Industry Resources
This section is meant to provide members of the tech industry in Nova Scotia insight into the main technical competencies included in the self-assessment tool. At the bottom of this page there are also occupational profiles that will display the recommended proficiency levels for each job role as well as popular courses, learning streams, and locally available diplomas and degrees related to the occupations.
Area 1: BUSINESS ANALYSIS MANAGEMENT
- Business Environment Analysis:
Identify and recognize factors that could impact a software development project; develop strategies to mitigate potential risks and capitalize on opportunities.
- Business Needs Analysis:
Identify and scope business requirements and priorities through information gathering and analysis; propose and clarify solutions, initiatives, and programs, and articulate the potential impact of the solution on the business; assess the current state of the organization’s IT systems and infrastructure, identify areas for improvement, and develop a strategy to address those needs.
- Emerging Technology Synthesis:
Identify and evaluate technological products, services, and techniques; monitor and integrate emerging technology trends and developments.
Area 2: DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
- Data Design:
Identify data requirements and characteristics; design data structures and relationships to support business/user needs; create database models and flows for structured and unstructured data requirements; establish a data design strategy for the business and lead the implementation of database technology.
- Solution Architecture:
Assess and evaluate computer systems, hardware, software, processes, or related components; select and effectively deploy IT solutions and regularly monitor their performance; design and develop a technical vision as a solution blueprint or structure; guide the development of IT solutions.
- User Experience Design:
Conceptualize and identify design goals, usability, functionality, and accessibility requirements for a product; create storyboards, design interfaces, and interactions, including static wireframes and dynamic prototypes, to provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users and create alternative designs to enhance user satisfaction.
- User Interface Design:
Apply UI design principles that meet the needs of users and businesses; identify and map functionalities and information flows; develop information architecture; design user interface prototypes with graphical interfaces, and develop metrics to track the performance of user interfaces; strategize the language and methodology for user interface development.
Area 3: DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
- Applications Development:
Develop a range of applications, from basic to more context-aware and/or augmented reality that incorporate predictive behavior analytics, geospatial capabilities, and other appropriate algorithms; perform coding, testing, debugging, documenting, reviewing and/or refining across the application development stages.
- Applications Integration:
Analyze the requirements of different systems; convert specifications into technical design, and determine the most appropriate approach to integration; build and manage data acquisition and management protocols; conceptualize, design, and develop interfaces, integration solutions, and architecture; optimize data integration platforms.
- Cloud Computing:
Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of a cloud environment and security of IT systems, including designing cloud applications, planning cloud architecture, adapting security measures, provisioning resources, and maintaining cloud components; use various cloud service models and deployment options.
- Software Configuration:
Configure software products and apply scripts and automation tools to integrate and deploy software releases; undertake modifications to software configuration based on systems and/or configuration tests.
- Data Engineering:
Develop and implement efficient processes and systems to collect, store, extract, transform, load, and integrate data at scale; structure and organize for easy access and inference.
- Data Visualization:
Implement appropriate and contemporary techniques, as well as dynamic visual displays, to present data, patterns, trends, and analytical insights; design and create effective visualizations that accurately and clearly represent the data and communicate insights and trends.
Area 4: TESTING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
- Software Testing:
Assess and test the performance and effectiveness of an application by designing sophisticated testing strategies, setting up suitable testing conditions, and defining test cases and/or technical criteria to ensure that software is reliable, efficient, and of high quality.
- Test Planning:
Identify tools, procedures, and test wares; determine test requirements, develop a testing plan, strategy, and systematic test procedures to verify and ensure a product, system, or technical solution meets its design specifications.
- Usability Testing:
Identify usability problems, collect data, and determine the users’ satisfaction with the product or application.
Area 5: SECURITY AND STANDARDS
- Data Ethics:
Apply professional, legal, regulatory, and ethical frameworks that govern the collection and use of data; define and implement ethical principles, values, policies, systems, and processes to acquire, use, store, extract, interpret, transform, load and integrate, share and dispose of data. Identify, analyze, and solve complex ethical issues.
- Audit and Compliance:
Develop a compliance process and audit strategy to conduct a thorough review of the organization’s adherence to statutory regulations and industry; establish relevant internal controls and review organizational compliance/governance processes to assess and enhance them.
- Cyber and Data Breach incident Management:
Identify, manage, record, and analyze security threats or incidents through a combination of applications, software systems, and human-driven investigation/analysis; identify affected systems and user groups, minimize the impact, conduct a thorough analysis, and recover and restore normal operations; manage trigger alerts, announcements, and processes for efficient resolution.
- Cyber Forensics:
Collect and acquire data from systems and devices; analyze, interpret, report, manage and preserve digital evidence; develop the process for forensic investigation as per legal requirements; design and implement protocols for collection, analysis, and preservation of digital evidence, and manage/report the analysis.
- Cyber Risk Management:
Deploy, assess, and monitor cyber risk assessment techniques and mitigation measures; develop a cyber risk assessment framework and management that can preemptively identify significant security loopholes and weaknesses; establish defenses, develop risk treatment, and prioritization strategies as per the security framework of the company as well as other standards and guidelines.
- Quality Standards:
Assess, map, monitor, review, develop, implement, and communicate clear expectations and standards for IT products and services delivered to both internal and external clients.
- Security Administration:
Administer, configure, troubleshoot, and update internal security programs and solutions; monitor access, permissions, and rights to IT facilities; implement and maintain firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and other security controls; perform regular security audits and vulnerability assessments.
- Security Guidance:
Disseminate information and provide education to users, teams, and business verticals on potential security risks and mitigation strategies; develop and deliver training on security and potential threats; provide necessary guidance on potential risks, mitigation strategies, and best practices in alignment with emerging security trends.
- Security Governance:
Identify and evaluate security risks; implement security guidelines and protocols in accordance with relevant policies; establish corporate security policies, frameworks, and guidelines to protect against risks, threats, and vulnerabilities in alignment with the emerging trends in security management.
Area 6: ADMINISTRATION AND SUPPORT
- Applications Support:
Provide ongoing technical support to users regarding the installation and maintenance of applications. Identify and resolve application problems; respond to change requests that will enhance the operations and usage of an application by developing new features and functionalities.
- Database Administration:
Perform installation, configuration, upgrading, monitoring, maintenance, troubleshooting, recovery, and archiving of databases and servers; design and implement database structures, standards, and best practices; plan and strategize the management of databases.
- Infrastructure Support:
Identify, classify, and troubleshoot technical issues and incidents regarding infrastructural components; design and implement a problem management process and provide guidance and advice on infrastructure upgrades.
- Network Administration:
Monitor and manage networks to ensure optimum performance as per business needs; perform early detection, isolation, analysis, and recovery; limit the impact of failures and threats on the network. Review and assess network capabilities and design network configurations; align network performance with business needs by setting resources and budgets.
- Performance Management:
Monitor and improve the performance and availability of an organization’s IT systems ; identify and resolve issues that affect performance; evaluate and optimize network, system, and/or software performance; optimize performance and initiate relevant controls and modifications.
- Problem Management:
Diagnose and prioritize problems and implement solutions; establish strategies and best practices to manage and prevent problems and incidents from occurring; eliminate recurring incidents and minimize the impact of unavoidable incidents.
- User Service Support:
Respond to user requests and issues. Resolve and escalate incidents when required; undertake proactive actions to ensure stable and secure applications to avoid potential service disruptions; develop processes and procedures to optimize system performance; set resources and budgets for capacity and resource planning.
Select an Occupational Profile
Choose an occupational profile that will display its recommended proficiency levels as well as popular courses, learning streams, and locally available diplomas and degrees related to it.