Study Period Report for Competency Semantic Information

1. Study Period ReportforCompetency Semantic Information Wellington Meeting, NZ 21-26. 03. 2009 Kenji HIRATA, Ph.D. Japan National Body (c)KenHIRATA

2. Study Period Overview Call for use case:WG3 N243Call for Use Case of Semantic Information Model regarding Human Resources, Competency, and Educational Objectives. Questions: table ---> Term: 15/10/2008 - 15/12/2008 Contribution: Canada Germany Japan UK (c)KenHIRATA

3. View points for Use Cases Analysis 1: Relationship and Structure regarding Competency Information Information is basically defined and understood by relation regarding information of other concepts, other objects, and its characteristics. Originally “competency” including knowledge, skill, ability, attitude, role, responsibility, and educational objectives is “concept”, not concrete object. In other word, competency is just information. So information of relation to competency with other entities or structure with related entities are significant important to express and to exchange competency concept. Hirata etc. supposed an architecture of competency, which is designed with regarding informational entities. Use cases which were provided some national bodies were analyzed based on the architecture called “C-March”. C-March consists of 7 entities below. “e-Profile” “skill/competency information” “skill/competency semantic information” “level information” “evidence information” “assessment method and metric information” “meta model” (c)KenHIRATA

4. Skill CompetencyManagement Architecture“C-March” (7) Meta model LMS MLR/LOM refer instance design (2) Skill/compet. info. (3) Skill/compet. semantic info. detail delivery system Leaning course trace add trace elaborate Learning activity /Learning log design identify trace submit (1) e-Profile (4) Proficiency Level design accept refer link link detail provide refer trace (6) Assessment method/metric link trace link trace link ensure (5) Evidence info. trace ensure HRIS (c)KenHIRATA record trace

5. View points for Use Cases Analysis 2: Composition of Competency In information science and technology, in order to define information and exchange its data, information is composed with using some informational elements or attributions. So element and attribution for information which are used in system, are more significant important to express and to exchange competency concept than relation of external entities. “element” “attribution” “sub component” “interface method” (c)KenHIRATA

6. Explanation of 7 Entities in the Architecture, “C-March” The first entity is “e-Profile”. This entity is a set of personal record, which is concerning individual comprehensive and demographic information and state information of preference and competency which a person has. (These kinds of information include learners’ profile.) e-Profile also consists of state information of progress on learning from past to present, like report-cards in school, and learning log information of learning activities. e-Profile makes us implement and manage personal information in system. In e-Learning, skill and competency information is significant rather than other information, address, telephone number, preference, and et la. Educational objectives can be defined as skill and competency itself. Of course, there is other information, but most information is defined through called KSAOs; Knowledge, Skill, Ability and Other characteristics. Then these records can be deal within information system. As these type of information model, HR-XML (Resume), IMS : LIP (Learner Information Package) or IMS : e-Portfolio have already been available [9]. Each model is used in a different situation. In addition to the models, HR-XML : SIDES (Staffing Industry Data Exchange Standards[10]) which focuses on operations and data transactions during the operations is seen. The second entity is “skill/competency information”. This entity is reference and describing information concerning taxonomy and/or structure of competency. These are so many types of taxonomy and/or structure of competency. For example, in Japan, The Skills Standards for IT professionals (ITSS), Embedded Technology software Skills Standards and so on. were developed by Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI) and Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA) [11] [12]. Of course, the other countries are also developed such like standards. For example, the National Skills Standard Board (NSSB) has published some skills standards for each industry. The Department of Labor in U.S. (DoL) has developed and operated huge occupational definitions and needed skills and abilities for each occupation as O*NET project for a long time. However, these taxonomy and/or structure are described in different manner, and usually written in natural language. Furthermore, these are implemented to system in different manner. So the issue causes that integrated data management has not realized yet with interoperability, HR-XML: Competencies [13] or IEEE RDC have already been suggested as specifications of information model to implement competency information. An instance data of competency in e-profile refers to this information model, so this relationship between e-profile and skill/competency information makes sure traceability. However, though these information models are useful to identify competency, they are not able to define or to describe the semantic information of competency directly. So this reason, “skill/competency semantic information” is necessary as the third entity. In order to solve the problem what “skill/competency information” can not deal with semantic information, the third one, this entity represents data about semantic content of competency and deals with relation among different competency structures. (c)KenHIRATA

7. Explanation of 7 Entities in the Architecture, “C-March” The fourth entity is “level information”. Level information compensates for luck of information on competency or educational objectives information. Some of competency taxonomies is hard to divide. Though the level information can be integrated into competency information itself, it is better to define and to manage level information and competency information separately for interoperability. This entity can be directly applied to EQF model or mutuality model. The fifth entity is “evidence information”. As mentioned before, in e-learning these are about learning activity logs, learning results, examination scores, date of learning completed and so on. For example, bases of an appraisal data value – “grade: A” in e-profile are each information of attendance rate and each daily examination result score and final test result, which are evidence information. Personnel records of action observation and individual business performance information are included except information related to e-learning. This information is intended to improve validity and reliability of information in e-profile. The sixth entity is “assessment method and metric”. This entity is concerning ways, processes and rules of assessment to acquire the competency information. Essentially each skill and competency concept is depended on the way of assessment, so skill and competency can be observable and measurable. It is important to make the way of assessment clear. What are measured by a different method is generally considered to be a different competency. The examples of this type of information model are ISO/IEC19796-3 [14] which focuses on quality, or HR-XML: Assessment which focuses on transaction during operation [15]. The seventh entity is “meta model”. This entity is concerning meta-model to cross-refer to the each competency information, and to clarify difference of design, format and structure for competency. (c)KenHIRATA

8. Result of Use Cases (c)KenHIRATA

9. Result of Semantic Information (c)KenHIRATA

10. German Model [elements] Knowledge (c)KenHIRATA

11. German Model (c)KenHIRATA

12. UK Model (c)KenHIRATA

13. UK Model (c)KenHIRATA

14. Japan Model (c)KenHIRATA

15. Japan Model (c)KenHIRATA

16. Japan Model refer P-profile Skill/competency valuate relation HR-XML IMS Profile ID Name Description survey/assure instance refer role For learning assessment Level Skill/competency grade metric function action content placement taxonomy position value performance condition criteria relation to sub factors specified s/c For human assessment mapping register Learning activity Evidenceinfo. refer IMS LIP Elements in ISO 24763 measurement object level Placement etc. Skill dictionary Skill Ontology (c)KenHIRATA LMS HRIS

17. Proposed Standardization Target on Exchanging Competency Semantic Information Information Model / Data Interface Basic Information: id, name, description, location, right, owner, etc. Semantic Information: action, activity, objective,,,, Service Interface Competency-Profile I/F Competency-Job I/F Competency-Level I/F Competency-Assessment Method I/F Competency-Learning Result I/F Competency-Learning Log I/F Competency-Evidence I/F Typical Operation for Skill / Competency Information Competency Package Competency Aggregation Evidence Aggregation (c)KenHIRATA

18. X competency Y Z competency Proposed Standardization Target on Exchanging Competency Semantic Information Typical Operation Organization utilize/share Information Model / Data Interface competency Competency Coding exchange transaction Service Interface (c)KenHIRATA

19. Typical Operation for Skill / Competency Information (c)KenHIRATA

20. Typical Operation for Skill / Competency Information (c)KenHIRATA

21. Skill Competency Management Service Interface Inside System Skill Registration Competency DB Level DB Competency DB Skill Profiling ETJO_a01 ETLV_a01 ETSS_a01 id name : statement id name : statement id name : statement Skill Gap Analysis * Training Job Proficiency Level Skill/Competency gov. Meta Data Meta Data Meta Data Core metadata Core metadata Core metadata Skill Definition Modify statement Semantic MD Semantic MD Grade Description Functional attri. Function Placement Skill Assessment Item Produce statement Skill Context statement Level (c)KenHIRATA

22. Skill Competency Management Service Interface Skill Search Inside System Competency DB Competency DB Competency DB ETJO_a01 ETLV_a01 ETSS_a01 Convert skill info. Skill Registration Com pany Skill Profiling Individual Outside System Competency DB Competency DB Skill Gap Analysis JO_a01 ET_a01 Search Training Skill Definition Modify Skill Assessment (c)KenHIRATA

23. Skill Competency Management Service Interface Inside System Skill Search Competency DB Competency DB Competency DB ETJO_a01 ETLV_a01 ETSS_a01 Convert Skill Info. Skill Registration Outside System Skill Profiling Competency DB Competency DB Competency DB ETJO_a01 ETLV_a01 ETSS_a01 Skill Gap Analysis Skill Definition Modify Skill Mgt. Skill Assessment Item Produce Skill Mgt. (c)KenHIRATA

24. Skill Competency Management Service Interface Inside System Skill Standard Administration Competency DB Competency DB Competency DB ETJO_a01 ETLV_a01 ETSS_a01 Skill Mgt. Training Providing Procurement Monitor Global Proj. Mgt Replacement Share Information Outside System Skill Mgt. Competency DB Competency DB Competency DB Skill Mgt. ETJO_a01 ETLV_a01 ETSS_a01 Skill Mgt. (c)KenHIRATA

25. Competency DB Typical Operation for Skill / Competency Information Structure Core metadata Organization * Aggregation Resource Meta Model Package Manifest Functional attri. Core metadata Placement Extensional MD Context Job/task Semantic Organization * Resource * Method&Metric Level Package Activity/Performance * Manifest * Contextual Information Core metadata Extensional MD Semantic Organization Resource Level DB Method&Metric (c)KenHIRATA Level