Information Technology Careers

Individuals within the Application Development career progression work closely with clients, business analysts, and team members to understand the business requirements that drive the analysis and design of quality technical solutions. These solutions must be aligned with business and IT strategies and are in compliance with the organization's architectural standards. Application Developers are involved in the full systems life cycle and therefore are responsible for designing, coding, testing, implementing, and supporting application software that is delivered on time and within budget. Responsibilities beyond development of software may include participation in component and data architecture design, technology planning, product evaluation, advanced testing processes, and buy versus build recommendations. Individuals also provide input to project plans related to the Application Development initiative.

Application Developers have a strong knowledge of programming languages used by the organization. They have experience in systems design and have a solid understanding of development, database development, testing, and integration methodologies. Knowledge of current and emerging IT products, services, and processes is required.

Individuals must be able to adjust to constant business change. Common types of changes include introduction of new organizations through mergers and acquisitions, evolving goals and strategies, and emerging technologies. These changes require integration of solutions that can impact the overall application development activity. Application Developers also provide client support, consultation, and subject matter expertise for application development, maintenance, and support.

Career Ladder Position Levels

Application Developer
Senior Application Developer
Lead Application Developer
Senior Lead Application Developer
Chief Application Developer

Individuals within the Business Analysis career progression act as a liaison between the IT department and the business client. They collect, analyze, review, document, and communicate business needs and requirements. They assess the needs of a client through direct interaction and look for opportunities to develop and grow the business through effective use of technology.

Based on breadth and depth of understanding of business needs and processes, they collaborate with IT professionals to determine if solutions currently exist (internally or externally) or whether new solutions are feasible. They take a broad perspective to determine how such solutions will impact existing work processes and systems, and how to manage the integration. They also research and facilitate the evaluation of "buy vs. build" decisions. Business Analysis professionals are responsible for proactively identifying technology opportunities that impact corporate business strategies and performance. Senior level professionals within this job family work principally with the top level management of a specific business area and build consensus on IT investment decisions with executives in IT, Finance, and other corporate functions.

Individuals in this job family must have a solid understanding of the client's existing business processes, the key drivers and measures of success for the business, and the short- and long-term direction of the business and related technologies. They should have a working knowledge of the business area that they support and should be equally aligned with the IT department. Business Analysis professionals educate project team members on business unit goals and objectives and educate the business on the value of information technology. They also display innovation in identifying, proposing, and overseeing the execution of business solutions. Through adaptable communication skills and the ability to translate between technical and business language, they work collaboratively, negotiating requirements across multiple groups. Finally, they must have an understanding of the overall IT architecture of the organization.

Career Ladder Position Levels

Business Analyst
Senior Business Analyst
Lead Business Analyst
Senior Lead Business Analyst
Chief Business Analyst

Individuals within the Client Technologies career progression are responsible for supporting the ongoing technology needs of all employees. They install and configure all types of personal computing devices and peripherals. They provide Tier II support and work with vendors to resolve Tier III issues. Other responsibilities include deploying new technology and performing system integration testing of hardware/software upgrades.

Client Technologies professionals identify, diagnose, and resolve problems. For problems isolated to the client, they develop and follow procedures to resolve issues immediately. For more complex problems, they coordinate the resolution with other technical teams and external vendors. Individuals are responsible for documenting solutions to problems and developing end-user guidelines. Additionally, they evaluate and recommend client software and hardware and write proposals for purchasing new or upgraded products.

Individuals demonstrate expertise in various custom or packaged hardware and software. They have superior troubleshooting capabilities and outstanding customer service and support skills.

Career Ladder Position Levels

Client Technologies Analyst
Senior Client Technologies Analyst
Lead Client Technologies Analyst
Senior Lead Client Technologies Analyst
Chief Client Technologies Analyst

Individuals within the End User Support career progression respond to client requests by diagnosing and resolving problems that fall within defined guidelines and escalating more complex problems to other technical support teams and/or outside vendors. These individuals work with clients in a variety of settings which may include providing phone or email support remotely from a central location, as well as providing desk side support.

Main responsibilities include responding to requests for IT support, logging problems, generating trouble tickets, attempting to diagnose and resolve problems and, if necessary, escalating the problem to the appropriate level of expertise. They have a strong customer-focused orientation to ensure that client needs are addressed, while working to improve customer support processes and practices. In addition, End User Support professionals monitor and manage client satisfaction metrics such as service level agreements (SLAs). On an ongoing basis, they work to improve customer support processes and practices. Individuals assist in the evaluation of new products and technologies, and the definition of desktop standards. In some instances, End User Support professionals negotiate service agreements with client groups, perform needs analysis based on trends in team metrics, and identify opportunities for using information technology to meet client business objectives. Furthermore, they may also negotiate and manage contracts and relationships with outside service vendors.

Individuals in this job family require an understanding of the foundation architecture, hardware, and software used by the organization. They require a strong customer-focused orientation to ensure that client needs are addressed and resolved in accordance with service level agreements.

Career Ladder Position Levels

End User Support Analyst
Senior End User Support Analyst
Lead End User Support Analyst
Senior Lead End User Support Analyst
Chief End User Support Analyst

Individuals within the ERP Applications Development career progression work closely with clients, business analysts, and team members to understand the business requirements that drive the analysis and design of quality technical solutions for the development and operation of ERP systems. They typically design, test and debug ERP software, while also providing client support, consultation and subject matter expertise for day-to-day operations, maintenance and support. ERP developers ensure that all ERP applications are in compliance with the organization's architectural standards. ERP Applications Developers configure, analyze, design, develop, and maintain ERP program codes and applications to support business processes and functions. They also work on elements of large, complex installations.

ERP Applications Development professionals typically design, test, and debug ERP software. They assist in such day-to-day operations as troubleshooting problems arising from regular use, production support, and maintaining the ERP platform. They develop scripts for data merging and migration, and assist in the development of ERP interfaces to internal and external systems. ERP developers have experience in systems design and have a solid understanding of applications development, database development, application and system testing, and integration methodologies.

ERP Applications Development professionals may work as individual contributors, team members, or as technical team leaders. They understand the technical environments upon which the ERP application is run and work closely with database planning and infrastructure operations. They also provide client support, consultation, and subject matter expertise for day-to-day operations, maintenance, and support.

Career Ladder Position Levels

ERP Developer
Senior ERP Developer
Lead ERP Developer
Senior Lead ERP Developer
Chief ERP Developer

IT Leaders are responsible for creating the behaviors, structures, systems, and competencies required to run the IT organization as an effective, valued partner. Each role within this job family provides technical and business leadership to their organizations as well as to the business. They align the IT strategy, services, investment decisions, and delivery structures and processes with the strategic direction of the enterprise. IT Leaders provide services to meet the needs of the clients and takes responsibility for improving processes that are negatively affecting customer satisfaction and relationships. They also develop appropriate pricing models and chargeback schemes for IT services. They oversee the development of corporate standards, technology architecture, technology evaluation, and transfer. They manage small to large teams of people responsible for developing and delivering IT solutions for the business and customers. Each role within this job family provides technical and business leadership to their organizations as well as to the business.

IT Leaders are also responsible for anticipating and analyzing trends in technology, assessing the impact of emerging technologies on the business, providing solutions to address technology and business issues, and managing financial and technology resources of the enterprise while ensuring the development of high-quality technology solutions. These solutions must be developed at the best possible cost and be aligned with customer and business needs while establishing relationships with employees and key internal and external stakeholders. They are also responsible for participating and leading the development of an IT governance framework that defines the working relationships and sharing of IT components among various IT groups within the enterprise.

To be successful, individuals must possess a combination of business, technical, and leadership skills. Additionally, individuals working in this job family must possess excellent communication skills and the ability to influence others. They must also be able to quickly assess the impact of technical issues on the business and make decisions appropriately. Through relationship management, they understand client needs, identify and pursues profitable opportunities, and assumes responsibility for customers' overall satisfaction. IT Leaders educate business leaders about how to maximize the value of IT and partner with them to demonstrate the value of IT investments.

Career Ladder Position Levels

Team Leader
Manager
Senior Manager
Associate Director
Director

Individuals within the IT Security career progression develop and manage data, system, and network security architecture. They develop, enforce and audit security policies and procedures such as access, breach escalation, use of firewalls, and encryption routines. Other responsibilities include conducting and reporting on internal investigations of possible security violations and developing risk analysis scenarios and response procedures.

Individuals enforce security policies and procedures by administering and monitoring data security profiles on all platforms, reviewing security violation reports and investigating security exceptions. They update, maintain, and document security controls and provide direct support to the business and internal IT groups for security related issues. They also advise on the integrity of security procedures, systems, and policies in the design of systems and facilities. Security professionals evaluate and recommend security products, services, and/or procedures to enhance productivity and effectiveness. Lastly, they oversee security awareness programs and provide education on security policies and practices.

Individuals demonstrate extensive knowledge in networking, databases, and systems operations and are skilled in problem analysis and decision-making.

Career Ladder Position Levels

Security Analyst
Senior Security Analyst
Lead Security Analyst
Senior Lead Security Analyst
Chief Security Analyst

Individuals within the Networking career progression family are primarily responsible for analyzing, designing, installing, administering, maintaining, and troubleshooting network systems. They participate in capacity planning, support the creation and the maintenance of network disaster recovery plans, and monitor all network performance activities. They also screen the network for attempted intrusions as well as design and implement appropriate network security measures and procedures.

Individuals are responsible for the implementation and maintenance of network services software and the analysis of network performance. They are routinely involved with the configuration and maintenance of physical and logical network components. They also provide support for network issues that come through the customer service center. Senior professionals within this job family are additionally involved with planning and designing the network infra-structure and enterprise network solutions.

Individuals act as project team members or leaders, depending on the scope of the project. They demonstrate a high level of knowledge surrounding general data networks and display strong troubleshooting skills. Individuals are also skilled in the use of network diagnostic tools and software aids for the investigation of network problems.

Career Ladder Position Levels

Network Technician
Senior Network Technician
Network Engineer
Senior Network Engineer
Chief Network Engineer

Individuals within the Program Management career progression are responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of project efforts that utilize information technology solutions. They are responsible for developing the project scope, defining project guidelines, obtaining business and information technology sponsor approvals, and coordinating the resources necessary to successfully complete the project. Other responsibilities include the refinement of requirements, project coordination, development of plans and schedules, resource management and estimation, and project maintenance. Projects may address an enterprise need or may be specific to the needs of a single department.

Once a project is set in motion, individuals are expected to communicate major milestones, identify potential project risks, provide continuing direction to the project team, and conduct regular status meetings to review project activities. Furthermore, they are responsible for managing the prioritization procedures for changing scope (i.e., change management) and project acceptance procedures. Near the end of the project, they obtain feedback to ensure that project efforts meet customer expectations for contracted time, cost, and performance.

Individuals serving in this role require proven skills in managing within a matrix organization. They also provide constructive feedback to teams as it pertains to project performance. Lastly, they are expected to provide the highest level of expertise in the application of the tools and techniques of the project management discipline.

Career Ladder Position Levels

Program Manager
Senior Program Manager
Lead Program Manager
Senior Lead Program Manager
Chief Program Manager

Individuals within the Systems and Data Management career progression design, install, maintain and upgrade the enterprise's production databases. They provide technical expertise in the use of database technology and are accountable for the overall performance of the enterprise's database environment. Systems and Data Management professionals work closely with clients, business analysts, systems programmers, and application developers to define and resolve information flow and content issues-helping to transform business requirements into environment specific databases. Once a database is in place, they monitor and analyze performance metrics and then allocate database resources to achieve optimum database performance. Individuals implement and perform backup and recovery procedures for the enterprise's databases and help develop the tools and techniques that allow clients to access data in a secure environment. Lastly, they support and help develop a common set of standards, the methods and procedures used for all database development work, and recommend software and hardware upgrade paths.

Individuals have a solid working knowledge of systems administration and database administration methodologies and techniques, with a good understanding of logical and physical database design principles. They work well in a team environment and exhibit flexibility when addressing daily shifting work priorities.

Career Ladder Position Levels

Systems and Data Administrator
Senior Systems and Data Administrator
Lead Systems and Data Administrator
Senior Lead Systems and Data Administrator
Chief Systems and Data Administrator