Andreas SchmidtChristine Kunzmann, Simone BraunCollaborativeCompetenceManagementProfessional Training FactsStuttgart, 12. November 2008http://mature-ip.euFZI Research Center for Information Technologiesandreas.schmidt@fzi.dehttp://andreas.schmidt.name

Competence Management is a goodidea…Competence Management allowsforsystematiccompetency-orientedhuman resourcedevelopmentMore targeted, moreefficient, morestrategicalplanningCompetenciesare a goodwayofdescribingdispositionsof human behaviorForteamcompositionForapplicantselectionAndforfindingtherightpersonto talk toMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

Christine Kunzmann [kontakt@christine-kunzmann.de] - Andreas Schmidt [andreas.schmidt@fzi.de]3… andyoucan do a lotmore …

MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge NetworksBut frequentlyitdoes not evengetintroduced!… gets stuck in themiddleoftheway…… nevergetsupdated …… becomes a useless administrative exercise …

howtomotivateandensure?Well, that‘sthetest…It‘sthecompetencecatalog, stupid!State oftheartcompetencemanagementapproachesdepend on a competencecatalogthatconstitutes an adequate model fordescribingactual/desiredcapabilitiesofemployeesthatisregularlyupdatedtoreflectchanges in corporatereality/strategythatisactivelyusedfordescribingcompetencyprofilesandrequirementsprofiles, andlearningopportunitiesMATURE - ContinuousSocial Learning in Knowledge Networkshowtoknow?

Buildingcompetencecatalogsishard!Modeling competenciesis not just aboutpinning down theobviousItisaboutbuilding a sharedunderstanding… andthissharedunderstandingisnevercompleted, but constantlynegotiated… andthisnegotiationtakesplacewhenapplyingthe modelMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

Closedfeedbackloopswerea goodidea…Kunzmann & Schmidt 2006

… but not enough!Ifonlyexpertsdecideaboutnewcompetencies, this still introduces a considerable time lagthefeedbackchannelis still toonarrowthis still lookslike a lotofoverheadAndwe still havetheproblemoftheactualprofilesMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

Do wealwaysneedfull-blowncompetenciesYellowpages & expert finders?No, wedon‘tApplicantselection, teamcomposition?Wouldbehelpful, but not ultimatelyneeded.Training needsanalysisandplanning?Itwouldbe a goodidea!=> Different applicationcasesneed different levelsofformalityMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge NetworksNew ways:CollaborativeCompetenceManagement

SubtlesemanticdifferencesTopics vs. CompetenciesPersonHas an interest in Xknowsabout Xhascompetency X atlevel YSometimesyoudon‘tcareaboutthesemanticdifferencesthatmuch, but sometimesyou do…But itmakes a bigdifferencebetweenmodeling a topicandmodeling a competency, orbetweendetecting an interestand a competencyMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

Core ideaStart withpeopletaggingEverybodycan tag theircolleaguesandthemselvesConsolidationof tagsOvercomingsynonymy, multilinguality, typos, different levelsofabstractionDefinition ofcompetenciesbymodelingexpertsforthosepartsthatneedformalityE.g., highvolume, corepartsof HR strategy, corecompetencies,…„Gardening“ metaphorMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

Competence CatalogMaturingMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge NetworksBraun & Schmidt 2008

„But this will neverwork!“ … First experimentsofpeopletagging(researchdomain)Generally considereduseful!MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

Challenges: ResultsfromtheexperimentsAcceptancedependson clearmessage on thepurposeConcernsFear oftransparencyClassical expert finderconcerns: overload, …Design decisions:Degreeofcontrolofthe individual (delete tags)Degreeoftransparency (tagger, tags, aggregate/individual)Professional topics vs. moresocial/personal topicsNotion ofguidanceMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge NetworksTool support

Tool approach: SOBOLEOBased on thesocialbookmarkingparadigmEnhanced bythepossibilitytouse a controlledvocabulary (ontology)Users canaddnew tags orreuseexistingtermsOntologycanbeevolvedthrough an integratedcollaborativeontologyeditorSupports thegardeningtasksSee http://www.soboleo.comMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge NetworksBraun, Schmidt & Graf 2008

MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge NetworksBraun, Schmidt & Graf 2008

MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge NetworksSummary

ConclusionsPeople taggingandtheconceptofcollaborativecompetencemanagementaddresstheproblemofmaintainingcompetencecatalogs/profilesTheysupportthelongtailofcompetency-orientedusecasesby an informal andlightweightapproachEnablethroughthe „gardening“ metaphorthetransitiontomore formal competencynotionsInformedcompetencymodelling (in thenarrow sense)Co-existenceof different levelsofformalityMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

Outlook & ContactOpen forassociatepartners!MATURE IP – http://mature-ip.euinvestigatestheharvestingofbottom-upapproachestosupportthematuringofcompetencymodelsAndreas SchmidtDepartment Manager / Scientific Coordinator MATUREFZI Research Center for Information Technologies, Haid-und-Neu-Str. 10-14 Karlsruhe, GERMANY (http://fzi.de/ipe)andreas.schmidt@fzi.de, http://andreas.schmidt.nameChristine KunzmannKompetenzorientierte PersonalentwicklungAnkerstr. 47, 75203 Königsbach-Stein, GERMANY, http://kompetenzen-gestalten.decontact@christine-kunzmann.deSimone BraunFZI Research Center for Information TechnologiesHaid-und-Neu-Str. 10-14 Karlsruhe, GERMANY (http://fzi.de/ipe)braun@fzi.de