2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

AIR’s past experienced in the IC enabled us to support this requirement based on
previous occupational analysis (and other work) at three of the major agencies: the National
Security Agency (NSA), the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Mapping and
Imagery Agency (NIMA).
Background
In the mid-1990’s, IC member agencies were responding to radical changes in US threats
and, as a result, Agency missions began to change. For example, the primary threat of fighting
conventional wars against the former Soviet bloc vanished. The necessity of fighting low
intensity conflicts became apparent. Both of these factors led to a questioning of whether the
IC had the necessary blend of skills and abilities to carry out new missions. An additional
challenge was the significant societal pressure to continuously improve efficiency and quality
(for example, see General Accounting Office, 1994; GAO/Comptroller General of the United
States, 1996; and the work of the National Performance Review 35 ).
The then current approach to position management and recruitment in the IC was very
much driven by the legacy systems and missions. Changing from these systems was difficult and
faced significant organizational barriers. AIR implemented a pilot project at NSA to evaluate the
possibility of transitioning one of their core business units to a more flexible process of
describing their work and the skills necessary to achieve mission goals.
AIR’s approach was based on the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). This
system was based on the O*NET Occupational Information Network (Peterson, Mumford,
Borman, Jeanneret, & Fleishman, 1999). The O*NET model evolved from a thorough review of
previous work-related taxonomies, and represents state-of-the-art thinking about the world of
work. Unlike many other models, it conceptualizes both the general and the specific aspects of
the work domain in an integrated fashion and was thus ideally suited to NSA’s needs. For
example, O*NET’s Basic and Cross-Functional Skill (BCFS) taxonomy was used to capture
broad competencies that cut across NSA jobs, so that these jobs could be compared and grouped
to create a skills-based occupational structure. Similarly, O*NET’s Generalized Work Activities
(GWA) taxonomy was used to ensure homogeneity of work activities within each occupation.
Finally, O*NET’s Occupational Skills taxonomy was used to characterize the specific
requirements of particular NSA occupations.
The O*NET approach was well received at NSA and the pilot program was expanded to
include the entire agency. That is, AIR had the task of describing all work carried out at the
agency in a skills-based taxonomy. This work, and its follow on activities for the agency,
continues today.
Other members of Community were impressed with the impact and flexibility of the
occupational redesign at NSA. In 1998 NIMA adopted this approach This approach was
35 Now the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. See
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/review.html and http://www.nima.mil/ast/fm/acq/nima_commission.pdf
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45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003