8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
1/25
Common Career/Skills Framework
Version 1
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
2/25
Contents
1. Background of the Common Carrier/Skills Framework ··························································· 1
2. Objective of the Common Career/Skills Framework ································································ 2
3. Structure of the Common Career/Skills Framework ································································· 3
(1) Career and level ······················································································································· 3
(2) Knowledge and skills ··············································································································· 8
(3) Body of knowledge (BOK) ······································································································ 9
4. Relationship between the Common Career/Skills Framework and
the Three Skill Standards ··········································································································· 11
5. Relationship between the Common Career/Skills Framework and
Information Technology Engineers Examination ···································································· 14
6. Future Courses of Action ············································································································ 16
[Attachment 1] ································································································································· 17
Body of Knowledge (BOK)
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
3/25
1
1. Background of the Common Carrier/Skills Framework
Under the current circumstances where information technology (IT) is widely recognized
in society as an infrastructure essential for economic activities and people’s lives, Japan
faces an urgent issue — development of advanced IT human resources who will play a
leading role in enhancing the international economic competitiveness of Japan and
supporting the healthy development of social systems.
Advanced IT human resources are defined as people with sophisticated expertise in IT and
other areas who can use that expertise in actual business situations to deliver creative
business solutions to resolve issues, generate added value, and create business innovation.
Such human resources are required to have deep insight and rich experience.
As the key people who will support Japan in the future, these human resources are required
to lead Japan by demonstrating vision, motivating their team members, developing and
guiding younger people, and promoting the potential exploitation of IT in the embedded
software industry mainly in the IT service and manufacturing segments as well as general
businesses with employees involved in IT toward the ultimate goal of contributing to the
invigoration of Japan’s economy and the improvement of people’s lives.
In response to the awareness of this issue, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry set
up in October 2006 the Human Resources Development Working Group under the
Information Service and Software Subcommittee of the Information Economy Committee
within the Industrial Structure Council . In July 2007, the working group drafted a report
titled Toward Developing Advanced IT Human Resources.1 The report summarized Skill
Standard for IT Professionals (ITSS), Embedded Technology Skill Standards (ETSS), and
Users’ Information Systems Skill Standards (UISS) and defined the correspondence of these
standards to the Information Technology Engineers Examination along with a statement
that it was necessary to build an objective human resources development/assessment
mechanism.
This document is designed to summarize the common career/skills framework considered
as the core for the human resources development project by the report.
1 http://www.meti.go.jp/press/20070720006/03_houkokusho.pdf
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
4/25
2
2. Objective of the Common Career/Skills Framework
The common career/skills framework is designed to develop and assess advanced IT
human resources needed in these circumstances and summarizes the necessary human
resources models along with the required skills and roles (contributions).
The framework is intended to provide common models that can be referred to by the IT
human resources assessment indicators, including the three skill standards — Skill
Standard for IT Professionals, Embedded Technology Skill Standards, and Users’
Information Systems Skill Standards — and Information Technology Engineers
Examination. The framework also aims to provide IT human resources with a framework
that allows them to understand that even after a transfer to a different business domain or
job, a different level and different skills/knowledge are required, and is also a help to
provide the growth goal to achieve as professionals. In addition, the framework sets forth
the objectives of sophisticating the human resources assessment mechanism, pressing
ahead with practical education through collaboration between industries and universities,
and promoting efforts to develop international human resources in order to allow
assessment, development and mobilization of human resources across industry sectors,
business categories, and international boundaries, thereby improving the quality of the
advanced IT human resources in Japan and securing a sufficient quantity of people in
foreign countries as well.
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
5/25
3
3. Structure of the Common Career/Skills Framework
(1) Career and level
(a) Career
The careers in the common career/skills framework cover three human resources categories
along with the related subcategories and six human resources models.2
Human resources categories:
(i) Basic strategy category human resources
Creating added value in management
Planning basic strategies for resolving issues through IT
The appropriate human resources model is the Strategist.
(ii) Solution category human resources
Implementing high-reliability systems and increasing productivity
Designing and developing systems and controlling highly reliable, productive
operations.
The appropriate human resources models are the Systems Architect, Service Manager,
Project Manager, and Technical Specialist.
(iii) Creation category human resources Creating technological innovation
Developing social and economic frontiers using new core technologies
The appropriate human resources model is the Creator.
2 Besides the six human resources models defined as job types, the Skill standard for IT professionals defineseducation jobs.
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
6/25
4
Table 1 Human Resources Categories and Models Covered by the Common
Career/Skills Framework
Common Career/Skills Framework
Human
Resources
Category
Human
Resources
Model
Role of Human Resources Model
Required Abilities or Skill Set
Basic Strategy Strategist
Plays a leading
role in
increasing
business values
using IT.
Market strategist: Analyzes and
predicts trends in the company,
business projects, products, and the
service markets to plan business
strategies, including enterprise and
sales strategies, and then checks
them against corporate
management policy to propose
solutions to the issues.
Business model strategist:
Proposes or develops IT utilization
strategies or proposes products that
make use of IT based on the
corporate business strategy and
defines the operational risks and
associated investment effect so that
the strategist can explain them to
management.
Business process strategist:
Optimizes specific business
processes.
Embedded product strategist:
Develops a strategy covering the
stages from strategy planning for a
certain product to IT-based
functional implementation,
maintenance, and disposal.
Control engineer at individual
processes:
Executes the design, construction,
and operation for controlling
processes using advanced IT skills.
♦ Ability to discern changes in the business
environment and visualize new business
model strategies
♦ Ability to model and structure corporate
activities, including EA (Enterprise
Architecture) and specific business processes
♦ Knowledge of associated processes (e.g.
how to control power plants)
♦ Knowledge of structuring a set of data
items at a certain corporation
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
7/25
5
Common Career/Skills Framework
Human
Resources
Category
Human
Resources
Model
Role of Human Resources Model
Required Abilities or Skill Set
Solution
Systems architect
Designs
systems most
appropriate for
the business
strategies.
Defines the requirements necessary
for construction of solution and
development of embedded products
based on the IT strategy to design
the architectures necessary for the
implementation.
♦ Knowledge of IT structural changes
♦ Knowledge and experience of specific
development models and techniques
♦ Ability to achieve the optimal combination
of hardware, software, and network for a
specific IT solution strategy
♦ Project management ability (ability to
mange resources allocation)
♦ Set of engineering abilities (for quotation,
quality, etc.)
♦ Communication ability
♦ Ability to globally procure IT resources
♦ Knowledge of individual risk factors and
measures to address the risks factors
♦ Cost analysis ability
Project manager
Manages
reliable system
construction
under given
constraint
conditions (e.g.
quality, cost,
and delivery
time).
As a responsible person of the
system development project, plans
the project and secures the required
human and other resources to carry
out the project with responsibility
for the budget, delivery time, and
required quality.
Technical
specialist
Responsible for
implementation
in the technical
domains such
as database,
network.
Designs and constructs the required
system applications as part of the
designed architecture and
constructs an optimal system
infrastructure using specific
technologies for networks,
databases, security, etc.
Service manager
Maintaining
systems while
continuously
securing high
reliability.
Provides highly safe and reliable
services by ensuring stable
operations of the constructed
systems and products and by
minimizing damage in the event of
a failure; verifies the required
functional requirements,
non-functional requirements,
reliability, and stability of the
constructed systems and products.
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
8/25
6
Common Career/Skills Framework
Human
Resources
Category
Human
Resources
Model
Roles of Human Resources Model
Required Abilities or Skill Set
Creation Creator
Brings about
social/economic
innovation by
creating new
core
technologies.
Develops new programming
languages, core technologies
(including OSs), and new business
models and proposes innovative,
highly potential solutions.
♦ Vision of the direction of IT architecture
revolution
♦ Ability to conceive meta-level IT concepts
including development languages,
environments, and processes
♦ Knowledge of basic core technologies of
OSs, databases, and networks
Other (No description)
Educating
about Skill
Standard for IT
Professionals
Develops IT human resources by
educating and training IT human
resources in businesses and other
organizations.
♦ Knowledge of basic core technologies of
OSs, databases, and networks and the
techniques required for education in
software engineering
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
9/25
7
(b) Level definition
The common career/skills framework defines seven levels (1 to 7) according to the levels
of the abilities required for human resources and the roles (contributions) they should play.
Table 2 Levels defined by the Common Career/Skills Framework
Level Definition
Level 7 World-class, high-end player with advanced knowledge and skills:
Defined as human resources recognized throughout the world who have
experience and achievements in successfully leading development,
restructuring of business operations, and marketing of industry leading
services.
Level 6 Domestic-level, high-end player with advanced knowledge and skills:
Defined as human resources widely recognized inside and outside their
organizations who have professional experience and achievements not only
within their organizations but also in the industry.
Level 5 In-house, high-end player with advanced knowledge and skills:
Defined as professionals who have rich experience and achievements to lead
their organizations.
Level 4 Defined as professionals with advanced knowledge and skills who are able to perform tasks and deliver work instructions based on experience and
achievements as well as to formulate the experience required for professionals
as formal knowledge to develop younger people.
Level 3 Defined as human resources with practical knowledge and skills who are able
to perform all required tasks on their own.
Level 2 Defined as human resources with basic knowledge and skills who are able to
perform tasks with a certain degree of difficulty or part of the required tasks
on their own.
Level 1 Defined as human resources with the minimum knowledge and skills required
for people involved in information technology who are able to perform tasks
under guidance.
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
10/25
8
(c) Determining career levels based on the common career/skills framework
(i) For Levels 1 to 3, persons passing the Information Technology Engineers Examination
corresponding to the respective levels may be considered to have satisfied the entrycriteria
3 for the appropriate levels and achieved required skills defined for each level.
(ii) For Level 4, besides the results of the Information Technology Engineers Examination,
the professional background is checked and the person is interviewed to determine the
experience and achievements based on the assessment criteria of each skill standard.
(iii) For Level 5 and higher, the experience and achievements, including contributions as
professionals, are checked and peer reviews of a higher or the same level are
performed to determine whether or not the person is qualified based on the assessment
criteria of each skill standard.
(2) Knowledge and skills
Advanced IT human resources are required to have advanced skills. The skills in this
context mean the ability to apply knowledge to yield results. Consequently, it is
absolutely imperative to have knowledge about the appropriate area before acquiring skills.
(a) Knowledge
The required knowledge is generally divided into the following three segments: (i)
knowledge associated with technology, including computer languages, algorithms, and
system design and development; (ii) knowledge associated with management, including
development and operations; and (iii) knowledge associated with strategies, including
business (industries) knowledge, products knowledge, knowledge of compliance and
pertinent laws/regulations, and knowledge of business strategy. The knowledge can be
acquired to a certain degree through learning, which will not, however, directly lead to
skills that yield results. Knowledge is considered to be an element required to
demonstrate the skills.
3 Criteria by which to judge whether human resources satisfy the requirements for the appropriate level
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
11/25
9
(b) Skills
On the other hand, skills are acquired through the use of knowledge and experience with
actual projects. This means that skill acquisition requires participation in projects toaccumulate hands-on experience. The required skills can be divided into two groups:
technical skills and non-technical (human) skills, including the ability to manage teams and
secure coordination between stakeholders, which are developed through experience. The
higher levels require more non-technical skills than technical skills. It must be
remembered, however, that in addition to non-technical skills, even higher-level human
resources are required to continuously acquire knowledge and reinforce their skills through
actual activities in consideration of changes in technology and the industrial structure.
(3) Body of knowledge (BOK)
The knowledge required for Levels 1 to 4 defined by the common career/skills framework
has been organized as the BOK (Body Of Knowledge). This allows reference to what
must be learned for each career defined by each skill standard through a common BOK as
shown in Figure 1.
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
12/25
10
Figure 1 Structure of the Body of Knowledge and Skill Standards (Levels 1 to 4)
Common Career/Skills Framework
BOK (body of knowledge)
for the Common
Career/Skills Framework
Skill Standards
Basic
strategy
Solution
Creation
ETSS specific
ETSS-ITSS
common
ITSS specific
ITSS-UISS
common
UISS specific
ITSS
UISS ETSS
Strategist
Systems
architect
Project
manager
Technical
specialist
Creator
Service
manager
Reference
K n o w
l e d g e
i t e m
/
s k i l l i t e m
K n o w
l e d g e
i t e m
/
s k i l l i t e m
K n o w
l e d g e
i t e m
/
s k i l l i t e m
K n o w
l e d g e
i t e m
/
s k i l l i t e m
K n o w
l e d g e
i t e m
/
s k i l l i t e m
K n o w
l e d g e i t e m
/
s k i l l i t e m
K n o w
l e d g e
i t e m
/
s k i l l i t e m
J o
b
c a
t e g o r y
J o
b
c a
t e g o r y
J o
b
c a
t e g o r y
J o
b
c a
t e g o r y
J o
b
c a
t e g o r y
J o
b
c a
t e g o r y
J o
b
c a
t e g o r y
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
13/25
11
4. Relationship between the Common Career/Skills Framework and
the Three Skill Standards
Currently, the following three standards associated with information technology are
available.
(1) Skill Standard for IT Professionals (ITSS)
The Skill Standard for IT Professionals is a navigation guide that defines and organizes the
abilities required to provide various types of IT services. The valuable common
framework for developing and training IT service professionals is designed for human
resources in vendors, who mainly develop and provide systems.
(2) Embedded Technology Skill Standards (ETSS)
The Embedded Technology Skill Standards is a navigation guide for developing and making
effective use of optimal human resources for embedded software development and is
designed for human resources who develop embedded systems.
(3) Users’ Information Systems Skill Standards (UISS)
The Users’ Information Systems Skill Standards is a navigation guide that organizes the
skills required at user corporations and organizations that employ information systems
based on the software life cycle processes ranging from system planning and development
to maintenance and operations. The UISS is designed for human resources involved in IT
from the viewpoint of information system users.
Because of the different characteristics and different target human resources, the three skill
standards have developed independently. Under these circumstances, the common
career/skills framework has been designed as a reference model so that each skill standard
can make reference to the careers and skills required by the other standards (Figure 2).
Table 3 summarizes the correspondence between the job categories and human resources
models defined by the skill standards and the human resources categories and models
defined by the common career/skills framework. It is desirable that each skill standard
should be applied according to their intended purpose with reference to knowledge items
defined by the common career/skills framework.
(For more detailed information, see each skill standard.)
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
14/25
12
Figure 2 Common Career/Skills Framework as a Reference Model
Information Technology
Engineers Examination
Conformance
Users’ InformationSystems Skill
Standards
(UISS)
Skill Standard for IT
Professionals (ITSS)
Common Career /
Skills Framework Embedded TechnologySkill Standards
(ETSS)
Reference
Reference
Reference
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
15/25
13
Table 3 Correspondence of the Job Categories between the Common Career/Skills
Framework and the Skill Standards
Common Career/Skills
FrameworkJob Types Defined by the Skill Standards
Human
Resources
Category
Human
Resources
Model
Skill Standard
for IT
Professionals
Embedded
Technology Skill
Standards
Users’ Information
Systems Skill
Standards
Basic strategyStrategist
Marketing
Sales
Consultant
Product manager
Business strategist
IS strategist
Program manager
IS analyst
Solution
Systems architect IT architect Systems architect IS architect
Project manager Project management
Project manager
Bridge SE
Development process
improvement specialist
Project manager
Technical specialist
IT specialist
Application specialist
Software development
Domain specialist
Software engineer
Development
environment engineer
QA specialist
Test engineer
Application designer
System designer
Service managerCustomer service
IT service management(No description)
IS operation
IS administrator
Security administrator
IS staff
IS auditor
Creation Creator (No description)
Other (No description) Education (No description) (No description)
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
16/25
14
5. Relationship between the Common Career/Skills Framework and
Information Technology Engineers Examination
As a rule, the Information Technology Engineers Examination for April 2009 and
afterwards4 are designed to conform to the common career/skills framework. (See Figure
3.)
(1) The examinations will be targeted for Levels 1 to 4 of the following five human
resources models: strategist, systems architect, project manager, service manager, and
technical specialist. (Human resources in creator category and those subject to ITSS
education are excluded from the target of the examinations.)
(2) For Levels 1 to 3 defined by the common career/skills framework, common
examinations for the five target human resources models will be established, which
will serve as the entry criteria for the respective levels. Specifically, the examinations
are the IT Passport Examination for Level 1, Fundamental Information Technology
Engineer Examination for Level 2, and Applied Information Technology Engineer
Examination for Level 3.
(3) The examinations for Level 4 will be collectively called advanced examinations.
Specifically, they are the IT Strategist Examination for strategists, Systems Architect
Examination for systems architects and some technical specialists, Project Manager
Examination for project managers, and IT Service Manager Examination for service
managers. For technical specialists, the examinations will be targeted for the specific
technical areas as the Network Specialist Examination, Database Specialist
Examination, and Embedded Systems Specialist Examination. In addition, the
Information Security Specialist Examination and Systems Auditor Examination will be
established for technical specialists and service managers, respectively. To obtain
Level 4 engineer qualification, the candidate must pass the appropriate advanced
examination, and the professional background and achievements must be checked anddetermined by the appropriate company or organization through an interview or
similar process based on the assessment criteria defined by the skill standards. It
should be noted that the Systems Auditor Examination will be continued as an
independent advanced examination.
4 Pertinent material: http://www.jitec.ipa.go.jp/1_00topic/topic_20080422_shinshiken.htmlExplanation of the system: http://www.jitec.jp/1_00topic/topic_20071225_shinseido_4.pdf
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
17/25
15
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Common
Career/Skills
Framework Vender Side / User Side
Information System / Embedded System
Independent
Advanced (professional) examinations
Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination (FE)
S y s t e m s A u d i t o r
E x a m i n a t i o n
I T S t r a t e g i s t
E x a m i n a t i o n
S y s t e m s A r c h i t e c t
E x a m i n a t i o n
P r o j e c t M a n a g e r
E x a m i n a t i o n
N e t w o r k S p e c i a l i s t
E x a m i n a t i o n
D a t a b a s e S p e c i a l i s t
E x a m i n a t i o n
E m b e d d e d S y s t e m s
S p e c i a l i s t E x a m i n a t i o n
I T S e r v i c e M a n a g e r
E x a m i n a t i o n
I n f o r m a t i o n S e c u r i t y
S p e c i a l i s t E x a m i n a t i o n
IT Passport Examination (IP)
Applied Information Technology Engineer Examination (AP)
(DB) (SM)(SC)(ES)(NW)(PM)(SA)(ST) (AU)
Figure 3 Correspondence between the Levels Defined by the Common Career/Skills
Framework and the New Information Technology Engineers Examination
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
18/25
16
6. Future Courses of Action
(1) Revision of the common career/skills framework
It is anticipated that the skill standards will define new skills and knowledge items in
response to the demands of the times.
Based on the revisions to the skill standards, the body of knowledge (BOK) for the
common career/skills framework will be appropriately revised according to advances in
technology.
(2) Curriculum Standard J07
Correspondence between Curriculum Standard J07 in the Specialized Information Courses5
and the body of knowledge for the common career/skills framework will be reorganized to
make a contribution to the promotion of communication between businesses and
universities, and then to promote the development of advanced IT human resources.
5 Announced by Information Processing Society of Japan on March 13, 2008.See http://www.ipsj.or.jp/12kyoiku/taikai70sympo/.
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
19/25
17
[Attachment 1]
Body of Knowledge (BOK)
Area Major Category Middle Category Minor Category Examples of Acquired Knowledge
T e c h n o l o g y
1 Basic
theory
1 Basic theory 1 Discrete
mathematics
binary number, radix, numeric representation, operational precision, set, Venn diagram,
logical operation, proposition
2 Applied
mathematics
probability and statistics, numerical analysis, formula manipulation, graph theory, queueing
theory
3 Theory of
information
coding theory, predicate logic, automaton, formal language, computational complexity,
artificial intelligence, knowledge engineering, learning theory, compiler theory, theories of
programming language/semantics
4 Theory of
communications
transmission theory (including transmission path, modulation/demodulation, multiplexing,
error detection/correction, and signal synchronization)
5 Theory of
measurement and
control
signal processing, feedback control, feedforward control, response characteristics, control
stability, various types of control, types of sensors and actuators along with their operating
characteristics
2 Algorithm and
programming
1 Data structure stack and queue, list, array, tree structure, binary tree
2 Algorithm sorting, merging, searching, recursion, string processing, understanding of flow charts,
design of algorithms
3 Programming programming based on existing languages (programming convention, program structure,
data type, grammatical notation)
4 Programming
languages
types and characteristics of programming languages (assembler language, C, C++,
COBOL, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, and other languages)
5 Other languages types of markup languages (HTML, XML, and others) and their characteristics, SDL
(Specification and Description Language), ADL (Architecture Description Language)
2 Computer
system
3 Computer
component
1 Processor types, configurations/operating principles, interruption, performance and characteristics,
structure and method, instruction and addressing of computers/processors; RISC and CISC
2 Memory types and characteristics of memory, configuration and hierarchy of memory system
(cache, main memory, auxiliary storage, and others), access method, RAM file, capacity
and performance of memory, types and characteristics of storage media
3 Bus types and characteristics of bus, configurations of bus system, control methods for bus,
access modes for bus, capacities and performances of bus
4 Input/output
interface
input/output interface, device driver, synchronization with a device, analog-digital
conversion
5 Input/output
device
types of input/output devices and their characteristics, input device, output device, display,
auxiliary storage and storage media, communication controller, drive, imaging device
4 System
component
1 System
configuration
system processing mode, system usage, and system application areas, client/server system,
Web system, thin client system, fault tolerant system, NAS, SAN, P2P, high performance
computing (HPC), cluster
2 System evaluation
indexes
system performance index, system performance characteristics and evaluation, significance
and purpose of system reliability/cost efficiency, reliability calculation, reliability indicator,
reliability characteristics and evaluation, cost efficiency evaluation, capacity planning
5 Software 1 Operating system
(OS)
types and characteristics of OSs, functions of OSs, multiple programming, virtual memory,
job management, process/task management, data management, input/output management,
memory management, interruption
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
20/25
18
Area Major Category Middle Category Minor Category Examples of Acquired Knowledge
2 Middleware roles and functions of various types of middleware (APIs including OSs, libraries,
componentware, and shells), selection and use of middleware
3 File system types and characteristics of file systems, access methods, search methods, directory
management, backup methods, and file organization
4 Development
tools
design tool, construction tool, testing tool, language processing tools (compiler, interpreter,
linker, loader), CASE, emulator, simulator, in-circuit emulator (ICE), tool chain, integrated
development environment
5 Open source
software
types and characteristics of OSS; UNIX-family OSs; open source community;
LAMP/LAPP; use/application, considerations (safety, defects, etc.), and trends of OSS
6 Hardware 1 Hardware electric/electronic circuit, machine/control, logic design, components along with elements
and implementation, semiconductor element, system LSI, SoC (System On a Chip), power
consumption
3 Technology
element
7 Human
interface
1 Human interface
technology
information architecture, GUI, sound recognition, image recognition, video recognition,
feature extraction, learning function, interactive system, usability
2 Interface design form design, screen design, code design, Web design, human-centered design, universal
design
8 Multimedia 1 Multimedia
technology
authoring environment, sound processing, static image processing, video processing, media
integration, compression/decompression, MPEG
2 Multimedia
application
AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), CG (Computer Graphics), media
application
9 Database 1 Database
architecture
types of databases and characteristics, database models, DBMS
2 Database design data analysis, database logic design, data normalization, database performance design,
physical database design
3 Data manipulation database manipulation, languages for manipulating databases (SQL and others), relational
algebra
4 Transaction
processing
exclusive control, recovery processing, transaction management, database performance
improvement, data control
5 Database
application
data warehouse, data mining, distributed database, repository, metadata
10 Network 1 Network
architecture
types and characteristics of networks (WAN/LAN, wired/wireless, and others), Internet
technology, computation relating to line, packet switched network
2 Data
communication
and control
transmission methods and line, internetworking device, digital service unit, OSI model,
media access control (MAC), data link control, routing control, flow control
3 Communications
protocol
protocol and interface, TCP/IP, HDLC, CORBA, HTTP, DNS, SOAP, IPv6
4 Network
management
Network operations management (SNMP), fault management, performance management,
traffic monitoring
5 Network
application
Internet, intranet, extranet, mobile communication, network OS, communications service
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
21/25
19
Area Major Category Middle Category Minor Category Examples of Acquired Knowledge
11 Security 1 Information
security
encryption technology (public key, private key, DES, RSA, and others), authentication
technology (digital signature, message authentication, time authentication, and others), user
authentication (callback, ID/password, and others), biometric authentication technology,
public key infrastructure (PKI), governmental public key infrastructure (GPKI, bridge
certification authority, and others)
2 Information
security
management
overview of information assets and risks, types of risks, risk analysis and evaluation,
measures against risks, information security policy, ISMS, development of security
regulations for corporate activities
3 Security
technology
evaluation
evaluation method, assurance level, ISO/IEC 15408
4 Information
security measures
human security measures, technical security measures (measures against cracking, viruses,
and others), physical security measures
5 Security
implementation
technology
secure OS, application security, secure programming
4 Develop-
ment
technology
12 System
development
technology
1 System
requirements
definition
system requirements definition (function, performance, requirements of business
operations/organization and users, design requirements, qualification requirements), system
requirements evaluation
2 Systems
architecture
design
establishment of the architecture at the highest level of the system (functional partitioning
among hardware, software, and manual operations; hardware architecture; software
architecture, application architecture; database architecture; and others), systems
architecture evaluation
3 Software
requirements
definition
establishment of software requirements (functions, performance, interface, and others),
software requirements evaluation, hearing, use case, prototype, DFD, E-R diagram, UML
4 Software
architecture
design and
software detailed
design
design of software structure and components, interface design, software unit test design,
software integration test design, software quality, review, walkthrough, software design
evaluation, process-oriented design, data-oriented design, structured design, object-oriented
design, module design, design pattern
5 Software coding
and testing
software coding, coding convention, code review, debugging, test method, test preparation
(test environment, test data, and others), test implementation, test result evaluation
6 Software
integration and
software
qualification tests
test planning, test preparation (test environment, test data, and others), test implementation,
test result evaluation
7 System integration
and system
qualification tests
test planning, test preparation (test environment, test data, and others), test implementation,
test result evaluation, tuning
8 Software
installation
software installation planning and implementation
9 Software
acceptance
acceptance review and test, delivery and acceptance of software products, user manual,
education/training
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
22/25
20
Area Major Category Middle Category Minor Category Examples of Acquired Knowledge
10 Software
maintenance
forms and significance of software maintenance
13 Software
development
management
techniques
1 Development
process and
methods
software development methods, process maturity level, software life cycle process (SLPC),
software reuse, structured method, formal method, reverse engineering, mashup
2 Intellectual
property
application
management
copyright management, patent management, storage management
3 Development
environment
management
development environment operation status management, development environment
construction, design data management, tool management, license management
4 Configuration
management and
change control
establishment of configuration identification system, change control, configuration status
recording, item integrity assurance of items, release management and shipment
M a n a g e m e n t
5 Project
manage-
ment
14 Project
management
1 Project integration
management
develop project charter, develop preliminary project scope statement, develop project
management plan, direct and manage project execution, monitor and control project work,
integrated change control, close project
2 Project scope
management
scope planning, scope definition, create WBS, scope verification, scope control
3 Project time
management
activity definition, activity sequencing, activity resources estimating, activity duration
estimating, schedule development, schedule control
4 Project cost
management
cost estimating, cost budgeting, const control
5 Project quality
management
quality planning, quality assurance, quality control
6 Project human
resources
management
human resources planning, acquire project team, develop project team, manage project
team
7 Project
communications
management
communication planning, information distribution, performance reporting, stakeholder
management
8 Project risk
management
risk management planning, risk identification, qualitative risk analysis, quantitative risk
analysis, risk response planning, risk monitoring and control
9 Project
procurement
management
purchases/acquisitions planning, contracting plan, request seller responses, select sellers,
contract administration, contract closure
6 Service
manage-
ment
15 Service
management
1 Service
management
significance and purpose of service management, ITIL, role of system operations manager,
service level agreement (SLA), evaluation and verification of operations assessment
indicators, operation handover
2 Operations design
and tools
schedule design, system installation, system migration, operations support tool, monitoring
tool, diagnostic tool
3 Service support service desk (help desk), incident management (fault management), problem management,
configuration management, change management, release management, risk management,
computer operations and management
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
23/25
21
Area Major Category Middle Category Minor Category Examples of Acquired Knowledge
4 Service delivery system operations, service level management (SLM), capacity management, availability
management, IT service continuity management, user management, system resources
management, financial management for IT services, information asset management
5 Service
management
foundation
gap analysis, risk evaluation, requirements definition
6 Facility
management
equipment management (power, air conditioners, and others), facility management,
maintenance of facilities and equipment
16 System audit 1 System audit significance of purpose of system audits, tasks covered by system audits, system
auditability, system audit planning, system audit implementation (preliminary audit, main
audit, evaluation/conclusion), system audit reporting, system audit evaluation, system audit
standards, system audit techniques, audit evidence, audit documentation
2 Internal control internal control, IT governance, evaluation and improvement of compliance
S t r a t e g y
7 System
strategy
17 System
strategy
1 Information
systems strategy
significance and purpose of information systems strategy, total optimization policy, total
optimization planning, computerization promotion organization, computerization
investment planning, business model, business operations model, information system
model, enterprise architecture (EA) (business architecture, data architecture, application
architecture, technology architecture), program management, system owner, data owner,
process framework, control framework, quality control (quality control framework),
information systems strategy evaluation, information systems strategy execution
management)
2 Business process BPR, business operations analysis, business operations improvement, business operations
design, business process management (BPM), BPO, SFA
3 Solution business business operations system proposal, business operations package, problem solution
support, ASP, SOA, SaaS
4 System utilization
promotion and
evaluation
information literacy, data utilization, popularization/education, actual system usage
evaluation/verification, system disposal
18 System
planning
1 Computerization
planning
computerization initiative, basic computerization policy, total development schedule,
development project organization, staff training planning, development ROI (return on
investment), system life cycle, information system installation risk analysis
2 Requirements
definition
requirements analysis, user needs research, current state analysis, definition of
problems/issues, operational requirements definition, functional requirements definition,
non-functional requirements definition, verification of the requirements of stakeholders,
verification of the consistency with the system strategy
3 Procurement
planning and
implementation
things to be procured, procurement requirements, procurement conditions, request for
proposal (RFP), proposal evaluation criteria, quotation, proposal, procurement selection,
procurement risk analysis, internal and external manufacturing standards, software asset
management, software supply chain management
8 Business
strategy
19 Business
strategy
management
1 Business strategy
techniques
competition strategy, differentiation strategy, core competence, M&A, alliance, group
management, corporate philosophy, SWOT analysis, product portfolio management (PPM),
value chain analysis, growth matrix, outsourcing
2 Marketing marketing theory, marketing techniques, marketing analysis, lifetime value (LTV)
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
24/25
22
Area Major Category Middle Category Minor Category Examples of Acquired Knowledge
3 Business strategy
and
goal/evaluation
business strategy planning, business environment analysis, needs/wants analysis,
competitive analysis, strategy goal, CSF (Critical Success Factors), KPI (Key Performance
Indicator), KGI (Key Goal Indicator), balanced scorecard
4 Business
management
system
CRM, SCM, ERP, decision making support, knowledge management
20 Technological
strategy
management
1 Planning of
technology
development
strategy
product trend, technology trend, core technology, technology research, technology
acquisition, technology licensing, technical tie-up, management of technology (MOT),
industry-academia-government collaboration, standardization strategy
2 Technology
development plan
technology development investment planning, technology development site planning,
human resources planning, technology road map, product application road map, patent
acquisition road map
21 Business
industry
1 Business system distribution information system, logistics information system, public information system,
medical information system, financial information system, e-Government, POS system,
XBRL
2 Engineering
system
significance and purpose of engineering systems, production management system, MRP,
PDM, CAE
3 e-business EC (BtoB, BtoC, and others), electronic payment system, EDI, IC card/RFID application
system
4 Consumer
appliances
AV appliances, household appliances, personal information equipment,
education/entertainment equipment, computer peripherals/OA equipment, terminals for
business use, consumer communications terminals
5 Industrial devices communications facility equipment, transport/construction equipment, industrialcontrol/FA equipment/industrial devices, facility equipment, medical devices,
analytical/measurement devices
9 Corporate
and legal
affairs
22 Corporate
activities
1 Management &
organization
theory
business management, PDCA, management organization (divisional system, company
system, CIO, CEO, and others), corporate governance, CSR, IR, human resources (OJT,
management by objectives, case studies, discretionary labor system, and others), behavioral
science (leadership, communication, technical writing, presentations, negotiations,
motivation, and others), TQM, risk management, BCP, computer literacy
2 OR and IE linear programming (LP), inventory problem, PERT/CPM, game theory, analytical methods
(work analysis, PTS method, work sampling method, and others), inspection methods (OC
curve, sampling, simulation, and others), quality control techniques (seven QC tools, new
seven QC tools, and others)
3 Accounting and
financial affairs
financial accounting, management accounting, accounting standards, financial statements,
consolidation accounting, depreciation, breakeven point, financial indicator, cost, lease and
rental, cash planning and management, asset management
23 Legal affairs 1 Intellectual
property rights
Copyright Act, Industrial Property Law, Unfair Competition Prevention Act, license
agreement, OSS license (GPL, BSD, and other licenses)
2 Laws on security Act on the Prohibition of Unauthorized Computer Access, Act on the Limitation of
Liability for Damages of Specified Telecommunications Service Providers and the Right to
Demand Disclosure of Identification Information of the Senders
8/18/2019 Common Career/Skills Framework
25/25
Area Major Category Middle Category Minor Category Examples of Acquired Knowledge
3 Laws on labor and
transaction
Labor Standards Act, labor related laws and regulations, outsourcing agreements, software
agreements, nondisclosure agreements (NDA), Act against Delay in Payment of
Subcontract Proceeds, Etc. to Subcontractors, Act for Securing the Proper Operation of
Worker Dispatching Undertakings and Improved Working Conditions for Dispatched
Workers, civil law, commercial law
4 Other laws,
guidelines, and
engineer ethics
compliance, information disclosure, Telecommunications Business Law, network related
laws and regulations, Companies Act, Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, tax laws,
export-related laws and regulations, Act on the Protection of Personal Information, System
Management Standards, Standards for Measures against Unauthorized Computer Access,
Standards for Measures against Computer Viruses, Software Management Guidelines,
information ethics, engineer ethics, professionalism
5 Standardization roles of JIS, ISO, IEEE, and other associated organizations; standardization organization;
framework for international certification (accreditation body/certification body/inspection
body); various codes; JIS Q 15001; ISO 9000; ISO14000
Top Related