TPM: Appendix
Glossary
We’re striving to use clear language, but there are a few words
where it’s helpful to expound upon how we interpret them.
Craft Responsibility Definitions
The responsibilities defined below make up the foundation of the Technical Program Manager craft:
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Process Design: Creation and design of processes and programs, that make up
effective workflows, that help teams perform repeatable tasks
more efficiently. They provide team members an easy guide to
follow if they need to step in for someone on a task. Having
effective processes reduces work- or project-related stress and
ensures a predictable, repeatable outcome every time.
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Managing Programs: The ability to drive and manage Cross -Functional
or Cross-Organizational teams or a group of people with
different functional expertise working toward a common goal.
These teams are typically Engineering, Product, Design,
Marketing, CX, Legal, Finance, etc. and are comprised of all
levels of management. There are also projects and programs that
will also include external team members like: customers,
consultants, and vendors.
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Technical Acumen: Competencies in this category relates to not only software
skills but also to your ability to think creatively, devise
innovative systems and processes and develop policies to
facilitate operations. The ability to identify how you can use
systems and technology to improve ways of working. It may be
implementing a new strategy for collecting customer data, or
rolling out a system to collect performance data.
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Developing new solutions with existing technology
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Acting as a technical expert in a specific area/program
Technical Acumen: Examples
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Computer Literacy:
The ability to operate various computer systems and familiarize
yourself with different software packages. This could range from
the basic Microsoft Office to more complex computer
software.
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The ability to learn new systems quickly
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Experience using a variety of relevant software packages
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Software Engineering: Being able to code and understand programming languages.
Proficiency in gathering user requirements, defining system
functionality and writing code in various languages, like Java,
Ruby on Rails or .NET programming languages (e.g. C++ or JScript.NET.)
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Data Management:
Knowledge in collecting, managing and reporting data. It
involves the capacity to use data to improve processes and
operations while analyzing results and presenting findings to
others.
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Experience of checking all available data to get a more
complete picture
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Using the data to propose effective solutions and identify
potential risks
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Infrastructure: Perform or delegate regular backup operations and implement
appropriate processes for data protection, disaster recovery,
and failover procedures. Responsible for capacity, storage
planning, and database performance.
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System Administration: Experience in maintenance, configuration, and reliable
operation of computer systems, network servers, and
virtualization. Working knowledge in install and upgrade
computer components and software, manage virtual servers, and
integrate automation processes. Troubleshoot hardware and
software errors by running diagnostics, documenting problems and
resolutions, prioritizing problems, and assessing impact of
issues.
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Lead desktop and Helpdesk support efforts, making sure all
desktop applications, workstations, and related equipment
problems are resolved in a timely manner with limited
disruptions.
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Security:
Skills to engineer, implement and monitor security measures for
the protection of computer systems, networks and information.
Ability to identify and define system security requirements.
Design computer security architecture and develop detailed
cyber security designs.
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Develop technical solutions and new security tools to help
mitigate security vulnerabilities and automate repeatable
tasks
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Ensure that the company knows as much as possible, as quickly
as possible about security incidents
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Write comprehensive reports including assessment-based
findings, outcomes and propositions for further system security
enhancements
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Content Management Systems (CMS):
development of the CMS software that supports the management,
creation and modification of digital content.
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Information Technology: Information technology can include network management,
software development and database administration. IT may also
provide technical support to a business or an organization's
employees and train non-technical workers on the business's
information systems.
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Design systems and assess the effectiveness of technology
resources already in use or new systems that are being
implemented.
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Work with external partners, including consultants, agencies
and vendors, to arrive at the most appropriate system or
integration of multiple systems.
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Equipment and Program Knowledge: Delivering technical support to customers for devices.
This not only allows you to deliver excellent customer service
but to also diagnose and troubleshoot problems more
quickly.
TPM: AppendixGlossaryTechnical Acumen: Examples