Introduction
The Individual Development Plan (IDP) employs a concept that emphasizes discussion and joint decisions by the employee and the supervisor, with input from mentor(s), on the specific developmental experiences necessary to fulfill the mutual goals of individual career development and organizational enhancement. Each IDP is uniquely tailored to the needs of the individual and the organization.
The IDP is a personal action plan, jointly agreed to by you and your supervisor that identifies your short and long-term career goals. An IDP also identifies the training and other developmental experiences needed to achieve those goals, for the benefit of the individual and organization, within a specified time frame.
This document will describe about IDP, When to prepare an IDP, Importance of IDP, Process of IDP, the objective of preparing the IDP and finally the individual development plan used by myself to promote from the Software Engineer position to Senior Software Engineer position.
What is IDP?
An Individual Development Plan, also named as IDP, is a formal document that identifies an individual's learning and developmental goals. [1] IDPs are individually tailored and describe objectives and activities for the employee’s career development. [2] The manager and the individual jointly develop the IDP.
Contents of the IDP can vary. Some employees focus on fixing weaknesses. Others focus on playing to their strengths. Some focus on short-term goals and development, other on the long-term. [3] But usually an IDP will be created for the employee as a result of the,
§ Training needs analysis
§ Mandatory or core competencies, and
§ Career counseling [4]
It is a written plan for the benefit of both employee and supervisor. It describes competencies that the employee will apply and enhance and how this development will occur.
This includes the following:
§ Responsibility areas – IDPs describe the areas of responsibility assigned to the employee as stated in his/her position description and the competencies needed to perform the responsibility.
§ Developmental activities – Each responsibility area is accompanied by one or more specific developmental activities that will enable the individual to achieve or practice that competency.
§ Time line with milestones and date completed – Realistic start dates, end dates, and other major milestones are established for each activity. The date completed should be listed when the employee can document proficiency based on the competency, skill, or ability obtained. [2]
An IDP will be completed by each individual for the plan of self development over the next period, usually one year. [3]
When to Prepare an IDP?
Timing is an important factor in developing the IDP, because the following processes work together to establish the same objectives:
- the performance appraisal
- the training needs analysis
- career development planning, and
- the IDP
The optimum time for preparing the IDP is during the first few weeks immediately following the performance appraisal. [5]
This will also be prepared to,
- To identify and assess future developmental needs in required competency areas.
- To provide structured learning experiences linked to organizational needs, goals, and job requirements.
- To establish an agreed-upon set of learning objectives and developmental activities as part of a formal career development program
Importance of IDP
The IDPs are a useful tool for employee development because they provide,
- Logical and structured framework for assessing the needs of both the individual and the organization.
- Merger of individual goals with organizational need
- Methods for organizing developmental experiences instead of haphazardly committing both time and money on what may or may not be useful experiences.
IDPs help the employee and supervisor identifies developmental needs that address essential competencies legal requirements, career development, and professional growth. It allows the employee and supervisor to focus limits resources in the area of greatest need. The process may also help an employee identify area of growth outside the job individual.
Process of IDP
Step # | Process |
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4 |
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- Conduct a self-assessment
Assess your skills, strengths and areas which need development. Formal assessment tools can be helpful. Some of the skills and strengths that are relevant to career decisions in research include: technical abilities (breadth and depth of expertise), writing skills, oral communication skills, organizational ability, leadership, self-motivation, decision-making, creativity, work ethic, problem solving abilities, knowledge (depth and breadth), perseverance, ability / desire to take risks.
Take a realistic look at your current abilities. This is a critical part of career planning. Ask your peers, mentors, family and friends what they see as your strengths and your development needs. Outline your long-term career objectives. Ask yourself:
§ What type of work would I like to be doing?
§ Where would I like to be in an organization?
§ What is important to me in a career? [6]
- Write an IDP
The IDP maps out the general path you want to take and helps match skills and strengths to your career choices. It is a changing document, since needs, skill levels and goals will almost certainly evolve over time. The aim is to build upon current strengths and skills by identifying areas for development and providing a way to address these. The specific objectives of a typical IDP are to:
- Identify specific skills and strengths that you need to develop (based on discussions with your mentor). Mentors should provide honest feedback - both positive and negative - to help you set realistic goals.
- Identify a research project and necessary level of commitment to match your abilities and career goals.
- Define the approaches to obtain both the research goals you have chosen and the specific skills and strengths (e.g., courses, technical skills, teaching, and supervision) you need to acquire and/or build upon.
- Define milestones and anticipated time frames for goal acquisition.
- Discuss your draft IDP with your mentor. Agree on a development plan that will allow you to be productive in the laboratory and adequately prepare you for your chosen career.
- Revise the IDP as appropriate. [6]
- Implement the plan
The plan is just the beginning of the career development process and serves as the road map. In this phase you will put your plan into action. Revise and modify the plan as necessary. The plan is not cast in concrete; it will need to be modified as circumstances and goals change. The challenge of implementation is to remain flexible and open to change. Review the plan with your mentor regularly to assess progress, expectations and changing goals. Revise the plan on the basis of these discussions.
- Survey potential career paths
Identify career opportunities and target those that interest you for further exploration. With the mentor, assess how your current skills and abilities match the competencies required of your chosen career(s). As necessary, revise your IDP to prioritize your developmental areas and discuss with your mentor any skills or strengths you need to further develop before successfully transitioning.
IDP for Skills Development
This IDP mainly refers to the skills and learnings relevant to my career development. This will be prepared to move ahead from my current Software Engineer position to Senior Software Engineer position by 30th of June 2012. The planning period covers from 1st of January 2011 to 30th of June 2012.
This IDP mainly describes four learnings’ that I need to perform in order to obtain the new position Senior Software Engineer.
INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Name: Ayani Gamage Time Period: 01.01.11 – 30.06.2012
Date: 03.02.2011
Goal: Move forward from Software Engineer to Senior Software Engineer
List of professional development opportunities to follow to meet the goal:
1 | |
Course | Complete Master of Science degree in Information Technology |
Description | This degree program is done by Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology. This program is designed to provide a core of advanced knowledge in Information Technology supplemented by a range of options within the areas of Software Engineering, Computer Networks, e-business Technologies, Database Management and Administration, Business Information Systems, etc. The degree is designed to impart knowledge of current and emerging developments in IT as well as to provide an in-depth knowledge in advanced topics on Information Technology to master the challenges of information driven economy. |
Benefits | |
To My Self | A senior software engineer who deals with clients directly in day to day life should have to have below competencies. o Knowledge on changing technologies in the world o He should be able to research on certain areas, gather correct information, and present it in a logical and understandable manner. o He should be able to write down his findings according to the industry standards. o He should have to have the capability to present his or her findings in an understandable approach. o He should not adhere only to IT, he should have knowledge on management, and certain other managerial areas as well. o He should be able to analyze a given problem, solve it in a logical acceptable way. After completion of this Masters Degree program, I will be able to acquire the entire above mentioned core competencies that is very important for a senior software engineer to have. |
To Organization |
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Duration | 1 1/2 years |
Cost | Rs. 300,000 |
2 | |
Course | Be a Microsoft Certified Professional Developer |
Description | Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) is a program of Professional certifications awarded by Microsoft. Individual certifications are awarded upon passing of one or more exams. I would like to go through this certification with the below examinations.
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Benefits | |
To My Self | We are all in the IT Industry. And we all very well know that technology is upgrading and new technologies are emerging, Certification helps you to learn the new technology and outline next-generation skills. Moreover, it gives Confidence, knowledge to the developer. Label of Microsoft Certification which is valid throughout the world. Being certified means one can properly function on a certain job. This means, companies will easily hire a person with certification especially when certifications come from a reliable learning institution. More benefits of Microsoft certification courses are,
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To Organization |
The skill level of a team member is directly responsible for how an organization performs in several key IT functional areas.
Sixty-three percent of hiring managers believe certified individuals are more productive than their non-certified counterparts are.
Sixty-six percent of managers believe certifications improve the level of service and support offered to customers
On average, 40 percent to 55 percent of top-performing teams are comprised of MCPs.
Seventy-five percent of managers believe that certifications are important to team performance. Forty-five percent of employees strongly agree that when their employers pay for exams, it provides a strong incentive to stay in their jobs. [7] |
Duration | 4 months |
Cost | 1 exam à 50$ 4 exams à 50*4 Total à 200$ |
3 | |
Course | Participate in Architecture Workshops |
Description | The term "software architecture" is used both for the high-level structure of a software system, and the related field or discipline. In workshops, I would like to know the software architecture discipline from three primary points of view: § Architecture, answering the question: "what is software architecture?" and introducing architectural patterns, principles and mechanisms. § Architecting, that is the process of creating architecture. The major emphasis is on learning how to create, validate and update architecture. § Architects, focusing on the role and responsibilities of the architect and positioning the architecture role within the organization. |
Benefits | |
To My Self | § It provides the technology platform that supports the product characteristics and development processes which differentiate a business from its competitors § It helps to address system complexity |
To Organization | Senior Software engineers, who play the architect role, are thus poised to play a critical role in an organization’s business success, translating business strategy into an architectural strategy that is the foundation for a stream of products or family of systems. The workshops are designed to provide participants with concepts, techniques and lessons from experience that will help them be more successful in the architect role. The software architecture workshop integrates extensive real-world architecture experience as well. [8] |
Duration | 6 weeks |
Cost | 250$ |
4 | |
Course | Conduct training sessions related to SharePoint 2010 |
Description | Microsoft's SharePoint platform allows you to work collaboratively on documents, data and projects, and organize and share information. Training can help you understand SharePoint and its various uses, so you can use it more effectively. SharePoint has uses that fall under six broad capabilities: sites, communities, content, search, insights and composites. Because SharePoint's uses are wide and complex, training can not only help you understand how to efficiently use the various programs, but also teach you which functions to utilize to achieve your goals. With SharePoint training, you can customize SharePoint with features that meet all of your needs. For instance, some organizations use SharePoint as a library to house data and documents. Others will use it to build intranets and manage content, workflows and tasks. SharePoint training can help you stay up-to-date with the platform's capabilities. Since SharePoint's initial release, Microsoft has made improvements and added capabilities. Ongoing training can help you stay on top of new updates and uses. |
Benefits | |
To My Self | · Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees · Increased motivation · Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain · Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods · Increased innovation in strategies and products |
To Organization | Enhanced company image |
Duration | 10 weeks |
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Signature (Employee) Signature (Supervisor)
Conclusion
In conclusion fro the above document you can see the importance of creating an IDP. It is vital for an employee to create an IDP to achieve their targets in a given time frame, rather than having all the targets only in mind.
An IDP ensures that the employee maintains the current level of job proficiency through continued training and developmental activities. Secondly, the employee charts a career path by identifying new knowledge, skills and abilities to pursue, as well as learning activities needed to reach the established goals. Third, the IDP will support organization mission and career field needs.
This entire document will help you to,
- Analyze your career goals and objectives
- Learn how to make Individual Development Plans
- Prepare your formal IDP
- Analyze the organization’s needs for individual development planning
