This application was originally designed as a web-based system to manage staff Personal Development Plans. The system grew over time to encompass Succession Planning, with a skills and qualifications database allowing employees to be matched to roles and vice versa.
The Development Plan functionality allows line management to record details of performance and career-planning interviews for subsequent reference and followup. Because the system records dates on which interviews take place, it is able to schedule reviews on an annual basis, and alert when reviews are approaching and overdue. The overdue interviews have been collated into a KPI which is used to drive the behaviours of management toward getting reviews done in a timely fashion.
The system models the organisational structure as a configurable arrangement of hierarchical roles and organisational units. Being a mature and organisationally-stable enterprise, the roles are accorded attributes that include required qualifications and capabilities. By comparing role requirements with employee achievements, the system is able to perform sophisticated "what if" analysis. For example, returning all the personnel who could be slotted immediately into a role, or personnel who can "nearly" be considered for a role except for one qualification or lack of a few years experience.
The system also models bench strength which feeds into succession planning. Each role can have successors, potentials and aspirants recorded and displayed on a graphical timeline.
The system has a strong security model based around Active Directory. The security model follows the organisational model configured into the system, allowing line managers to view and edit staff beneath them on the org chart.