NASA is faced with the daunting task of maintaining and growing our technical capability to support our varied, dynamic, and growing business lines. We must meet the expectations of the public and industry to lead the exploration of our planet, the solar system, and deep space. This must be accomplished in an environment of downsizing of Government and shrinking Federal budgets. How can we manage our human capital so we retain and grow knowledge and apply it strategically to the products and services that meet our customers’ needs?

Our approach was to catalog the specific knowledge areas that support the strategies to meet customers’ expectations. This required meeting with organizational leaders in each directorate and the Center to determine the contribution of each to our strategy. Then subject matter experts (SME’s) were interviewed to develop the identified knowledge areas into competency content. From these specific competencies, we can describe the knowledge required for the strategic functions carried out in each position in the organization. A Competency Management System and associated tool were then developed to (1) implement the system across the workforce, which determines a measurable gap between what we know and what we need to know, (2) meet our strategic goals, and (3) satisfy our customers’ needs. An industry consultant, InterKnowledge Corporation, was instrumental in developing the model structure, ensuring a high-quality product, and assisting in the system deployment.

To capture and analyze the data, a Web-based tool was developed. All employees can easily participate by developing and maintaining their own portfolio of competencies, skills, and experiences. Supervisors utilize the system to manage the current and anticipated knowledge needs of the organization by setting the competency requirements for each job position. The resulting data is then provided to senior executives, managers, and the human resource department. With this key information, they are able to make more informed decisions in multiple related business areas, from budgeting training dollars to allocating workforce to developing requirements for hiring. The CMS enables effective and critical communication among the various related business processes to implement more strategic solutions to the human capital needs of the organization.

Key accomplishments:

• 2000: Completed the design of the KSC Competency Management Model and began the development of competency content with SME’s.
• 2001: Completed the pilot project to design and deploy the CMS in the Spaceport Engineering and Technology Directorate. Deployed CMS in the Workforce and Diversity Management Directorate, modeling nearly 400 employees.
• 2002: Currently deploying CMS throughout the KSC civil service workforce. When completed, over 1,800 employees will be modeled. Model was modified to have an Agencywide appearance.