MITRE wanted to develop a competency model for its systems engineers to enhance its strategic capability in this important area. MITRE felt that creating a specific and accurate competency model for its systems engineers would improve its recruitment and onboarding processes as well as its performance management and promotion systems. To create a competency model that it could apply to an individual or team environment, MITRE systems engineers and technical experts helped to build a competency model reflecting the company’s specific approach to systems engineering. MITRE began by identifying competency information from standards bodies, the MITRE Institute, outside vendors, and relevant government sources. The company’s leadership and manage- ment competency model was also consulted to generate additional non-technical competencies for consideration as being important for successful systems engineers. The model went through numer- ous revisions with input from over 150 experts across MITRE. MITRE’s team ultimately identified 36 competencies that it organized into five sections: enter- prise perspectives, systems engineering life cycle, systems engineering planning and management, systems engineering technical specialties, and collaboration and individual characteristics. For example, the collaboration and individual characteristics section includes building trust, persuasive- ness and influence, adaptability, and integrity. MITRE recognizes that no organization is static, and regularly updates its competency needs to keep its competency model accurate. It has found the competency model to be so useful that it has made it available to other organizations interested in better understanding and improving their workforce systems engineering competencies.

Opening Vignette Exercise: The opening vignette describes MITRE’s effort to develop a competency model for its systems engineers. As explained in the vignette, systems engineering is a broad discipline requiring a variety of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics. Performing a job analysis or develop- ing a competency model for this type of job requires using dif- ferent methods than would doing the same for a more static, lower-skilled job such as a cashier or mail sorter. Your assignment for this exercise is to describe how you would conduct a job analy- sis or create a competency model differently for these two types of jobs. How would the process differ? Would you use different sources of information?