Elements and Performance Criteria

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Stakeholders may include:
development team
project team
sponsor
user.
Organisational requirements may include:
how and what the organisation wants in regard to work environment
preventative maintenance and diagnostic policy
problem solution processes
roles and technical responsibilities in the IT department
vendor and product service level support agreements.
Standards may include:
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Australian Standards (AS) standards
Java coding standards
GNU coding standards
organisational standards
project standards.
Project standards may include:
change control
delivery against required milestones and budget
development methodology
ease of modification and maintenance
project plan
quality of software modules
reporting mechanisms
sharing of code or libraries.
Communication may include:
non-verbal methods, such as written messages, emails and memos
verbal methods, such as telephone, meetings and video conferencing.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Evidence of the ability to:
establish the standards associated with the IT technical requirements, taking into account quality assurance processes that are in place for the development of software
monitor the application of these standards within the project.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure access to:
technical specifications
organisational standards for documentation and version control
project management process and hierarchy
future organisational business processes
software requirement specifications
interface requirement specifications
system requirements
design specifications
project budget and timeframe
appropriate learning and assessment support when required
modified equipment for people with special needs.
Note: Data used in preparing the development review should be validated and come from other projects or related organisational activities.
Method of assessment
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:
verbal or written questioning to assess candidate’s knowledge of:
quality assurance
appropriate quality standards for software development
benchmarking
review of candidate’s documented software standards
evaluation of candidate’s report to stakeholders.
Guidance information for assessment
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, where appropriate.
Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and suitable to the communication skill level, language, literacy and numeracy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.
Indigenous people and other people from a non-English speaking background may need additional support.
In cases where practical assessment is used it should be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge.