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Taking A Closer LookProgram, which is currently under reviewat the Office of Personnel Management,are examples of approaches that couldbe valuable interventions or professionaldevelopment opportunities.Enabling an ExtraordinaryWorkforceThe survey validates some of the assumptionsand conclusions from prior DON CIOenterprise-level workforce planning efforts,particularly the 1999 DON IM/IT workforcegap analyses. The results reflect the abilityof the DON IT workforce to manage complexjobs and activities without the needto understand underlying technology.Work is less task-oriented so skills are lessimportant than competencies. However,the assessment does highlight the needto develop and retrain current workers,and it shows there is not a critical concernthat the workforce will retire en masse inthe near future.There are several resources that are availablefor further career development. A fewof them are listed below.• Federal IT Roadmap is a career planningapplication for IT professionals in the GS-2210 occupational series and is accessibleat http://itroadmap.golearn.gov.Figure 5.• The DON Civilian Career Path Guide forManagement of Technology, Information,and Knowledge and the CareerPlanning Tool are job role-based careerdevelopment resources for those in theInformation Management, KnowledgeManagement, Computer and InformationSystems Engineering, Information Assuranceand Telecommunications areas.These tools are accessible from the DONCIO Web site http://www.doncio.navy.milunder the Products tab.• The DON IM/IT Workforce Virtual Workplaceis available for collaboration andinformation sharing (you may requestmembership through the DON CIO Website).• The Information Assurance ScholarshipProgram provides scholarships for master'sand doctoral degrees in IA-related fields.Nominations are accepted each year fromDON civilian and military employees (moreinformation is available on the DON CIOWeb site).• The Chief Information Officer (CIO) CertificateProgram is DoD-sponsored graduateeducation for federal CIO competenciesand is available through the InformationResources Management College, the recognizededucation resource for DoD informationresource managers. The IRMCoffers other certificate programs includingInformation Assurance and eGovernmentLeadership. Go to http://www.ndu.edu/irmc for more information.An organization’s primary competitiveadvantage is its people — “Hiring andretaining skilled professionals” is the No. 2rated challenge for IT organizations citedin the Federal CIO Eighth Annual Top TenChallenges Survey, Association for FederalInformation Resources Management, November2003. The September 2003 assessmentprovides a snapshot in time that willbe used to assist in developing enterpriseThe Capital Planningand InvestmentActivity inFigure 4 has fourcompetencies,one skill, and noassociated certifications.Federal/OMB Enterprise Architectureis the skill associatedwith the Capital Planning andInvestment Activity, and thisskill was rated as a deficiencyacross the federal government.DON IT workers ranked it 77 outof 80 surveyed skills. EnterpriseArchitecture provides a broadview of the entire organizationand was identified as a requirementfor Capital Planning andInvestment.Since assessments reflect workthat is currently done — notwork that should be done — theassessment reinforces the needfor not only skill developmentbut also awareness.In today’s eGovernment environment,applying enterprisearchitecture skills as an enablerof Capital Planning and Investmentshould not be limited tojust the DoD or DON architectureview, but should be broadenedto include the Federal EnterpriseArchitecture as well.strategies to support the DON IM/IT StrategicPlan goal to “Shape the IM/IT workforceof the future.”Sandra J. Smith is the DON CIO IM/IT WorkforceManagement Team Leader. .Editor’s Note: Go to page 20 for more informationabout the Information ResourcesManagement College.CHIPS Spring 2004 19