Texas IRMs should strive for proficiency in key IR competency areas that will enable them to increase expertise in the use and management of information resources. The core competency areas with sample topics are listed below.

1.0      Strategic Planning and Policy Issues

• Understanding of mission, organization, functions, policies, procedures as well as linkages and interrelationships among departments and levels of government
• Governing laws and regulations
• Strategic planning
• IT planning methodologies
• Operational planning
• Information management
• IT baseline assessment analysis
• Legal and policy issues for management
• Business process redesign/reengineering models and methods
• Security, privacy, and information assurance

2.0      Managerial and Leadership Competencies

• Defining roles, skill sets, and responsibilities of the IRM, IR staff, and stakeholders relative to IT
• Methods for building and evaluating expertise of IT management and technical staff
• Effective communication and presentation skills, especially as related to non-technical stakeholders
• Negotiation skills
• Problem solving
• Partnership/team-building techniques
• Personnel performance management techniques
• Practices which attract and retain qualified IT personnel
• Process and change management

3.0      IT Performance Assessment

• Measuring the business value of IT
• Monitoring and measuring new system development
• Measuring IT success: practical and impractical approaches
• Managing IT reviews and oversight processes
• Monitoring and evaluation methods and techniques

4.0       Project/Program Management

• Project Management Methodology
• Project Business Case
• Project Integration Management
• Project Scope Management
• Project Requirements Management
• Project Time Management
• Project Cost Management
• Project Quality Management
• Project Resource Management
• Project Communications Management
• Project Configuration Management
• Project Risk Management
• Project Procurement Management

5.0       Capital Planning, Investment Assessment, and IT Acquisition

• IT acquisition best practices
• Cost benefit, economic, and risk analysis
• Business case analysis
• Integrating performance with mission and budget process
• Investment review process
• Alternative acquisition models
• Contract Negotiation
• Streamlined acquisition methodologies
• Contract Management
• Vendor Management

6.0       IT Topics and Trends

• Emerging/developing technologies
• E-Government, electronic business, electronic commerce
• Information systems architectures
• Information delivery technologies
• Enterprise architecture
• System life cycle
• Software development
• Data management
• Telecommunications
• IT as it relates to specialized fields (medicine, engineering, environmental, etc.)

Single Course Covering Multiple Requirements

A single educational activity that covers multiple topics may be used to satisfy more than one requirement. However, the total hours reported cannot exceed the total hours in the class/conference.