Behavioral Indicators
For each specialty area, the DHS describes, for each level, how the competency manifests itself in
observable on-the-job behavior, called behavioral indicators.
The four DHS levels correspond well with the top four levels of this model (2-5) (see Section
2.2). This similarity in levels is most prominent in the DHS model’s description of behavior indicators
for the Software Assurance and Security Engineering specialty area.
The description of each specialty area also designates proficiency targets (which identify the proficiency
at which a person in a specific career level should be performing) and aligns with the
behavioral indicator descriptions for the specialty area. For example, the Software Assurance and
Security Engineering specialty area designate the targets depicted in Table 4.