CEN/TR 16234-3:2017

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-maj-2017
Krovni seznam e-usposobljenosti (e-CF) - Skupno evropsko okolje za poklicne
strokovnjake v vseh industrijskih sektorjih - 3. del: Metodologija
e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT
Professionals in all industry sectors - Part 3: Methodology
e-Kompetenz Rahmenwerk (e-CF) - Ein gemeinsamer europäischer Rahmen für IKT-
Fach- und Führungskräfte in allen Branchen Teil 3: Methodik
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 16234-3:2017
ICS:
03.100.30 Vodenje ljudi Management of human
resources
35.020 Informacijska tehnika in Information technology (IT) in
tehnologija na splošno general
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

CEN/TR 16234-3
TECHNICAL REPORT
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
March 2017
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
ICS 35.020 Supersedes CWA 16234-3:2014
English Version
e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European
Framework for ICT Professionals in all industry sectors -
Part 3: Methodology
Référentiel des e-Compétences - Référentiel européen e-Kompetenz Rahmenwerk (e-CF) - Ein gemeinsamer
commun pour les professionnels des technologies de europäischer Rahmen für IKT-Fach- und
l'information et de la communication dans tous les Führungskräfte in allen Branchen Teil 3: Methodik
secteurs d'activité - Partie 3 : Méthodologie

This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 3 March 2017. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 428.

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Turkey and United Kingdom.
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© 2017 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 16234-3:2017 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative reference . 6
3 Terms and definitions, symbols and abbreviated terms . 6
4 General principles – executive overview . 6
5 Building the e-CF: a combination of sound methodology and expert contribution . 8
5.1 The four dimensions of the e-CF . 8
5.2 Dimension 1: e-Competence areas . 9
5.2.1 General . 9
5.2.2 Processes and e-Competence Areas . 9
5.2.3 ICT (or knowledge) areas . 13
5.3 Dimension 2: Competences . 14
5.3.1 Competences in general . 14
5.3.2 Competences in the e-CF . 14
5.4 Dimension 3: Proficiency levels . 16
5.4.1 Proficiency levels in general, according to the EQF . 16
5.4.2 Elucidation: EQF learning levels . 17
5.4.3 Proficiency levels in the e-CF . 19
5.5 Dimension 4: Knowledge and Skills . 20
5.5.1 Knowledge and skills in general . 20
5.5.2 Knowledge and skills in the e-CF . 21
Annex A (informative) Individual versus organizational competence definitions . 22
A.1 General . 22
A.2 Some definitions from Europe . 23
A.3 The EQF approach . 23
Annex B (normative) The EQF and e-CF level table . 26
Bibliography . 29

European foreword
This document (CEN/TR 16234-3:2017) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 428 “Digital
Competences and ICT Professionalism”, the secretariat of which is held by UNI.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes CWA 16234-3:2014.
This Technical Report is the third part of the EN 16234 series, which is made up of the following three
parts and which will replace CWA 16234-1:2014, CWA 16234-2:2014 and CWA 16234-3:2014:
— EN 16234-1, e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT Professionals
in all industry sectors - Part 1: Framework
— CEN/TR 16234-2, e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT
Professionals in all industry sectors - Part 2: User guide
— CEN/TR 16234-3, e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT
Professionals in all industry sectors - Part 3: Methodology
Part 1 is fully standalone, and part 2 and 3 rely on part 1.
A relationship with the European ICT Professional Profiles (CWA 16458:2012, original CWA updated by
e-CF 3.0 competences and re-published in 2014) is established. A number of relevant e-Competences and
their applying level(s), as defined by this standard, are assigned to each Profile.
CWA 16234:2014-4 composed by 15 case studies illustrating e-CF practical use from multiple sector
perspectives remains published and can be downloaded for free from the internet (Official e-CF website:
www.ecompetences.eu).
Introduction
EN 16234-1 was established as a tool to support mutual understanding and provide transparency of
language through the articulation of competences required and deployed by Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) professionals.
The Guiding Principles
This standard is an enabler; it is designed to be a tool to empower users, not to restrict them.
This standard provides a structure and content for application by many types of users from organizations
in the private and public sector, ICT user or ICT supply companies, educational institutions including
higher education and private certification providers, social partners and individuals. In this broad
application context, this standard is designed to support common understanding, not to mandate the use
of each and every word used within it.
This standard expresses ICT competence using the following definition: ‘Competence is a
demonstrated ability to apply knowledge, skills and attitudes for achieving observable results’. This is a
holistic concept directly related to workplace activities and incorporating complex human behaviours
expressed as embedded attitudes. Attitudes are the glue which keep knowledge and skills together. Soft
skills are the attitudes’ components that can be made explicit, trained and developed.
Competence is a durable concept and although technology, jobs, marketing terminology and
promotional concepts within the ICT environment change rapidly, this standard remains durable
requiring maintenance approximately every three years to maintain relevance.
A competence can be a component of a job role, but it cannot be used as a substitute for similarly
named job titles, for example; the competence, D.7. ‘Sales Management’ does not represent the complete
content of a ‘Sales Manager’ job role. Competences can be aggregated, as required, to represent the
essential content of a job role or profile. On the other hand, one single competence may be assigned to a
number of different job profiles.
Competence is not to be confused with process or technology concepts such as, ‘Cloud Computing’
or ‘Big Data’. These descriptions represent evolving technologies and in the context of this standard, they
may be integrated as knowledge and skills examples in Dimension 4.
This standard does not attempt to cover every possible competence deployed by an ICT
professional nor are the included competences necessarily unique to ICT. This standard articulates
competences associated with ICT professional roles including some that may be found in other
professions but are very important in an ICT context; examples include, C.4. ‘Problem Management’ or
E.3. ‘Risk Management’. However, to maintain an ICT focus, this standard avoids generic competences
such as ‘Communications’ or ‘General Management’ although very applicable these transversal
competences are comprehensively articulated in other structures. Selecting competences for inclusion
within this standard is therefore, not a scientific choice, but a pragmatic process engaging a broad cross-
section of stakeholders who prioritize competence inclusion based upon industry knowledge and
experience.
This standard is structured from four dimensions. e-Competences in Dimension 1 and 2 are presented
from the organizational perspective as opposed to from an individual’s perspective. Dimension 3 which
defines e-Competence levels related to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), is a bridge
between organizational and individual competences. Dimension 4 provides samples of knowledge and
skills to the e-Competences in Dimension 2, they are not intended to be exhaustive but for inspiration and
orientation only.
This standard has a sector specific relationship to the EQF; competence levels within this standard
provide a consistent and rational relationship to levels defined within the EQF. The relativity between
EQF learning levels and the e-competence proficiency levels of this standard has been systematically
developed to enable consistent interpretation of the EQF in the ICT workplace environment.
Continuity of this standard is imperative; following maintenance updates it is essential that users are
provided with a simple upgrade path. Users of this standard invest considerable time and resources to
align processes or procedures with it. Organizations deploying these downstream activities are reliant
upon this standard and need to be confident of the continued sustainability of their processes. Updates
of this standard should recognize this requirement and provide for continuity enabling use of the existing
version of this standard until it is convenient to upgrade to the latest version.
This standard is neutral; it does not follow the specific interests of a few major influencers, it is
developed and maintained through an EU-wide balanced multi-stakeholder agreement process, under
the umbrella of the European Committee for Standardization. This standard is a key component of the
European Commission’s Digital Agenda; it is designed for use by any organization and individual engaged
in ICT Human Resources planning and competence development.
1 Scope
This Technical Report describes the methodology grounding for the development of the e-Competence
Framework published as EN 16234-1. It supports methodological understanding of the e-CF by all parties
interested; and it seeks to particularly satisfy the needs of stakeholders from competence frameworks
construction and research environment.
2 Normative reference
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 16234-1, e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT Professionals in
all industry sectors - Part 1: Framework
3 Terms and definitions, symbols and abbreviated terms
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions, symbols and abbreviated terms given in
EN 16234-1 apply.
e-CF: refer to e-Competence Framework defined by EN 16234-1.
4 General principles – executive overview
The aim of this Technical Report is to describe the methodology underpinning the development of
EN 16234-1, European e-Competence Framework (e-CF). The e-CF expert team and European ICT
stakeholders used this methodology, combined with their experience and industry knowledge, to inform
decisions and choices.
The objective of EN 16234-1 is to provide a common, shared, European tool to support organizations and
training institutions in recruitment, assessment, competence needs analysis, learning programmes and
career path design and development. It also aims to support policy makers to define policies related to e-
Skills development in education and in the workplace. As European stakeholders are the target audience
for EN 16234-1, the active involvement of multiple experts and stakeholders from this community
provided an essential ingredient in making the e-CF, now published as EN 16234-1, fit for purpose.
At the e-CF development project outset, four basic aspects of the forthcoming framework were
considered. The e-CF expert group, together with the European stakeholders, made clear decisions on:
a) overall framework structure in four dimensions;
b) competence, knowledge, skill and attitude definitions;
c) ICT business processes;
d) the possible relationship between the e-CF and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), in
particular between e-CF and EQF levels.
The decisions taken were as follows:
• e-CF structure in four dimensions. To determine the structure of the European e-Competence
Framework, the experts analysed and evaluated other existing frameworks, and finally agreed on a
four dimensional approach. This structure is based on competence areas (dimension 1) and
competences (dimension 2), rather than job roles. Competence-based approaches are more flexible
and facilitate local customization. Dimension 3 assigns levels from 1 to 5 to each competence as
appropriate. The number of the levels assigned to each competence varies and is dependent upon
the nature and complexity of the competence. Dimension 4 provides brief, non-exhaustive samples
of knowledge and skills associated with each competence.
• Definitions of competence, skills, knowledge and attitude. In accordance with the overall
approach regarding ICT stakeholder competence requirements, the definitions focussed on
organizational rather than individual competences. However, individual competences can be
identified within dimension 3 of the e-CF where proficiency levels are defined and are strongly
related to personal autonomy and attitudes. Therefore it can be said that that Dimension 3 provides
a bridge between organizational and individual competences. These definitions are in line with the
EQF general definitions of knowledge, skills and competence. However, it should be noted that the
EQF is still under development, and competence descriptions continue to be improved.
• Business Processes. The combined team of e-CF experts and European stakeholders agreed to use,
as a reference, a very general ICT process schema, compliant with most models provided by IT
certification institutions (e.g. Exin, Cobit). The model presents five process phases, Plan, Build, Run,
Enable and Manage, where Enable and Manage are cross-cutting phases. Within this document, a
broad description of the adopted process model is illustrated. Its purpose is to identify and define
competences, in a heuristic manner, and therefore should not be considered as a rigid definition of
company business processes.
• Levels. The e-CF experts and European stakeholder teams extrapolated from the EQF the following
level indicators: “context complexity”, “autonomy” and “behaviour” to help position and rank
competences. These indicators reflect organizational perspectives on competence. The EQF uses
further criteria such as “responsibility”, but stakeholders elected to omit this element to avoid
confusion with organizational accountability, and erroneously link competence levels to
organization hierarchical levels. Consequently, the e-CF defines proficiency levels from the
companies’ viewpoint. However, as explained later in this document it also provides a link to the EQF
and its associated learning levels.
The decisions taken in order to construct the e-CF were backed by theoretical and literature references.
Within this document the relationship between best industry practice and current state-of-the-art
competence theory is explained. The overall methodology adopted was based on a step-by-step, bottom
up approach focused upon stakeholders’ experience and practical implementation requirements.
Methodological experts contributed consistency in the definitions and working principles from the start
of the project.
The methodological challenges were:
• Representing the expert views of contributing stakeholders
• Achieving consensus on approach
• Formalizing decisions
• Ensuring cohesion of framework elements into a well–structured result
The process was based on consensus building, raising awareness among stakeholders and finding
common views to establish a common language, a European currency for e-Competences. Literature
review and theoretical knowledge provided clarification, when consensus was difficult. However, the
main approach taken was to make the e-CF consistent and complementary to the original definitions and
also to the EQF.
5 Building the e-CF: a combination of sound methodology and expert
contribution
5.1 The four dimensions of the e-CF
The structure of the European e-Competence Framework (e-CF) consists of four dimensions. These
dimensions reflect different aspects of business and human resource planning and are specified as
follows:
Dimension 1: five e-Competence areas derived from the ICT business processes PLAN – BUILD – RUN –
ENABLE – MANAGE. This area is instrumental in HR assessment and the determination of training needs,
as well as the identification of e-Competences. It helps HR managers to communicate with business
managers and make coherent decisions. In addition, it assists in the organization and navigation of e-
Competences.
Dimension 2: A set of reference e-Competences with a generic description for each one. It provides the
building blocks of the framework, its core, consisting of 40 competences. These are not business sector-
specific, i.e. they do not address specific applications such as banks, health, transport, etc. They are
generic e-Competences, customizable and applicable to any industry or business sector. In dimension 2,
e-Competences refer to and represent organization needs
Dimension 3: For each e-Competence, suitable proficiency level specifications, ranging from e-1 to e-5,
have been assigned and elaborated. They relate to EQF levels 3 to 8. This dimension involves behaviours
and levels of autonomy, creating a bridge between organizational and individual competences. Note that
organizational competences are generic and broad whilst individual competences are specific and
customized.
Dimension 4: Knowledge and skills embedded within e-Competences are made explicit in Dimension 4.
1)
They are not intended to be exhaustive but are examples of knowledge and skills that may be required
to successfully perform specific e-Competences. These examples are useful in defining specific and
precise outcomes to be assessed within an organization’s competence assessment programmes. In
2)
addition, they provide inputs for training institutions to help define learning outcomes and design
training initiatives. Dimension 4 components refer to Dimension 2 but are not related to specific
competence levels in dimension 3. However, Dimension 3 has been used to verify the applicability of
knowledge and skills identified.
In Figure 1, an example of how the four e-CF dimensions can be applied to organizations is shown (see
also Figure 1 of CEN/TR 16234-2).

1) Choices related to skills and knowledge development provide a competitive key to address business success and vary widely
in application across industry and education institutions. Hence knowledge and skills described in the e-CF are provided as
examples and for contextual background. (see also “e-CF in action” Interim report 2009, chapter 5)
.
2) Even though, Dimension 4 is constructed from an employer’s perspective, Education and training institutions will be able to
work with these short but precise e-competence components to revise or build curricula, syllabi, or learning programmes.
However, it is not intended to restrict educational style or content solely to these descriptors, on the contrary, education
providers are encouraged to produce materials complimentary to their culture. In consequence, the e-CF dimension 4 is
deliberately confined to a set of key items acting as guidance but not limiting educational institutions to a rigid or narrow content.
(see also “e-CF in action” Interim report 2009, chapter 5)
.
Figure 1 — Examples of e-CF 4 Dimensions implementation into companies
• Organizations may use dimension 2 – the generic e-competence descriptions – to build job profiles.
• Dimension 2 competences can be combined with dimension 3 proficiency levels to describe career
paths.
• Knowledge and skills from dimension 4 provide an opportunity to link competence and training
programs.
As the schematic above demonstrates, the e-CF has a multi-dimensional structure. It is competence-based
and flexible in application. Alternative, job-profile approaches are less flexible, making local adaptation
difficult. However, combining competences from different competence areas and using them as building
blocks can create flexible job-profiles. This enables the derived job-profiles to be easily updated by
substituting or deleting competences without the need to restructure the entire profile.
5.2 Dimension 1: e-Competence areas
5.2.1 General
A common language for competences is valuable as a 'vocabulary', but it also needs to be structured to
support collection and classification of content. A European language of competence must be translatable
into other concepts. This includes job profiles and descriptions and structures for learning or certification
or frameworks such as the EQF. The e-CF needs to meet multiple demands by providing user-friendly
orientation and by being open and flexible.
5.2.2 Processes and e-Competence Areas
If competence can be linked to an individual’s workplace capability, then a structure of competences can
be derived from exploring the workplace. Work and business processes bring together individual and
business demands, challenges, tasks, activities, results and outputs.
A business process is “a bundle of activities which needs one or more different inputs and which
generates a value outcome for the customer” (Hammer, Champy 1994, p. 52, see also Hammer 2007 and
Gaitanides 2007).
A work process is “a bundle of typical activities from a person or a team, mostly characterized by
chronological sequence” (see Binner 2004, Berben 2006, Buch, Frieling 2006).
Every work process is a part of a business process (in special cases work and business process are
identical). So the relationship between business and work processes is always valid and constant (see
Gaitanides 2007).
Using processes as a base provides the following:
• models for flexible orientation;
• description of activities from different perspectives, e.g. individual or teamwork processes,
department or enterprise business processes. Additional processes can be used to describe
relationships and dependencies between activities, e.g. sub-processes, simultaneous processes or
dependencies from the results of previous processes;
• descriptions of different kinds of activities, e.g. software development, customer service or
administration;
• comparisons across organisations (Enterprise or SME's) within the same business sector, because
processes are patterns. Processes give the opportunity to describe activities and reduce reliance
upon company specifics such as organizational charts.
Based on these characteristics, processes are ideally suited as a shared basic reference for collecting and
3)
classifying competences, mediated by categorizing requirements.
In the context of the e-CF development, it was also necessary to substantiate the process-model and the
relationship between different kinds of processes, workplace requirements and ICT (or knowledge)
areas. Based on the general business and work process model, as described above, different kinds of
general and ICT specific process models were analysed and compared, searching for typical activities and
processes. The models were based upon product life cycle management, systems and/or software life
cycles, systems or software engineering/development, IT process improvement and quality, IT
infrastructures and ICT working processes (see amongst others Stark 2004, Rogalla 2002, PLM, SPiCE,
CMMI, ITIL). The comparison revealed:
1. In the majority of cases, the structure of processes used in the models are similar. Consequently, two
ICT specific models, CMMI and ITIL, were studied as a basis for developing and maintaining the e-CF.
2. The main components of the ICT business process are Plan, Build, Run, Enable and Manage. Build and
Run are core areas whilst Enable and Manage are cross-cutting themes, referring and relating to the
former. Plan and Enable represent strategic areas, within companies that conceive, decide, design

3) From a methodological, social psychological perspective, work and business processes can be named and used as boundary
objects: “Boundary objects are objects which are both pliable enough to adapt to local needs and the constraints of multiple
parties employing them, yet robust enough to maintain a common identity across sites. They are weakly structured in common
use, and become strongly structured in individual site use. These objects may be abstract or concrete. They have different
meanings in different social worlds but their structure is common enough to more than one world to make them recognizable, a
means of translation.” (Star, Griesemer 1999, p. 509; see also Star 1996 and Brown, Duguid 1998 for business processes as
boundary objects). A boundary object renders co-operation between different people and organizations possible by allowing to
maintain and to cross boundaries at the same time.

and set up products, services, actions and policies. Build and Run company daily business
administration and improvement activities.

Figure 2 — The main components of the ICT business process
3. To ensure coherence with existing concepts, business processes were matched with ICT specific
processes. All processes from CMMI (DEV/1.2 2006) and ITIL (v3 2007/2005) were categorized in
this way for describing, fulfilling and defining ICT business processes in one step:
Table 1 — CMMI and ITIL processes – assigned to the business sub-processes

Run  Enable
Controlling and exploiting operations  Security
Maintaining Quality Management
Supporting Marketing and Selling
Training Distributing/Supplying
Documentation Procuring
... Acquiring (incl. outsourcing)
Disposition
...
CMMI – DEV/1.2  Determine Causes of Defects (Support: Causal  Establish Performance Baselines and Models
(2006) Analysis and Resolution) (Process Management: Organizational Process
Performance)
Address Causes of Defects (Support: Causal
Analysis and Resolution) Objectively Evaluate Processes and Work
Products (Support: Process and Product Quality
Establish Baselines (Support: Configuration
Assurance)
Management)
Provide Objective Insight (Support: Process and
Track and Control Changes (Support: Configuration
Product Quality Assurance)
Management)
Prepare for Validation (Engineering: Validation)
Align Measurement and Analysis Activities
(Support: Measurement and Analysis) Validate Product or Product Components
(Engineering: Validation)
Provide Measurement Results (Support:
Measurement and Analysis) Prepare for Verification (Engineering:
Verification)
Establish Organizational Process Assets (Process
Management: Organizational Process Definition) Perform Peer Reviews (Engineering: Verification)
Enable IPPD Management - IPPD Addition (Process Verify Selected Work Products (Engineering:
Management: Organizational Process Definition) Verification)
Establish an Organizational Training Capability Establish Supplier Agreements (Project
(Process Management: Organizational Training) Management: Supplier Agreement Management)
Provide Necessary Training (Process Management: Satisfy Supplier Agreements (Project
Organizational Training) Management: Supplier Agreement Management)

ITIL v3 /  Change Management (Service Transition)  Knowledge Management (Service Transition)
ISO 20000 (2007
Transition Planning and Support (Service Service Validation and Testing (Service
/ 2005)
Transition) Transition)
Asset and Configuration Management (Service Evaluation (Service Transition)
Transition)
Release and Deployment Management (Service
Transition)
Function: Service Desk (Service Transition)
Function: Technical Management (Service
Transition)
Function: IT Operations Management (Service
Transition)
Function: Application Management (Service
Transition)
Event Management (Service Operation)
Incident Management (Service Operation)
Request Fulfilment (Service Operation)
Problem Management (Service Operation)
Access Management (Service Operation)
4. Plan, Build, Run, Enable and Manage represent and contain all substantial workplace requirements
from all ICT (or knowledge) areas. Thus competences can be described in the same way for a variety
of areas such as software infrastructure, system integration, communication equipment and services.
All things considered, ICT business processes proved to be a suitable vehicle for collecting and classifying
requirements. In addition there was a need to describe the content of typical competences and
proficiency levels, and here the input from experts using their practical expertise and experience from a
broad variety of environments made an invaluable contribution.
ICT business processes were used essentially for developing the structure of the e-CF framework, and
using PLAN – BUILD – RUN – ENABLE – MANAGE in dimension 1, competences were categorized. This
method was very useful for identifying, distinguishing and assigning the first competence examples.
However the concept of “business processes” is very generic. Different organizations have different
business processes, different organizational structures and different business and working “cultures”.
Therefore in practice assigning a competence to a specific process, like PLAN or MANAGE is not an exact
science and it plays a less important role in the completed e-CF framework than during its development.
5.2.3 ICT (or knowledge) areas
ICT (or knowledge) areas provide a guide to contextualize e-competences with respect to specific content
(see Table 2).
In addition, they offered a dashboard to monitor and keep up with technology developments.
Table 2 — ICT (or knowledge) areas
Knowledge Areas Examples and definitions
Microelectronics;
Chips, boards, microprocessors, integrated electronics,
Components,
solid state memories, etc.
Semiconductors
Computers and peripheral equipment, multimedia devices,
Computer HW
etc.
Industrial large-scale systems, automation systems,
production systems, etc.; embedded systems for
automotive, aerospace systems (like aeroplanes), railway
Industrial Control
vehicles, etc; devices like medical devices, measuring,
Systems
checking and control devices, radar devices, security
devices, etc.; IT-systems and infrastructure for business
(enterprise application and services)
Wide area networks, telecommunication infrastructure,
Networks traffic control systems, central building control systems,
etc.
Operating systems, webservers, developing environments,
System Software
emails, etc.
Software which automates a business process for a specific
Applications Software
business sector
Software packages (Applications Software and/ or System
System Integration
Software) integration to build more complex functions
The e-CF experts discussed many approaches to identify and differentiate ICT knowledge areas. Although
they came from different perspectives, academic, industry and education, they concluded that a
pragmatic approach, consistent with the IS approach to the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model
should be employed.
Knowledge areas provide the background context for processes. As mentioned above, the ICT business
processes were the vehicle for collecting and classifying competences. In addition, Plan, Build, Run,
Enable and Manage represent and contain all substantial workplace requirements from all knowledge
areas. So the knowledge areas only impose practical boundaries to the e-competences.
5.3 Dimension 2: Competences
5.3.1 Competences in general
The concept of “competence” is ancient and goes back to the 18th century BC with the meaning of
“authority” or “capability”. The former refers to “possessing the responsibility, licence or right to decide,
produce, serve, act, perform or claim”, the latter refers to “having the knowledge, skills and experience to
perform” (Mulder, 2007). Authority has been related to qualification and certification mechanisms,
licences, official responsibilities, institutional leadership, whilst capability refers to one’s own mastery,
experience and know-how (even tacit and unconscious).
Up to the beginning of the nineteen nineties, “competence” was considered as an attribute of individuals.
“Each personal characteristic which (usually combined with others) allows the effective execution of a
particular task in a given organisation (McClelland, 1973) or “an underlying characteristic of an individual,
which is causally related to effective or superior performance in a job” such as “a motive, trait, skill, aspect
of one's self-image or social role, or a body of knowledge which he or she uses” (Boyatzis, 1982)
With respect to these definitions, McClelland considers the context relevant, while Boyatzis opens up to
possible de-contextualization.
However, at the beginning of the nineteen nineties another competence perspective arose, i.e. the
organizational point of view. With G. Hamel and C.K. Prahalad (1994) the “core competence” assumed a
strategic meaning for the company; it represents the intangible asset for their competitive advantage.
From that time on, the organizational perspective has also featured and is necessarily context-dependent.
The two approaches, from individual and from organizational points of view established two
perspectives, individuals with their own competences, and business processes with their core
competences.
Consequently, the identification of competences required by companies would ideally support both the
organization and the individual.
5.3.2 Competences in the e-CF
The experts and stakeholders involved in the e-CF development decided to use “operational” descriptions
to make them comparable with EQF learning outcomes and to create a reasonable and logical bridge
between the e-Competence Framework and the EQF qualifications framework.
The EQF defines learning outcomes as 'statements of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do
on completion of a learning process and are defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence’. (EQF
2009).
4)
The experts also chose the terms “competence” and “competences”, in common with the EQF. The terms
“competence” and “competences” refer to their comprehensive meaning and to company requirements,
reflecting their business process origins.

4) This topic is further explored in the document appendix 7.

Consequently, the e-CF definition of “competence” formulated by the experts is as follows:
• Competence is “demonstrated ability to apply knowledge, skills and attitudes for achieving
observable results”.
This definition is consistent with the EQF which defines competence as “the proven ability to use
knowledge, skills and personal, social and/ or methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in
professional and personal development”.
The e-CF definition of competence also encompasses social and personal abilities, as e-Competences are
holistic units expressing complex behaviours; they embed “attitudes” and degrees of individual
autonomy; this becomes more evident when e-competences are described according to e-CF proficiency
levels (see the next section for more details).
Regarding e-CF “skills”, “knowledge” and “attitude” definitions, the experts and stakeholders decided
that:
• Skill is the “ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems,
from managerial to technical (Source: EQF).
In the context of this standard, skills are described as cognitive (involving the use of logical, intuitive
and creative thinking) or practical (involving manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials,
tools and instruments). Managerial and technical skills are components of competences and specify
some core abilities that form a competence.
• Knowledge represents the “body of facts, principles, theories and practices that is related to a field
of work or study” (Source: EQF; e.g. programming languages, design tools.) and can be described by
operational descriptions.
• Attitude means in this context the ” the way that one thinks and feels about somebody or something;
the way that one behaves towards somebody or something that shows how one thinks and feels”
(Source: Oxford Dictionary).
Soft skills may shape attitudes; attitudes and soft skills can influence each other. For example, positive
thinking leads to a positive attitude; good communication and conflict mediator skills may benefit a
leadership attitude; a listener attitude facilitates relationship skills, etc.
If skills and knowledge are the core components of a competence, attitudes are the glue, which keeps
them together.
As learning outcomes in EQF and competences in EQF and e-CF mention “knowledge” and “skills”, these
two components provide a “loop-line” between EQF and e-CF. This establishes an added value
opportunity to provide foundations for interoperability between learning outcomes and competence (see
the CEN-CWA 16053:2009).
Identifying, clustering and describing ICT-competences required access to considerable expertise,
experience and industry knowledge from the e-CF experts and the European ICT stakeholders. To focus
this expertise, three principles were adopted:
(1) Criteria for including competences: All decisions about new competence inclusion were made by
the e-CF experts and also the European stakeholders. Criteria were based on the value and interest
in the proposed new competence and its exploitation potential. For inclusion a competence needed
to be widely used and practised (not just a fashionable trend) and be capable of integration into the
e-CF framework in a consistent and coherent way. For example, a new competence about “Green-IT”,
was investigated for inclusion in the e-CF 2.0. Green-IT can be considered as a fashionable trend with
unspecified substance. However “Sustainable development”, the competence finally adopted as
competence A.8, is more tangible and can be expressed in terms of environmental impact and energy
consumption.
(2) Relationships between tasks and competences: Differentiation between competence and task is
important to ensure competence framework integrity. Competence is described as an observable
behaviour showing a “demonstrated ability to apply knowledge, skills and attitudes for achieving
observable results”. . A task is an action or a set of actions required carrying out a job activity. The
defining difference between a task and a competence is the vital inclusion of personal and social
components such as attitudes, which are vital integral ingredients of competence. Within version 2
of the e-CF particular attention was given to ensuring that competence descr
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