Title: DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCY STANDARDS FOR INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY (IT)
PROFESSIONALS IN
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS COMPANIES: PERSPECTIVES FOR CURRICULUM AND STAFF DEVELOPMENTABSTRACTThe nature of work for IT
professionals, specifically in business solutions companies is changing; and this change has necessitated a need for upgrading the competencies of IT professionals to prepare them in a rather fast-changing
technology trend in the IT industry. This study was designed to identify and validate the competencies considered important for IT professionals in business solutions companies.The Competency Rating Scale for IT Professionals in Business Solutions Companies (CRS-ITPBSC) was developed for the study and it consisted of two (2) major sections: a Basic Business and a Technical/Core Competency sections. Fifty-one (51) basic business competencies were arranged into 42 interpersonal management knowledge and skills and nine (9) organizational specific knowledge. The technical/core section contained 38 items which are organized into two (2) major divisions: six (6) having to do with proficiency on specific computer software (programming languages and tools), and 29 having to with the general technical/core knowledge a programmer must have. Each item was rated using a Likert-type scale ranging from 1– 6, Important to Unimportant. A modified Rotational Delphi technique was used to implement the design. The purpose of rotational modification was to reduce the burden on panel members when answering large numbers of item (91 items). Eighteen IT experts from selected Business Solutions Companies in Metro Manila were asked to verify and validate the identified items in the competency standard draft.Three rounds of the modified Rotational Delphi technique were conducted. In each round, the instrument was presented to panel members who completed and returned it to the researcher. The responses were analyzed and compiled in order to build the next round’s instrument and to obtain the final results. For each item, Interquartile ranges were calculated as measures of dispersion and median scores were calculated as measures of central tendency. Consensus was judged to have been achieved by each competency item when an interquartile deviation of less than 1.20 was obtained.Each competency was also analyzed for degree of importance using median scores on a six-point scale (high-rating, medium-rating, or low-rating). Competencies with a median score between 1.00-2.50 were assigned high ratings, 2.60-4.50 were assigned medium ratings, and 4.60-6.00 scores were assigned low ratings. For analysis purposes, the entire set of competencies was organized into 2x3 matrix which was designed to compare their degree of importance with their consensus. The largest numbers of high consensus/high rating items were located in the Technical/Core skills.The results of this study indicate that panelists are in broad agreement regarding the competencies necessary for IT professionals to function successfully in the IT industry. The major emphases in the technical/core skills area are focused on OOP, web-based, and open source programming. Specific “hands-on” technical skills were found to be important. Basic business area, on the other hand, focused on interpersonal management knowledge and skills particularly on interactive and critical thinking skills. The competencies identified as high consensus/high rating represent an appropriate and valid foundation on which to develop curriculum and training systems for IT professionals in business solutions companies.