FAQ's

• What is the Competency Management System (CMS)?
• What Are Competencies?
• What is CMS used for?
• What is CMS not used for?
• How do I logon to CMS?
• Does my CMS password change when my WebTADS password changes?
• How do I get a CMS account?
• What Internet browser should I use to access CMS?
• Is it possible to access CMS when off-site?
• How can I update my training history?
• What is the difference between my Position Description and the position competencies assigned to me in CMS?
• What happens if a supervisor is not in a position to know the proficiency level of their employee on a given competency?
• What happens if a supervisor is not in agreement with the employee on the proficiency level?
• How do I locate experts with certain competencies?
  

What is the Competency Management System (CMS)?

• CMS is an Agency-wide application used to measure and monitor the Agency's knowledge base. CMS helps the Agency match the talents and strengths of their employees with the positions that can best utilize those skills.
  
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What Are Competencies?

• There are two groupings of competencies in CMS: Position Competencies and Employee Portfolios. Position competencies identify competency needs of each position to meet the organization's mission, regardless of the incumbent. Employee portfolios are tied to an individual's skills, knowledge and expertise.  

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CMS is used for:

• Human Capital Management
• CMS ensures NASA has the competencies needed to complete its mission.
• Integrated Business Processes
• CMS provides a frame of reference to map business objectives to competencies.
• Employee Development
• CMS helps define training, development and knowledge areas for employees.
• Expertise Locator
• CMS eases the search for expertise and knowledge within the Agency's Workforce.
• Knowledge Management
• CMS creates communities of practice, a valuable resource for knowledge sharing.
• Communication Tool
• CMS provides a consistent language and framework for communications. 

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• CMS is not used for:
  • Job Selection
  • CMS is not designed or used as an Agency employment and selection system.
  • Pay Setting
  • Grade and pay are determined by employees' duties and responsibilities defined through the job analysis and classification process, not through CMS.
  • Performance Evaluation
  • An employee's performance evaluation is based on responsibilities and performance, not information in CMS.
  • Task/Work Assignments
  • CMS provides supervisors with limited information about an employee - it does not capture everything a supervisor would need to assign a particular task or job.
    
    
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Users logon to CMS using their WebTADS username and password.

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Does my CMS password change when my WebTADS password changes?

• Yes. Your WebTADS password is tied directly to your CMS password. When you change your WebTADS password, you will use that same password in CMS.
  
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How do I get a CMS account?

• Any employee who is in the Federal Personnel and Payroll System (FPPS) will automatically be included in CMS. Users logon to CMS using their WebTADS username and password.

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• The CMS was developed and tested for use with a PC, using Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE).  Users who access CMS using a PC and Netscape Navigator will be able to log on, but will encounter errors within the application and will not be able to complete their updates.  Macintosh users are able to access and update CMS using either the Mozilla Firefox or Apple Safari browser.
  
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• Yes, there are two ways to access CMS when off-site.  The first is via a Center Network Environment (CNE) Annex Account.  The second is via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection.  Annex and VPN accounts can be set up through the GSFC Center Network Environment (CNE).
  
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• Position descriptions are used in the classification process.   Whereas in CMS, competencies are assigned to Positions and used for workforce planning purposes.
  
  A position description (PD) clearly states the principal duties, responsibilities, and supervisory relationships of a position as well as additional information, the knowledge required by the position, guidelines, complexity, scope and effect, personal contacts, nature of contacts, physical demands and work environment.  Guidance for assigning values in the classification process comes from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Classification Standards and the NASA Supplemental Classification System.  Some of the values assigned in the classification process (e.g., OPM series, grade level, NASA Classification Code, etc.) can be used for workforce planning at a general level, but one of the primary purposes of the classification process is to ensure that in the federal pay system, there will be equal pay for equal work.
  
  Competency Management is a methodology that integrates workforce planning, employee development, and budget management to enable the Agency to manage it's workforce by expertise, instead of by trying to manage by the job position. The Competency Management System (CMS) was created to better understand the full capabilities of the workforce to more effectively plan and meet the needs of the Agency's mission. Competencies attempt to describe a base-level knowledge area that is needed to accomplish the duties of a job, but that can also be considered standard or common across job positions, regardless of the organization, the Center, the specific project, or business line. The dictionary that CMS draws on was developed by subject matter experts from across the Agency to describe the knowledge areas in terms that enable workforce planning.  Positions are accounted for by assigning one or more competencies, including a "primary", or dominant, competency.
  
  Both a position's description and the "position competency requirements" within CMS are based directly on the duties that comprise individual NASA positions.  However, the language used to describe that work is different, and not always compatible.  This is because the two approaches are informed by different business rules and terminology, and are updated on different timelines. Position descriptions can be good and valid for the purpose for which they are intended for many years (Short term work requirements are most likely to be accounted for through the performance appraisal process.)  CMS "position competency requirements", however, are updated annually by supervisors to reflect what have so far been more frequent than annual updates to the NASA Workforce Competency Dictionary, as well as short term adjustments to positions.
  
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• Supervisors should:
  • If not familiar with the employee’s background or work history, ask for information from the employee on their professional background (credentials, experience, training and education).
  • Allow the employee to provide evidence of professional work history via SF50s, resumes, performance reports, training records, or other documentation which substantiates proficiency information.

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• If there is a disagreement about the level of proficiency, the supervisor should seek input from peers in the employee’s professional community.
• If after seeking resolution on an agreed upon proficiency level there remains disparity, supervisors and employees are encouraged to document the disagreement in the “free text” block in the CMS Tool.  The notes would outline the disparity, including rationale, but would also identify the opportunity to review the issue at a reasonable point in the future.   The note by the supervisor should also indicate developmental opportunities to gain the higher proficiency rating in any competency required for the employee’s current position.  Opportunities to include:  training, detail to another assignment, shadowing a Subject Matter Expert, etc.

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How do I locate experts with certain competencies?

• Use the Search feature in CMS.  Access the system, click on the Search tab and enter the search parameters.  The default is a single competency search, but if you select the multiple competency search function you can select up to three competencies. Both allow searches on a single center or across the agency.   Note:  The system only displays the first 500 names it finds who meet the search criteria.

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