A Discussion on Competency Management Systems from a Design Theory Perspective

The competencies of employees are a critical success factor for any organization. Competency Management Systems help to develop competencies by supporting processes such as needs identification, intervention planning and implementation, and evaluation. However, the design of Competency Management Systems comes with a broad range of technical and organizational challenges. This study addresses these challenges and discusses the development of Competency Management Systems from a design theory perspective. The prototype evaluation, conducted as part of an action research initiative, involved fifteen companies and identified design recommendations in the areas of organization, user, resources and competency management software.