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NICE Framework Draft Revision
The below information was provided in a public comment period held July 15 – August 28, 2020 for Draft NIST Special Publication 800-181 Revision 1. Comments received during that time were adjudicated and informed the subsequent NIST Special Publication 800-181 revision 1, the Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework), released in November 2020.
Thank you to those who submitted comments during the Request for Comments period open from November 19, 2019 through January 12, 2020. Comments received were adjudicated and informed the new draft of the NICE Framework.
Summary of Changes:
- A new title is proposed to offer flexibility and modularity of the NICE Framework in coordination with other workforce frameworks.
- The organizing constructs of Specialty Areas and Categories have been deprecated.
- The relationships among Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Tasks have changed.
- Knowledge, Skill, and Task (KST) statements will no longer be located in the publication, but rather as supplementary documents.
On July 15, 2020, NICE held a webinar to discuss proposed changes to the NICE Framework and answer questions. Learn more here.
Questions to the Reviewer:
- Users may want “NICE approved” KST, Work Roles, and Competencies. What is a recommended way to develop and manage such a list? Does it make sense that NICE could prescribe aspects of the NICE Framework without knowing an organization’s structure and mission?
- Work Role titles have been refactored to reflect the service being provided by the grouping of Tasks. Does this satisfy the goal of moving Work Roles away from Job Titles?
- The current definition of Competency is one of many. Does this definition and formulation help clarify and specify workforce management?
- The current draft does not address “proficiency” in a Work Role (e.g., Entry-, Intermediate-, or Advanced-Level). Is this concept needed in the NICE Framework or best left to users or to be explored in a corresponding publication (e.g., NISTIR)?
Next Steps:
- The public is invited to provide comments on the draft revision to the NICE Framework by the August 28, 2020 deadline. Please submit all comments via email to niceframework [at] nist.gov (NICEFramework[at]nist[dot]gov).
- Following the public comment period, comments will be adjudicated and the draft revised. NICE intends to publish and announce the final version during the 2020 NICE Conference and Expo this fall.
- After the final version is published, NICE intends to continue making updates to supplementary documentation to the NICE Framework, including Knowledge, Skill, and Task statements.