The Skills Framework for the Information Age
(SFIA)Foundation has set up a user group to
improve communication and feedback.
The foundation, which started the web-based group two weeks ago,
said it would use comments from its 500 users to help shape future
updates to the SFIA.
The skills framework helps firms manage human capital and aims
to show what IT professionals can do beyond their job
descriptions.
Organisations including npower, the NHS and Thames Water have
used the SFIA to improve IT efficiency, and the
British Computer Society said the framework was helping to
improve the level of professionalism in the IT industry.
Ron McLaren, operations manager at the SFIA Foundation, said
some members of the user group would meet occasionally, but most
interaction would be via a forum on the website.
He said that the scheme would help the SFIA Foundation to
improve its service. "Whatever you are doing, you must have
feedback in place, otherwise you do not get the bigger picture.
"We have a SFIA council, which gives input from a relatively
high level, but often if you have nothing but high-level input you
are not informed about the real-life practicalities," said
McLaren.
"There can be a certain amount of assumptions being made, and it
will be of huge value to us to hear about the user experience."
McLaren said there would be benefits to users, who can use the
forum to exchange information and experiences about SFIA and other
issues of concern to the IT industry.