Database specialist

Last edited on 08. January 2025

Planning and processing all tasks related to the use of databases. Developing and implementing system concepts for databases.

The main differences by competency level are as regards:

  • Main areas of activity: methodological, conceptual, strategic, advisory,
  • Scope: e.g. from small to large business applications,
  • Development data areas: e.g. companies, products or languages,

of the area of responsibility.

  • Synonymous designation: Database architect, Database manager, Database developer, Database engineer, Data engineer, Data management specialist
  • Role group: Development (Build)
  • Role number: 12

Professional Tasks

  • Classifying data at technical level
  • Describing data at technical level
  • Developing the database design based on the data model
  • Specifying databases
  • Implementing databases
  • Optimizing database access
  • Performing database migrations
  • Maintaining database documentation

Education

  • Apprenticeship/baccalaureate
  • University
  • Higher vocational education and training

Competence levels (1 to 4)

  1. Low competence with regard to knowledge/experience in the competence level
  2. Increased competence with regard to knowledge/experience of the competence level
  3. High competence in knowledge/experience of the competence level
  4. Very high competence with regard to knowledge/experience in the competence level

Areas of competence

Personal competencies1234
Personnel management

Personnel management

  • Conveying vision: Communicating the long-term direction and purpose of the work.
  • Leadership aspirations & motivation: Demonstrating the willingness and motivation to take on leadership responsibilities.
  • Delegating & monitoring: Clear assignment and delegation of tasks and monitoring their correct execution.
  • Coaching and development: Developing employees, assessing performance and providing targeted support.
  • Giving feedback: Exchanging constructive feedback to improve performance and behaviour.
  • Inspiring and motivating: Winning over and inspiring employees to work towards common goals.
  • Team organisation: Ability to form, select, integrate and lead teams.
  • Conflict management: Mediating and resolving differences of opinion within the team.
  • Assertiveness: Persuasiveness and tenacity in achieving goals.
  • Forward thinking: Developing vision and strategic foresight for the team.
Communication

Communication

  • Dialogue skills & empathy: Ability to engage in genuine exchange and empathise with others.
  • Conflict management & critical thinking: Early recognition of conflicts, constructive approach and achievement of consensus.
  • Dealing with feedback: Ability to give constructive feedback and to deal with it oneself.
  • Verbal communication skills: Communicating in a way that is appropriate for the audience, understandable and rhetorically skilful.
  • Non-verbal communication: Conscious use of body language and facial expressions to support the message.
  • Presenting & moderating: Structured presentation of content and confident leadership of discussions/meetings.
  • Credibility & authenticity: Consistency between verbal and non-verbal communication and actions.
  • Information management: Efficient procurement, processing and communication of relevant information.
  • Confidence in negotiations: Confident representation of one’s own interests in discussions.
Self-management/personal conduct

Self-management/personal conduct

  • Objective: Definition of measurable or assessable personal and professional goals.
  • Work motivation, commitment & discipline: Demonstrating initiative, dynamism, commitment and personal responsibility, as well as consistent adherence to plans and commitments.
  • Self-reflection & control: Perceiving, classifying and controlling one’s own emotions and feelings.
  • Systematic working techniques & time management: Planned and disciplined approach to task planning and prioritisation.
  • Resilience & stress tolerance: Ability to deal with stress, unforeseen events and complex situations.
  • Willingness & ability to learn: Openness and the ability to quickly absorb new knowledge.
  • Sense of responsibility: Conscientious, reliable and loyal conduct in accordance with ethical principles.
  • Work-life balance: Conscious management of the relationship between professional and private life.
Social competencies

Social competencies

  • Cooperation & tolerance: Constructive cooperation and openness towards different people.
  • Integration & teamwork: Ability to fit into teams and integrate others.
  • Empathy: Ability to understand the feelings and perspectives of others.
  • Tact, sensitivity & appreciation: Respectful and tactful behaviour when dealing with others.
  • Intercultural sensitivity: Appropriate interaction with people from different backgrounds and cultures.
  • Win-win mentality: Focus on solutions that benefit all parties involved.
  • Frustration tolerance: Ability to deal with disappointment and resistance.
Design and problem solving

Design and problem solving

  • Problem identification & analysis: Systematic and logical thinking to identify and analyse complex issues.
  • Strategic thinking: Ability to develop long-term strategies and act strategically.
  • Innovative ability: Openness to change and development of visions and new opportunities.
  • Creativity & intuition: Development of unique, creative solutions, often through imagination and improvisation.
  • Methodological competence: Targeted application of proven methods for structuring tasks.
  • Decision-making ability: Competence in making decisions and steering decision-making processes.
  • Implementation ability: Ability to implement plans with a willingness to take risks and a focus on results.
  • Entrepreneurial thinking: Acting in the interests of the company’s success and living the company’s values.
Deal with complexity

Deal with complexity

  • Maintaining an overview: Keeping an eye on the overall situation despite the depth of detail.
  • Reducing to the essentials: Identifying the core problems in complicated situations.
  • Focusing: Concentrating on the relevant aspects despite the high density of information.
  • Thinking in systems: Analysing, abstracting, structuring and synthesising facts as an overall system.
  • Categorising & grouping: Distinguishing between system types and forming clusters of elements for structuring.
  • Networking & visualising: Representing relationships and interactions and creating explanatory graphics (e.g. process or relationship diagrams).
  • Dealing with uncertainty: Acting and making decisions despite incomplete information or probabilities.
Abstract thinking ability

Abstract thinking ability

  • Modelling & categorisation: Thinking in models and typification to reduce complexity.
  • Generalisation: Transferring insights from individual cases to general principles.
  • Simplification & focus: Concentrating on the essentials for better comprehensibility.
  • Conceptual thinking: Ability to develop overarching ideas and frameworks.
  • Logical reasoning: Consistent derivation of consequences from given premises.
  • Perspective building & connections: Ability to view situations from different angles and establish connections.
  • Communication of abstract concepts: Presentation of complex content through analogies and visualisation techniques.
  • Open-mindedness & willingness to experiment: Willingness to try out new approaches.
Business/position-related skills1234
Business, administrative and control processes as well as compliance

Business, administrative and control processes as well as compliance

  • Core processes & value creation: Knowledge and understanding of the company’s central business processes and value chain.
  • Process optimisation: Application of methods (e.g. business process reengineering, process mining) to increase process efficiency.
  • Critical success factors (CSF): Identification of the key factors for corporate success in the specific environment/market.
  • Risk management: Identification, assessment and control of potential threats to the business.
  • Quality management: Ensuring the required quality of products, services or processes.
  • Legal aspects & compliance: Compliance with rules of conduct and relevant law (e.g. copyright, contract, liability or procurement law).
  • Reporting: Preparation and communication of reports on business activities and key figures.
Company policy/culture/organization

Company policy/culture/organization

  • Corporate identity: Representation of the company’s image and values.
  • Adaptability and awareness: Understanding of the company’s internal policies, culture and organisation, as well as exemplifying openness and actively supporting organisational changes.
  • Cultural sensitivity: Reflecting on and taking cultural characteristics into account in decisions and behaviour.
  • Decision-making behaviour: Making decisions in line with company policy and strategy.
Business contexts

Business contexts

  • Finance & Controlling: Knowledge of budgeting, accounting and the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) for management purposes.
  • Investments & Procurement: Understanding of the fundamentals of investment decisions and procurement strategies (‘make or buy’).
  • Value creation & efficiency: Focus on increasing the value creation, effectiveness and efficiency of business activities.
  • Corporate strategies & stakeholders: Understanding of overall corporate policy, strategies and consideration of stakeholders.
  • Product/market development: Knowledge of marketing, sales, pricing and production factors.
Competitive situation in the sector

Competitive situation in the sector

  • Competitiveness: Assessing one’s own position in the market and applying generic strategies.
  • Identifying competitive advantages: Recognising and exploiting one’s own unique selling points.
  • Industry understanding: Knowledge of specific market models and the mechanisms of supply, demand and pricing in the industry.
  • Understanding the value chain: Knowledge of the sequence of activities involved in creating a product or service.
  • Marketability: Assessing and ensuring the company’s ability to compete.
  • Recognising market risks: Forward-looking assessment of potential threats from the market environment.
Change in the business through ICT

Change in the business through ICT

  • Customer & service orientation: Focusing on the needs of customers/stakeholders and aligning with service orientation in the context of digital transformation.
  • Market orientation & navigation: Recognising ICT-driven change in the market and aligning the company accordingly.
  • Understanding and introducing digital technologies: Basic knowledge of modern ICT solutions such as cloud computing or AI, as well as the ability to introduce new ICT solutions quickly and effectively.
  • Knowing digital business models: Familiarity with new, technology-driven value creation approaches.
  • Digitising processes: Using technology to increase efficiency and automate processes.
  • Handling data/IT security: Responsible protection of sensitive information from misuse.
Consulting and sales

Consulting and sales

  • Consulting process: Mastering the structured process from needs analysis to solution presentation.
  • Solution orientation: Focusing on providing solutions that benefit the customer.
  • Acquisition & closing: Ability to acquire customers, prepare quotations/offers and successfully close contracts.
  • Negotiation techniques: Application of professional methods to achieve win-win solutions and determine pricing.
  • Relationship management: Long-term maintenance of customer contacts to secure future business.
Technical and methodological competencies1234
ICT management

ICT management

  • IT strategy: Development and implementation of strategies for information and communication technologies.
  • Information technologies: Assessment of new technologies in terms of their benefits for the company.
  • Potential for improvement: Identifying and realising potential for improvement in ICT structures.
  • Project portfolio: Organising the entire ICT project portfolio.
  • Best practices, benchmarks: Taking best practices and benchmarks into account to optimise performance.
  • Third-party services: Coordinating external ICT service providers.
  • ICT governance: Ensuring ICT governance so that ICT processes are in line with company objectives.
Project management

Project management

  • Team behaviour: Promoting constructive behaviour within the project team.
  • Project initiation, project management: Managing ICT projects from initiation to completion.
  • Project planning: Planning and controlling the progress and resources of ICT projects.
  • Project execution: Supporting ICT projects with appropriate methods and tools.
  • Project management support: Creating and monitoring project plans.
  • Project problems: Identifying and solving project problems.
  • Project management concepts, methods and tools: Applying recognised concepts, methods and tools for project management.
Risk management

Risk management

  • Project risks: Identification and assessment of risks within ICT projects.
  • System operation risks: Protection of ongoing system operation against disruptions and risks.
  • Risks of organisational units: Minimisation of risks within organisational units.
  • Contingency scenarios: Development of contingency scenarios to ensure business continuity.
  • ICT compliance: Ensuring compliance with legal regulations.
Quality management

Quality management

  • System tests, system checks: Systematic checks and tests of ICT systems.
  • Configuration management: Checking configurations for compliance with standards.
  • Quality assurance, quality assurance systems: Quality assurance of ICT products and processes using quality assurance systems.
  • Release, upgrade: Planning and controlling releases and upgrades.
  • Quality control, process quality, product quality: Use of suitable measurement and testing procedures for quality control of processes and ICT products.
  • Effectiveness of quality management: Evaluation of ICT quality management in terms of costs and effectiveness.
  • Customer satisfaction: Increasing customer satisfaction with regard to ICT use through targeted measures.
Service design

Service design

  • Service design principles and methods: Application of design principles for ICT services.
  • Service design processes: Process optimisation in ICT service design.
  • Technology-related service design methods: Application of technology-related methods for the development of ICT services.
  • Service design organisation: Organisation of roles and responsibilities in ICT service design.
  • Service design implementation: Planning and supporting the introduction of ICT services.
Architectures

Architectures

  • Platform strategy: Development of strategies for company-wide ICT platforms and their use.
  • Service strategy: Planning of ICT service structures in line with the corporate strategy.
  • Enterprise architecture: Designing enterprise architectures in line with corporate strategy.
  • ICT architecture: Designing ICT system architectures, network architectures, software architectures, data architectures, ICT security architectures, etc.
Methodological competency

Methodological competency

  • Project management: Application of methods for managing and optimally implementing projects.
  • Software development: Development of software in accordance with recognised methods.
  • Process description, process improvement: Application of recognised methods for describing, presenting, measuring and improving processes.
  • Frameworks: Application of recognised frameworks, for example in architecture design.
  • Testing: Application of common procedures and methods for testing ICT systems and applications.
  • ICT security: Ensuring ICT security through appropriate procedures and methods.
  • Risk and quality management: Application of standardised methods for risk management and quality management.
Ergonomics and usability

Ergonomics and usability

  • Ergonomics Human-machine interface: Optimisation of interfaces between humans and machines.
  • Interaction design, accessibility: Development of accessible interaction designs.
  • User requirements: Consideration of user requirements (use cases, user stories) in ICT system development.
  • Context analysis, online analysis, surveys: Application of analysis methods to evaluate user-friendliness.
  • Information visualisation, content structure: Visualisation and structuring of information and content.
  • Design principles: Application of common standards for design and layout.
  • Mock-up, prototyping: Application of mock-ups and prototypes for evaluation.
  • Usability coaching: Promotion of user-friendliness in ICT products and ICT services.
  • Web analytics: Analysis of user behaviour for the purpose of improving user experience and performance.
  • User manuals, e-learning content: Development of user manuals and training content.
ICT business administration

ICT business administration

  • Quotations: Preparation and evaluation of quotations.
  • Licences, contracts: Negotiation of licence agreements.
  • Investments, profitability: Planning of investments and evaluation of their profitability.
  • Procurement of ICT systems and ICT services: Organisation of the purchase of ICT systems and ICT services.
  • Budget, cost control: Preparation and monitoring of budgets and control of costs.
  • ICT controlling: Application of ICT controlling instruments for performance measurement.
  • Key account management: Management of important customer relationships.
  • Product management: Planning and control of the development of ICT products.
Organization

Organization

  • Structural organisation, procedural organisation: Designing the structural and procedural organisation of companies.
  • Strategic and operational planning: Planning strategic and operational organisational developments.
  • Organisational weaknesses: Identifying and remedying organisational weaknesses.
  • Reorganisation: Reorganising processes and structures.
Information security

Information security

  • Security strategy, architecture: Development of security strategies and security architectures.
  • Security processes: Integration of security processes into business processes.
  • Security situation: Monitoring of the general security situation and response to threats.
  • Security testing procedures: Performing security tests.
  • Data protection: Designing and implementing protective measures against data theft and ensuring data integrity and confidentiality.
  • Identity and access management: Managing user identities and access rights.
  • Information risk management: Identifying and mitigating risks in the data processing environment.
  • Regulatory requirements, ICT basic protection: Requiring and verifying compliance with regulatory requirements regarding ICT basic protection.
Business and requirements engineering

Business and requirements engineering

  • Analytical and conceptual skills: Analysis of requirements and development of appropriate concepts.
  • Planning and organisational skills: Planning and organisation of requirements analyses across multiple stakeholder groups.
  • Domain knowledge: Use of knowledge about specific subject areas and industries.
  • Interviewing techniques, workshop moderation: moderating and conducting interviews and workshops.
  • Presentation of complex issues: clear presentation of complex issues and analysis results.
  • Analysis and modelling: analysis and modelling of processes, use cases and value creation.
  • Dealing with stakeholders: involvement of stakeholders in development processes.
Software engineering

Software engineering

  • Software development: Development of software applications and interfaces in accordance with defined architectural specifications and guidelines.
  • Software architecture, version planning: Definition of software architectures and planning of software or product versions.
  • Software production: Preparation of software for operation and transfer to production.
  • Software migration: Planning and support of software migrations.
  • Change management: Adapting software to changing requirements.
  • Software security: Analysing security risks of comprehensive software systems and integrating protective functions.
  • Feasibility: Analysing software requirements in terms of feasibility and impact on systems and guidelines.
  • Code review: Performing code reviews to ensure code quality.
  • Innovation: Applying new technologies and methods.
Hardware engineering

Hardware engineering

  • Evaluation: Selection of suitable hardware components based on technical and economic criteria.
  • Commissioning: Planning and monitoring the commissioning of new hardware solutions.
  • Maintenance: Hardware maintenance and troubleshooting.
  • Change management: Adapting hardware configurations to changing requirements.
  • Planning: Planning future hardware requirements.
Network engineering

Network engineering

  • Network systems and architectures: Design of network infrastructures with secure network architectures.
  • Cross-platform services: Development of cross-platform network services.
  • Communication services: Integration of communication services such as VoIP or messaging.
  • Protection and security functions: Implementation of protective measures to ensure network security.
  • Directory services: Administration and configuration of directory services such as DNS.
  • Change management: Adaptation of network components and configurations to changing requirements.
Service engineering

Service engineering

  • Service strategy: Development and documentation of ICT service strategies.
  • Services: Definition of ICT services based on user requirements.
  • Service levels: Definition of ICT service levels and ensuring compliance with them.
  • Problem management: Identification and resolution of problems with ICT services.
  • Service requests: Processing of ICT service requests.
  • Change management: Adaptation of ICT services to changing requirements.
Data engineering/data management

Data engineering/data management

  • Data modelling: Data modelling to optimise data analysis and data usage.
  • Data warehouse, content management: Development and maintenance of database, data warehouse and content management systems.
  • Data management: Management of company-wide data stocks.
  • Change management: Adaptation of data management processes to changing requirements.
Application operation

Application operation

  • Operation and monitoring: Monitoring the ongoing operation of software applications.
  • Support: Providing support to users of software applications and troubleshooting operational problems.
  • Database systems: Administration and optimisation of database systems.
  • Performance and capacity: Ensuring the performance and scalability of applications.
  • Migration: Migration of software applications.
  • Configuration: Configuration of software applications.
Network operation

Network operation

  • Configuration and installation: Configuration and installation of network components.
  • Operation and monitoring: Operating network infrastructure, monitoring network systems and identifying faults.
  • Performance and capacity: Ensuring stable performance and the necessary capacity of network systems.
  • Upgrades: Upgrading network systems.
  • Support: Supporting users and ICT teams with network problems.
Hardware operation

Hardware operation

  • Configuration and installation: Configuration and installation of printers, multifunction devices, storage, network components and other hardware.
  • Operation and monitoring: Operation and monitoring of hardware infrastructures or hardware components.
  • Performance and capacity: Evaluation of hardware performance, ensuring required capacity, optimisation of resources and hardware upgrades.
  • Support: Technical support for end devices and hardware infrastructure.
Service operation

Service operation

  • Support: User support for ICT issues and ICT service requests.
  • Problem management: Analysis and resolution or escalation of ICT problems.
  • Service request: Processing of ICT service requests.
  • Archiving, backup, restore and repair: Ensuring data availability through backup, restore and repair processes.
  • Configuration: Configuration of ICT systems.
  • Performance and capacity: Monitoring of performance and capacity utilisation of running ICT services.

Other roles in the role group «Development (Build)»