Personnel Management HLD – Domain Analysis Model
GLOSSARY (Concept Definitions)
(v0.5)
Party – An abstract class that is the parent class for Organization and Person
Organization – A collection of persons and associated physical (or virtual surroundings/contexts) that collectively form a defined, identifiable entity. An Organization is recognized as an entity from the perspective of one or more authorities and/or other organizations external to the Organization-of-Interest including legal, social, etc. Instances of Organization include: Healthcare Facility, State Board of Medical Examiners, JCAHO, etc.
Person – A single human being who, in the context of personnel management, must also be uniquely identifiable through one or more legal documents (e.g. Driver’s License, Birth Certificate, etc.) Instances of Person include: John Smith, Mary Jones, etc.
Role – A named context in which a Party (usually, but not always, a Person) is identified within an Organization. Thus, one instance of a Party (usually a Person) plays a Role scoped by another instance of a Party (usually an Organization). Note that the naming of the Role may be formal or informal within the organization, but that the identity of the instance of Person (or Organization) playing the Role does not end when the Role itself ends. Roles often have associated time boundaries/frames and sets of informal Responsibilities associated with them. (NOTE: The more formal association of a Person in a Role Assigned to a Position with associated Responsibilities and/or Privileges is explicitly covered elsewhere in the Domain Analysis Model)
Task Bundle – Within the context of an instance of an Organization, a Position is a named collection of Responsibilities (including Privileges). A Position may exist without a Person in a Role being Assigned to that Position, i.e. a Position can be created/defined in terms of the Qualifications (including various forms of Credentials that a Person much have to qualify for an Assignment to that Position).
Criterion – A rule which defines the manner in which a particular Qualification (including a Credential) or collection of Qualifications are associated with a given Position. An instance of a Criterion may be either a Time-based Criterion (e.g. <xxx> for at least 3 years) or a Non-time-based Criterion (e.g. certified as either an <x> or a <y>).
Time-based Criterion – see Criterion
Non-time-based Criterion – see Criterion
Relationship – A class used to collect instances of a class as either Source or Target of the intervening Relationship instance
Application – The collection of data (structured and unstructured) that a Person submits to an organization in the context of requesting or applying for/being assigned to a Position. (NOTE: An Application does NOT include the Person’s Qualifications or various Credentials (which are represented explicitly elsewhere in the model), but is simply a signed or otherwise verified statement by the Person applying for the Position that the data submitted in the context of the application process (including the Person’s Qualifications/Credentials) are complete, accurate, etc. An Attestation is normally date/time stamped.)
Assignment – A collection of data documenting the association between an instance of a Party (normally a Person) and a Position. The minimal data in an Assignment are date/time of Assignment and Person/Organization making the Assignment. An Assignment also usually includes a time period after which the Assignment is invalid and must be redone if the association between the Person and the Position is to continue.
Responsibility -- A defined task, associated with a Position.
ATTR: Required (Y/N) A responsibility may be required or optional. The optionality of a particular Responsibility as part of the definition of a Position may ultimately end up being Required when a particular Person is Assigned to a Position.
Privilege – A subtype of Responsibility that is differentiated from Responsibility by virtue of the fact that it is associated with specific Credentials rather than simply Qualifications. Although Privileges may be associated with a Position (e.g. the Position of Attending Physician may be associated with Admitting Privileges), a Person in a Role may, in addition, apply for other Privileges. Each application involves at least one other Party who must review the Person-in-a-Role’s specific Credentials required in order for the Privilege to be granted. Requirements may be defined by the Granting Party and/or by external organizations. NOTE: A Privilege differs from a Responsibility in that the association/assignment of a Privilege to a Person-in-a-Role requires the interaction of at least two instances of Party, i.e. the Person-in-a-Role (who may or may not be in a Position) requesting the Privilege and the Person/Organization-in-a-Role granting the Privilege. In the sense that it requires a 2-Party interaction,’ the concept Privilege is therefore similar to Credential.
Qualification (Definition and Instantiation) --
ATTR: Required for Initial Application
ATTR: Required for ReApplication
Credential (Definition and Instantiation) -- An abstract concept (i.e. there are no physical instances of Credential per se) that represents the various collections of data associated with a verifiable claim by a Person or Organization as to one or more skills, abilities, education, experience, etc. A Credential collects (at minimum) the date/time of issuance and an associated expiration date after which the credential must be renewed to remain valid.
The important differentiator between a Credential (or, more correctly, one of its concrete subtypes) and a Qualification is that the former (Credential) can always be verified in terms of the Credential being issued by/associated with a ‘credentialing organization’ responsible for issuing an instance of a particular credential to an instance of a Party, whereas the latter (Qualification) is simply a statement by the Party of a particular skill, ability, etc. (NOTE: The notion of ‘verifiable’ that differentiates a Credential from a Qualification is similar to the difference between a Responsibility and a Privilege in that both a Credential and a Privilege involve a formal relationship between at least two instances of Party, whereas a Qualification and a Responsibility do not possess this level of ‘contract’ formalism.)
License – A subtype of Credential that documents that an instance of a Party (Person or Organization) has satisfied a set of criteria (skills, knowledge, etc.) defined by the Organization or Person issuing the License.
The difference between a License and a Certificate is found in the amount of legal/regulatory context surrounding the issuing organization, a License typically being issued by known regulatory agencies (e.g. State government), a Certificate being issued by a non-regulatory institution (e.g. school, continuing education center, etc.)
Certificate – A subtype of Credential that documents that an instance of a Party (Person or Organization) has satisfied a set of criteria (skills, knowledge, etc.) defined by the Organization or Person issuing the Certificate. A Certificate is often viewed as ‘less formal’ than a Credential. However, in this model, a Credential is an abstract concept that captures the notion of verifiable documentation various types of skills, etc. claimed to be possessed by a Person or Organization (see Credential)
Education – A subtype of Credential that documents a particular Person’s accomplishments, awards, skills, time of involvement, etc. in the context of a recognized educational institution (e.g. high school, college, graduate school, non-degree granting training programs, vocational training, etc.)
Experience -- A subtype of Credential that documents a particular instance of Party’s (most often a Person’s) accomplishments, skills, time of involvement, etc. in a particular context, usually a Position or Role. QUESTION: Is this where Internship, Residency, etc. go?
Capability – A quantitative, semi-quantitative, or qualitative assessment of the ability of an instance of a Party in a Role to perform and/or participate in a specific activity or task. An a subtype of Credential, a Capability is assigned to an instance of a Party (the instance with the ability) by another instance of Party (the Person or Organization assessing the capability). A Capability is often a specific (e.g. ‘can do this task’ (Person), or ‘has 5 slots available’ (Organization)).
Certificate of Verification -- A collection of data documenting that a specific instance of a Credential has been verified/validated in association with the requirement for that credential for either an Assignment of a Party in a Role to a Position or the requirement for a particular instance of a Credential in order for a Party in a Role to qualify for a specific instance of a Privilege. A Certificate of Verification will minimally include a definitive identification of the verifier, a date/time stamp of verification, and (optionally) a structured or unstructured statement of the verification process, contacts, etc.