CEN/TR 16234-2:2021

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-april-2021
Nadomešča:
SIST-TP CEN/TR 16234-2:2016
Krovni seznam e-usposobljenosti (e-CF) - Skupno evropsko okolje za strokovnjake
na področju informacijske in komunikacijske tehnologije v vseh sektorjih - 2. del:
Vodilo za uporabnike
e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT
Professionals in all sectors - Part 2: User Guide
E-Kompetenz-Rahmen (e-CF) - Ein gemeinsamer europäischer Rahmen für IKT-Fach-
und Führungskräfte in allen Branchen - Teil 2: Nutzerleitfaden
Référentiel des e-Compétences (e-CF) - Référentiel européen commun pour les
profession-nels des technologies de l’information et de la communication dans tous les
secteurs d’activité - Partie 2 : Guide de l’utilisateur
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 16234-2:2021
ICS:
03.100.30 Vodenje ljudi Management of human
resources
35.020 Informacijska tehnika in Information technology (IT) in
tehnologija na splošno general
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

CEN/TR 16234-2
TECHNICAL REPORT
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
February 2021
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
ICS 35.020 Supersedes CEN/TR 16234-2:2016
English Version
e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European
Framework for ICT Professionals in all sectors - Part 2:
User Guide
Référentiel des e-Compétences (e-CF) - Référentiel E-Kompetenz-Rahmen (e-CF) - Ein gemeinsamer
européen commun pour les profession-nels des europäischer Rahmen für IKT-Fach- und
technologies de l'information et de la communication Führungskräfte in allen Branchen - Teil 2:
dans tous les secteurs d'activité - Partie 2 : Guide de Nutzerleitfaden
l'utilisateur
This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 15 February 2021. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC
428.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2021 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 16234-2:2021 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Content  Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Main Principles. 7
4.1 EN 16234-1 (e-CF) scope and target groups . 7
4.2 EN 16234-1 (e-CF) a fundamental pillar of ICT professionalism for Europe . 7
4.3 EN 16234-1 (e-CF) structure, content and application opportunities. 8
4.4 The e-CF as a standard: normative versus informative elements . 15
4.5 Entry start points for using the EN 16234-1 (e-CF) . 16
4.6 Purpose and target groups of this user guide . 20
5 e-CF for multiple application across multiple target groups . 20
5.1 Applying the e-CF in the ICT organisation: HR and ICT departments . 20
5.2 Applying the EN 16234-1 (e-CF) in an education and training context. 25
5.3 EN 16234-1 (e-CF) application by individuals, ICT students and professionals . 30
5.4 EN 16234-1 (e-CF) applied in ICT labour market research . 31
5.5 EN 16234-1 (e-CF) in policy and digital skills strategy development . 31
5.6 Making combined use of frameworks . 34
Annex A (normative) e-Competence levels e-1 to e-5 from EN 16234-1 (e-CF). 38
Annex B (informative) Examples of deliverables related to e-CF competences . 39
Annex C (informative) Creating further framework interfaces: Example EN 16234-1 (e-CF) and Euro-
Inf . 47
Annex D (informative) Overview of CEN/TR 16234-4 - Case Studies illustrating e-CF usage in practice
....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 52
Bibliography . 57

European foreword
This document (CEN/TR 16234-2:2021) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 428 “ICT
professionalism and digital competences”, the secretariat of which is held by UNI.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes CEN/TR 16234-2:2016.
In comparison with the previous edition, the following technical modifications have been made:
— Review of all previously existing clauses and content in the light of the EN 16234-1:2019 and benefitting
from multiple e-CF user experiences gathered and application feedback received.
This document for ICT professional competence outlines the minimum requirements of competence (i.e. a
threshold) in the work context. It includes typical knowledge and skills examples that are not standardized but
provided to support orientation and understanding. When applying the standard, this approach must be
recognized to clearly distinguish between which elements are mandatory and which are merely examples
(represented by, shall versus should/may/can, etc.).
This European standard is made up of four parts:
— EN 16234-1 e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT Professionals in
all sectors - Part 1: Framework. It provides the e-Competence Framework (e-CF) published as a European
Norm (EN).
— CEN/TR 16234-2 e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT
Professionals in all sectors - Part 2: User Guide. It provides the e-CF User guide published as a CEN Technical
Report (TR).
— CEN/TR 16234-3 e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT
Professionals in all sectors - Part 3: Methodology. It provides the e-CF Methodology published as a CEN
Technical Report (TR).
— CEN/TR 16234-4 e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT
Professionals in all sectors - Part 4: Case Studies. It provides a series of Case Studies illustrating e-CF
practical use from multiple ICT sector perspectives published as a CEN Technical Report (TR).
Part 1 is fully standalone, and part 2, 3 and 4 rely on part 1.
Introduction
EN 16234-1, e-Competence Framework (e-CF) - A common European Framework for ICT Professionals in all
sectors – Part 1: Framework was established as a tool to support mutual understanding and provide
transparency of language through the articulation of competences required and deployed by Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) professionals.
In the complex environment of ICT professional skills development and management there is a need for clarity
and simplification. Existing organisational processes have often been established in an ad hoc way over many
years and lack connectivity to the wider community. The e-CF offers a way out of this dilemma, providing a
neutral solution to overcome inertia and to establish a structured approach to ICT professional competence
development.
This document offers direction on how to adopt the e-CF approach from multiple user perspectives. Clause 4
provides the executive overview of e-CF scope, target groups, underlying principles, concepts and structure,
including entry points for using the e-CF (4.5). Clause 5 provides practical guidance for multiple applications of
the standard among multiple target groups and from different stakeholder perspectives. Compelling reasons
for adopting the e-CF are given in 5.1.2 (basic factors for successful implementation). Annex D of this document
gives an overview of Case Studies published in a complementary document illustrating examples of e-CF
practical application.
To support users and guide developers of applications of EN 16234-1 (e-CF), the following narrative provides
an overview of the underpinning philosophy and principles adopted during the document’s construction and
maintenance. Understanding these guiding principles is equally important for applying the EN 16234-1 (e-CF)
across multiple environments concerned with ICT professionalism.
EN 16234-1 (e-CF) Guiding Principles:
EN 16234-1 (e-CF) is an enabler; it is designed to be a tool to empower users, not to restrict them. It
provides structure and content for application by many users from organisations in the private and public
sector, ICT user or ICT supply organisations, educational institutions including higher education and private
certification providers, social partners and individuals. Across this broad application context, EN 16234-1 (e-
CF) is designed to support common understanding, not to mandate the use of each and every word used within
it.
EN 16234-1 (e-CF) expresses ICT competence using the following definition: ‘Competence is a demonstrated
ability to apply knowledge, skills and attitudes for achieving observable results’. This holistic concept directly
relates to workplace activities and incorporates complex human attitudes and resultant behaviours. Behaviour
and attitude are important influences that facilitate successful knowledge and skills application. Within each
competence, embedded attitudes are reflected in behaviour and enable the successful integration of knowledge
and skills.
Competence is a durable concept and although technology, jobs, marketing terminology and promotional
concepts within the ICT environment change rapidly, EN 16234-1 (e-CF) remains durable requiring
maintenance approximately every three years to maintain relevance.
A competence can be a component of a job role, but it cannot be used as a substitute for similarly named
job titles, for example; the competence, E.2. ‘Project and Portfolio Management’ does not represent the
complete content of a ‘Project Manager’s’ job role. Competences can be aggregated, as required, to represent
the essential content of a job role or profile. On the other hand, one single competence may be assigned to a
number of different job profiles.
Competence is not to be confused with process or technology concepts such as, ‘Cloud Computing’ or ‘Big
Data’. These descriptions represent evolving technologies and in the context of EN 16234-1 (e-CF), they may be
integrated as knowledge and skills examples in Dimension 4.
EN 16234-1 (e-CF) does not attempt to cover every possible competence deployed by an ICT
professional nor are the included competences necessarily unique to ICT. EN 16234-1 (e-CF) articulates
competences associated with ICT professional roles including some that may be found in other professions but
are very important in an ICT context; examples include, C.4. ‘Problem Management’ or E.3. ‘Risk Management’.
However, to maintain an ICT focus, EN 16234-1 (e-CF) avoids generic competences such as ‘Communications’
or ‘General Management’. Although very applicable these generic competences are comprehensively
articulated in other structures. Selecting competences for inclusion within EN 16234-1 (e-CF) is therefore a
pragmatic rather than an exhaustive process. The selection was based on engagement with a broad cross-
section of stakeholders who prioritize competence inclusion based upon industry knowledge and experience.
EN 16234-1 (e-CF) is structured across four dimensions. e-Competences in Dimensions 1 and 2 are
presented from the organisational perspective as opposed to an individual’s perspective. Dimension 3 defines
e-Competence levels and relates to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), it provides a bridge between
organisational and individual competences. Dimension 4 provides examples of knowledge and skills in the e-
Competences of Dimension 2; they are not intended to be exhaustive but included for inspiration and
orientation.
This latest version of the standard incorporates a new element, transversal a
...