results based on a competency description.
• (optionally) the results returned have some indication of how close the match between the query and the results.

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

30 Search for Multiple Sources of Frameworks

As a provider of skills data, I need to access existing competencies in available frameworks across multiple sources to provide to my customers.

Actor: Platform Provider; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Competency, Publisher, Registry (host).

Level of importance: 2.33.

Role of the Search Service: find competencies and display information about them

Search Service Requirements:

• provided with a means of discovering a competency description, find and display information about any matching competency descriptions.
  • results display should include information about framework.

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

31 Information to Verify Legal Use

As a registry node in the OCFC search network, I must have reasonable means in the network to verify that my competency frameworks are being used by other registry nodes in the network as specified in law (e.g., copyright) and inter-registry node agreement.

Note: this needs negotiation with registry node owners to determine what the "reasonable means" for verification are.

Actor: Platform Provider; cluster Search.

Data Object: Transaction Data.

Level of importance: 2.56.

Role of the Search Service:

Search Service Requirements:

• establish trust mechanisms,
  • e.g. maintain access / other use logs, content and nature t.b.a.
  • e.g. participation/fair use agreements nature t.b.a.

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

32 License Display

As a registry node in the OCFC search network, my end-user license must be present on any displays of my registry’s data by another registry node in the network.

Actor: Platform Provider; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Competency, License.

Level of importance: 2.27.

Role of the Search Service:

Search Service Requirements:

• Display end-user license when displaying a competence description or framework, if present.

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

33 Skill Cluster Analysis

As a consultant in an economic development organization advising, recruiting, or brokering for companies seeking to select a new region of the country in which to locate or relocate, I need to analyze the skills clusters of the company’s current employees and map them to the skills clusters of potential employees in the regions being considered in order to: (a) ascertain the skills gaps that would need to be filled in each candidate region; (b) assess available regional training opportunities to fill the skills gaps; and (c) help select the region with the best talent pool fit to the companies needs.

Note: this seems to be based entirely on analysis of a companies data about its own employees.

Actor: Workforce Intermediary Organization, Collective Impact Lead, or Economic Development Organization; cluster Analysis.

Data Object: Competency, Region, Job (skill profile), Workrole (skill profile), Employee (skill profile), Learning Opportunity.

Level of importance: 2.09.

Role of the Search Service: None

Search Service Requirements:

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

34 Analysis of an Individual's Skills

As a career advisor at an educational provider, I need to help identify the knowledge and skills of advisees based on their formal and informal education and training and to assist students in mapping the knowledge and skills they have already attained to knowledge and skills requirements for occupations as defined by industries, professions and licensing agencies in order to find the best fit and next steps in career progress for the student.

Actor: Career Support Organizations + Advisors; cluster Analysis.

Data Object: Competency, Person (skill profile), Occupation (skill profile), Course.

Level of importance: 2.27.

Role of the Search Service: identify competencies based on known courses / credentials

Search Service Requirements:

• given a person's educational credentials / courses taken identify the skills that person may have
• given a list of competency descriptions, find occupations that require these

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• mapping between similar competency

35 Identify Competencies with Formal or Informal Training

As a prior learning director, I need to identify competencies associated with prior formal or informal education or training in order to determine course and certificate equivalencies and credits that might be awarded.

Actor: Prior Learning Director / Registrar; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Learning Opportunity (formal & informal), Course, Credential.

Level of importance: 2.27.

Role of the Search Service: Find competencies based on a description, map to certificates.

Search Service Requirements:

• Given a competency description, identify and return the closest matching competencies that are associated with a learning opportunity, certificate or other credential
• (optionally) the results returned have some indication of how close the match between the query and the results.

Data Assumptions:

• The competence descriptions reference relevant learning opportunities or credentials, or this information can be inferred from a reference in the other direction.

Other Assumptions / requirements:

• It is possible to generate some indication of how close the match between query and results.

36 Search Node Only

As a competency framework registry administrator, I want our registry node in the OCFC search network to provide our users with the ability to search the network for relevant skills and competencies; but, for various reasons, we do not want to provide access to our collection (at this time).

Actor: Cross Organizational Roles; cluster Search.

Data Object: .

Level of importance: 2.

Role of the Search Service:

Search Service Requirements: There must be an agreed policy on whether search-only nodes are allowed.

Data Assumptions:

Other Assumptions / requirements:

37 Search Criteria for Frameworks for Cross-Occupation Functions

As an employer, I need to find competency frameworks for critical business functions/processes such as cybersecurity, project management, machining, industrial maintenance that span more than one occupation.

Actor: General Employer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency Framework, Domain.

Level of importance: 2.36.

Role of the Search Service: finding frameworks by role

Search Service Requirements:

• Search for frameworks that are identified as being cross-occupational

Data Assumptions:

• Such frameworks of transversal / transferable / cross-cutting / [add your own tag] skills are identified in some way

or

• Such skills can be inferred from their presence in several frameworks
  • (e.g. by analysis involving finding matching skills across frameworks)

Other Assumptions / requirements:

38 Search Criteria for Foundational Employability Skills

As an employer, I need to identify the cross-cutting employability skills that are foundational across any industry such as leadership, critical thinking, and teamwork.

Actor: General Employer; cluster Search.

Data Object: Competency, Domain.

Level of importance: 2.36.

Role of the Search Service: finding frameworks by role

Search Service Requirements:

• Search for frameworks that are identified as being foundational

Data Assumptions:

• Such frameworks of transversal / transferable / cross-cutting / [add your own tag] skills are identified in some way

or

• Such skills can be inferred from their presence in several frameworks
  • (e.g. by analysis involving finding matching skills across frameworks)

Other Assumptions / requirements:

Later Use Cases

These use cases were identified later, after the work by the RWSC, for example during the Competency Explorer Enhancement project. As they were not identified before the project they were not analysed or included in the proposed new features for the Competency Explorer, and so are recorded here for future reference.

Competency De-duplication

Competency duplication across the network is relatively complicated because there are different circumstances in which it can occur:

1. The texts of the two statements are literally identical and identified by the same URI;
2. The texts of the two statements are literally identical but identified with different URI; and
3. The texts of the two statements are literally identical but are positioned differently (contextualized) in framework hierarchies that cast penumbral shadows over the text that indicate different semantics--i.e., they aren't really duplicates.

"Show duplicate statements in a statements-listing-view from across the network of nodes as a single display entry for the statement that includes links to the statement in each frameworks where the duplication occurred. In a framework-listing-view, include the statement under each framework where the duplication occurred."