How profile gaps are computed

Gap analysis is a pure function over two published competency profiles: the organisation-scoped one (subject) and the canonical future-ready one (target). It returns a structured ProfileGapPackage with five sections — item deltas, added items, removed items, information-use deltas, and substitutions — plus a summary aggregate.

If an item appears on the canonical side but not on the subject side, it is classified as missing (substitutive — the subject needs to add it). If it appears on the subject side but not on the canonical side, it is classified as extra (additive — the subject has a local specialism). "Substitutive" here means the absence of an item that the canonical requires; it is distinct from the material substitutions section, which tracks cited-material swaps.

Each item carries information-use links with a relevance tier. The IU section reports three lists: changedIus (same IU, different relevance), addedIus (present on subject, not on canonical), and removedIus (present on canonical, not on subject).

Substitutions are jurisdiction-driven. The canonical may cite ISO 19650; the org's jurisdiction may substitute ABNT NBR ISO 19650 (BR), IS EN ISO 19650 (IE), or CSA Z250 (CA). The substitution is not a gap — it is a localisation choice the canonical materials registry blesses. The substitutions section lists each canonical reference, its accepted local equivalent, and an optional note.

Per-jurisdiction caveats →

• An item with no IRI on either side renders as "—" and contributes 0 to the iriGapTotal.
• An item with no ICI on either side renders as "—" and contributes 0 to the iciGapTotal.
• Comparing a profile to itself returns the self-compare empty state — the comparison is not meaningful.
• If no canonical exists for the jurisdiction, the empty state offers a sponsorship or verification-panel CTA — see the journey doc.
• Drafts are excluded. Both sides must be published for the gap to compute.

The gap package schema is at stability tier beta. The shape may evolve in minor versions until 1.0; breaking shape changes will bump the schemaVersion in the package envelope and the change will be called out in the change log.