The figure below illustrates a framework to support functional requirements for competency tracking and personalized assessment, learning and training. The framework includes legacy data, processes and policies as well as new digital objects and systems. It also leverages standards like SCORM, digital object identifiers, the emerging standards for repositories, and the emerging CORDRA specification for the registration and resolution of identifiers for content objects. This helps provide a complete, streamlined solution that does more with less.
The black arrows and the grey zones in the figure above represent a general flow of data and processes that inform the competency modeling and the development of assessment and training resources. Those flows and processes are not amenable to standardization, because every enterprise or agency has its own culture, priorities and processes that govern them. The colored arrows represent interfaces between different services that implement the assessments, training and competency data management. These services may be part of the same system, or implemented as separate, cooperating systems in a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). The arrows also represent "choke points" through which data travels from one service to another. The choke points allow a straigthforward enforcement of security, privacy, data filtering and data processing policies (e.g. confidential topics, HIPAA conformance, etc.)
The same framework also support readiness assessments based on competency records, personal portfolios, and Just In Time job aids and other performance support resources tailored to the requirements of any task.
The lightly patterned gray arrows with grey caption represent shortcuts. One kind of shortcut shows how tracking data from learning activities can be used as immediate feedback to influence an automated adaptive learning plan. For example, in SCORM 2004 sequencing, the status of objectives can influence the adaptive sequence. Another kind of shortcut is the possible use of personal portfolios or portable personal profiles to store competency records. For example, an ePortfolio for a person might contain a personal learning plan (desired learning outcomes and a specification of the activities to each those outcomes), work products and competency records.