The article discusses the growing use of automated online competency analysis tools by workforce training executives. Such tools are gaining steadily higher status within their learning programs today. That's understandable, considering the exposure faced by organizations from new government training mandates under laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. As a result of those and other factors, the measurement of employee performance against specific competency goals has become an important part of the hiring and training process. Employee performance is routinely measured against specific skill sets deemed necessary to fulfill an organization's mission. In the online learning arena, performance assessment tools have become standard components within learning management systems, frequently demanded by customers and a key selling point for LMS vendors. Meanwhile, skills assessment software providers routinely add features that enable customers to author, administer, deliver, and report on computerized assessments.