Career Development Gateway
Your future at NASA depends on a number of factors. Participation in professional development activities that complement and enrich your work experience is particularly important. The Academy of Program, Project and Engineering Leadership (APPEL) provides NASA’s technical workforce with guidance on the competencies, professional experiences, and educational opportunities needed at each level of their NASA careers. It offers a systematic approach to professional growth and self-improvement, and is designed to build competency and support career-planning activities for program/project practitioners.
The Planning Process for Practitioners
Tools You'll Need
APPEL’s Development Approach (overview of The Academy’s development philosophy and key components of Technical Development Model)
PM/SE Four-Level Development Framework
(what you need to know and be able to do at each level)
Development Planning Matrix (training and development requirements for each level)
Individual Development Plan (constructing your roadmap)
Project Management Competency Model and the Systems Engineering Competency Model (competencies and performance level descriptors)
The cornerstone activity in the career development process for project managers (PM) and systems engineers (SE) is the creation and execution of an Individual Development Plan (IDP). The IDP includes self-assessment, goal setting, and planning development strategies, and will assist you in developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed for success. In addition to the IDP, each individual should create a Personal Development Portfolio (PDP). This will serve as a record of all of your development accomplishments and can be used to assist you in tracking your progress through the career development framework. An important part of the process is working with your manager or supervisor to identify and agree upon planned strategies that can help you achieve your development goals.
