[Reposted from my blog on
eMetrics.org]
The Digital Analytics Competency Development Project
Now approaching 6,000 members, the ten-year-old Digital Analytics Association (DAA) produced a couple of truly impressive programs in its infancy.
The award winning
University of British Columbia / DAA Award of Achievement in Digital Analytics is offered 100% online using the DAA’s course material on UBC’s educational platform. The curriculum of four, month-long, tutored courses has been instrumental in helping over a thousand individuals acquire a new job skill in a burgeoning industry.
The DAA’s
Web Analyst Certification Program offers a proctored exam for individuals to obtain professional recognition after demonstrating their knowledge of and competency within the web analytics industry. Nearly 200 professionals proudly wear the CWA designation on their CVs, LinkedIn profiles and lapels.
Acknowledging those two great programs should in no way diminish the hard work and great gains made by countless DAA members working tirelessly on other projects as well. The power of the DAA is in the many hands that work together to create excellent reports, events and a growing sense of community.
Our next Big Deal project is just getting started and will have the biggest impact on our industry and provide the most value to our members yet and you can play a crucial role in making it happen.
Digital Analytics Competency Framework
The Competency Development Project has been launched to produce the Digital Analytics Competency Framework. This is brand new and very exciting.
We begin with an occupational analysis or competency study with the intention of creating a competency framework of what tasks are performed in the digital analytics industry, what skills are required and what the career growth paths look like.
Our digital analytics profession has undergone significant transformation in the last decade and we are taking the lead in defining the knowledge and skills required for success now and in the future. This is the first of its kind for our profession.
We’re going to accumulate, incorporate and disseminate definitions of necessary knowledge and abilities from entry level professionals to industry experts in both technical and managerial tracks. This framework will guide individuals considering careers in digital analytics, individuals seeking to advance in their positions, and managers and human resources professionals who have struggled to find and hire talent in this rapidly growing field.
Furthermore, the output of this project will provide a roadmap for the DAA. We will use it to determine which projects, programs and resources will be the most valuable to our members.
Output
The resulting framework will be organized by experience levels (or career levels) and include detailed descriptions of the activities associated with each level, along with the requisite knowledge and skills to support each activity.
The framework will center on the core competencies, the foundational knowledge and specific skills of the profession and those that are important to everyone in the field. They are critical regardless of the particular organization, industry, or area of expertise. The framework will also include competencies focused on specialized areas of expertise.
The Digital Analytics Competency Framework can be used for evaluating digital analysts’ skills pertaining to hiring, performance, training, career development, and succession management. It will help entire organizations with strategic planning, identify gaps in digital analytics capabilities throughout the enterprise.
Once the competency framework is complete, we will develop an online self-assessment tool where members will be able to evaluate themselves. Members will be able to determine where they are and where they want to be in the profession and see what further education and experience are needed to help them reach their goals.
The value of this project is illustrated by the resources allocated by our Board of Directors and Executive Director.
Jacki Conn, a woman of deep experience and notable organizational proficiencies, is our Education Manager, hired to oversee this and other programs. We are also contracting a psychometric consulting firm to help manage the process:
The DAA Needs You
In our first stage, the Competency Development Taskforce, made up of ten to twelve dedicated leaders in the digital analytics profession, will convene as soon as possible to provide strategic direction for the competency development project and review content.
This spring, we will need a focused group of 25 subject matter experts to participate in a job task analysis (JTA) workshop. Under the direction of trained workshop facilitators, you will identify and prioritize the critical job tasks performed and the essential knowledge and skills required of professionals in this industry.
A validation study will be conduct to determine whether the job tasks, as developed by the panel of experts, sufficiently describes the role of the digital analytics professional at each career level. The validation study involves surveying a sample of practitioners from each career level, who represent the full range of employment settings, geographical regions, education and experience levels. Survey participants will be asked to review and rate the task statements developed by the job task analysis panel, yielding crucial content validity evidence. The competency statements will be rated on their importance, criticality, and frequency of performance. In addition, the survey will validate differences in practice that may exist among different career levels.
I am personally calling on you to volunteer to help define career paths for the digital analytics profession.
Please sign up to take the survey, to participate in a multiple-day workshop or to help oversee the whole program.
We cannot do this without you.