Topic lists should not be entered as lists of competencies

[stuartasutton]

@jkitchensSIUC, @siuc-nate, @cwd-mparsons and Bob Sheets (no github account?), the CASS implementation provides for expressing a:

1. topic list as SKOS ConceptScheme; and
2. competency list as CE-ASN CompetencyFramework

We currently have in the legacy competency framework data to be ingested into CASS, topic lists defined as competencies. This is very bad because we are corrupting the long-term utility of the competency data by calling things competencies that simply aren't. A competency will always frame what a person should know or be able to do. So, for example, the topic "Logistics Environment" defines no competencies since is says nothing about what someone will need to be know or be able to do in the context of "Logistics Environment".

Here is an example of topic lists (topicsCovered) for the MSSC Certified Logistic Technician (CLT) certification that has two assessments, each with a list of topics covered in the assessment:

Certification

MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT©)
CER URL: https://credentialengine.org/publisher/credential/78
URI: https://credentialengineregistry.org/resources/ce-044488A8-F5D0-418C-AC16-E4BE7BD94BF3

Assessment 1

MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)
CER URL: https://credentialengine.org/publisher/assessment/2139
URI: https://credentialengineregistry.org/resources/ce-157BFDAD-E4C8-454A-8219-7A03D3A3CCE0

Topics Covered

"ceterms:assesses": [
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Global supply chain logistics life cycle"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Logistics environment"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Material handling equipment"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Safety principles"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Safe material handling and equipment operation"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Quality control principles"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Workplace communications"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Teamwork and workplace behavior to solve problems"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)",
      "ceterms:targetNode": "http://www.msscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CLT-Key-Activities.pdf",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Using computers"
    }

Assessment 2

MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)
CER URL: https://credentialengine.org/publisher/assessment/59
URI: https://credentialengineregistry.org/resources/ce-2C0D8D38-B2B4-4964-88FC-F7251B5B6732

Topics Covered

"ceterms:assesses": [
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Product receiving"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Product storage"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Order processing"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Packaging and shipment"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Inventory control"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Safe handling of hazmat materials"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Evaluation of transportation modes"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Dispatch and tracking"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ceterms:CredentialAlignmentObject",
      "ceterms:frameworkName": "MSSC Certified Logistics Technician (CLT AE)",
      "ceterms:targetNodeName": "Measurements and metric conversions"
    }

NOTE: This distinction is not intended as a value judgment of topics vs. competencies but merely notes that the integrity of the data requires that we call apples apples and not oranges. In some cases, an assessment or a learning opportunity may, in fact, have both a set of competencies and a set of topics covered.

[siuc-nate]

I think what we may end up ultimately needing to do is:

• Export the data to a sandbox CASS environment
• Have CE staff and Stuart manually dig through all of it to restructure hierarchies and remove undesirable data (such as in the post above), using the CASS interface (this will also serve as a good test of that interface)
• Ensure the data is exactly what we want it to be (to the extent that we can do so)
• Determine a way to validate the CASS data so that it meets any minimum data requirements we want to have on production
• Export the competencies from the sandbox CASS environment to the production CASS environment
• Update the relevant credentials, assessments, and learning opportunities to reference the production CASS competency URIs/data
• Republish those relevant CTDL entities (perhaps with approval from their publishing entities?)

I'm not sure if or how doing the above would relate to or be reliant on some kind of implementation of concept schemes/concepts in the registry/CASS - if we can do that as a separate phase unrelated to the above, it would make things easier.

[stuartasutton]

+1 for a sandbox CASS to ingest the legacy competency data and follow through as you suggest, Nate. I've done as thorough an analysis as I can with Michael's first iteration of output. Perhaps some time can be spent on tomorrow's (Tuesday, Feb. 6) regular call would put us in a position to export to such a sandbox.

[siuc-nate]

We will need to ensure that we can get the (cleaned up) data back out after dealing with it through the CASS interface. So we'll either need a clean/empty sandbox environment to load the data into initially (preferable), or we'll need a means (probably via CTID) to keep track of everything we put in so we can have a way to pull it back out afterwards. I'm open to suggestions.

Since we'll likely be creating nodes when we break things out (i.e., from bulleted lists in text), my guess is that it will be far more reliable to start with an empty bucket, load the data, then export the entire new dataset once our edits are complete.