Selection

When studying job analysis, recruitment, training, and even retention in IT HR management, an oft-overlooked element of the picture is selection. This chapter acknowledges and models the interplay among these components and then focuses on selection. The general steps in designing an effective selection process are reviewed, and a particularly interesting and useful selection technique is examined: critical incidents (or CI). Data from a CI analysis of the job of IT project manager are used to illustrate how a CI study is conducted and how the output from CI can be used to improve a selection process, as well as inform job analysis and training. The chapter concludes by identifying ways that the examination of selection can extend IT HR research and, ultimately, improve the effectiveness of IT HR management.