Our Management Model is very specific and completely personalized to our company. Even though you can find similarities with other business models, the majority of its content is only applied in Secure Group. Because of that, we created this glossary to clarify some concepts and acronyms that are unique to us.

Abbreviations & Acronyms

KAI

Knowledge Accountability Index: this is our system to manage and measure knowledge within the company. It's consisted of six grades of proficiency that can be checked in our Knowledge Management Strategy. The categories that compose the KAI of a framework can be checked here.

K-POC

Knowledge and Personal Objective Cycle: the development plan our employees develop and agree with their managers when progressing on their career with us. The K-POC is composed of S.M.A.R.T. personal objectives (goals) that should be met when someone wants to Level Up or Step Up. They can be related to Extensive Knowledge, SG Knowledge, or categories of the Level and Step chart. You can find more information regarding the personal development plan in our Performance chapter.

SMART goals

A S.M.A.R.T goal is used to help guide the goal-setting process. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. SMART goals are:

Specific: Well defined, clear, and unambiguous
Measurable: With specific criteria that measure the progress toward the accomplishment of the goal
Achievable: Attainable and not impossible to achieve
Realistic: Within reach, realistic, and relevant to the main purpose
Timely-bound: With a clearly defined timeline, including a starting date and a target date. The purpose is to create urgency.

RACI

The RACI matrix is a diagram that identifies the key roles and responsibilities of all employees regarding tasks within departments. The RACI serves as a visual representation of the functional role played by each employee regarding each process that we have. RACI is an acronym for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed - you can check the detailed information in the Roles chapter of our Management Model.

CAP

CAP is our Corrective Action Plan which is implemented whenever one employee doesn't show adherence to one of our corporate values. You can check the structure of the plan in our Culture Code chapter.

Definitions & Clarifications

Knowledge Management

We divided the existing knowledge in the company into two categories:

Extensive Knowledge – this is about deeply understanding tools/software/platforms, programming languages, protocols, etc. which are required from our employees to successfully complete their tasks in the framework that they belong.
Secure Group Knowledge – this is all about having a complete understanding of the company’s products, the processes and tools/software/platforms related to their execution, the way all teams work, the concepts that are part of their scope, and how they contribute to the overall corporate strategy. The Secure Group knowledge is defined per department and it includes three levels of understanding: expected knowledge from technical people, expected knowledge from business people, and expected knowledge from the team.

The whole information on how we define and evaluate the knowledge can be found in the Knowledge Management chapter.

Role KAI: it's the combination of what we expect an employee of a certain role to learn and grow. It's composed of Extensive Knowledge and SG Knowledge.
Department KAI: it's the combination of all Role KAIs of a certain department.

For candidates:
The KAI version that you see in this wiki is composed of Extensive Knowledge. We point out which specific and general items of it we need you to have at the moment of hiring corresponding to each Level.

For employees:
The KAI version of your framework is composed of Extensive Knowledge (that can be found in your department's space in Confluence) and SG Knowledge (that can be found in the Management Model space). We point out the specific items that you have to develop to progress in the Level chart.

Teams Management & Leadership

Deparment, Team, Division

There are three different categories in our Team Management structure: When understanding our Team Management strategy there are some concepts related to teams, divisions, and departments which have different definitions based on specific areas of activity and responsibilities.

Department

Composed by a group of frameworks
Managed by a Tech Lead who is responsible for the department's processes maintaining all the documentation in the relevant Confluence space and Jira project

Division

Managed by a Level 2 Manager who is responsible for performance and people's growth
In some cases a division has a team or multiple teams, in some cases a division has no team

Team

Teams compose a division
Managed by two levels: Level 1 manager who is responsible for coordinating processes and Level 2 manager who is responsible for the team's growth

Managers vs. Tech Leads:

There are two leadership roles in Secure Group structure and although both roles have some overlap, their focus is different: the Tech Lead is in charge of the Operations while the Manager is in charge of the People. While a manager is responsible for the career development of their subordinates, a tech lead is a subject matter expert responsible for the department's processes. The main difference between the two roles can be seen in the Leadership chapter. If the team is small and/or the leader has a lot of experience as a Manager and Tech Lead, the same person might perform both roles. But as the operations and team grow in size and complexity, there might be an opportunity to have different people for each role.

Processes & Knowledge Management

Playbook vs. practices, procedures and processes

In the category Job Complexity in the Level chart for Individual Contributors there's the sub-category Process Thinking. Some of the concepts presented there are:

- Practices, procedures, and processes: related to internal documentation about company policies, processes, how-to guides, projects or products, common workflows, and procedure checklists.
- Playbooks: documentation stating what’s needed in terms of soft skills, mindset, and attitudes to convey the department's value proposition in certain processes. They exemplify the positive and the negative scenarios of the department (Do’s and Don'ts).

Achievement/Completeness

When we refer to Achievement and Completeness in the Management Path Level Grid it's related to Process, Knowledge, Ceremonies, Strategy and Workforce Planning. Achievement is completely related to Core Duties of the employee while Achievement is related to his/her performance in the leadership perspectives. The detailed information can be found in the Leadership chapter.

Paths

Level A: the Apprentice Path is designed for people who are still not ready to join our Management Model in terms of job complexity, teamwork, strategy involvement, knowledge application, and informal leadership which means, there's room for improvement to start as a Level 1, but have demonstrated outstanding technical skills and potential to grow. The expected career development is defined on the Level A page.
Level E: the Entrepreneur Path in Secure Group is designed for people who followed the management path and have the opportunity and desire to grow even further by becoming leaders of their own branch/brand and operating as C-level under Secure Group’s organization. Therefore, Level E consists of interaction with our organizational processes, procedures, goals, models, and concepts within the new structure a branch/brand.

Management Levels

When referring to the Leadership Levels that are part of the Management Path, it's important to differentiate the levels with key-concepts:

Level 1 managers are responsible for coordinating processes and stakeholders.
Level 2 Step 1 and Step 2 managers are involved in the operation and execution of their department's processes while Level 2 Step 3 and Step 4 are responsible for process management on a higher level of report, design, automation, and monitoring.
Level 3 managers are responsible for coaching and ensuring people's growth in more than one team or department.
Level 4 managers focus on the organization's performance, growth and alignment.

Glossary

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