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.

Test environment may include:
data
network or communications and other equipment
operating system
other support software
program libraries.
Test and acceptance criteria may relate to:
type of test:
cohesion
efficiency
functional.
Test tools may include:
applications testing:
Cyrano Suite
DataShark
Datatect
preVue-C/S
code, unit and class testing:
AssertMate
BoundsChecker
C-Cover
CodeReview
CodeWizard
DeepCover
FailSafe
Hindsight
Insure++
JavaPureCheck
JCAST
Logiscope
stress load testing:
Astra SiteManager
Astra SiteTest
automated test facilities
AutoTester Web
e-Load
e-MONITO
E-TEST Suite
JavaLoad
LoadRunner.
Software life cycle may include:
AS/NZS15271:1999 Guide for AS/NZS ISO/IEC 12207 Information technology - Software life cycle processes
AS/NZS ISO/IEC12207:1997 Information technology - Software life cycle processes.
Quality benchmarks may include:
relevant quality standards:
AS 3925.1-1994 Software quality assurance - Plans
AS 4042-1992 Software configuration management plans
AS 4043-1992 Software configuration management
AS/NZS 14102:1998 Information technology - Guideline for evaluation and selection of CASE tools
AS/NZS 4258:1994 Software user documentation process
AS/NZS ISO/IEC 12207:1997 Information technology - Software life cycle processes
standards for software review, mainly developed by:
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Software Engineering Institute (SEI)
US Department of Defence (DoD) standards.
Note: International and Australian standards are updated and changed on a regular basis. It is therefore important to check the Standards Australia website on a regular basis for new standards.
Documentation and reporting may include:
ISO, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Australian Standards (AS) standards
templates for information gathering processes
various organisational approaches to:
audit trails
naming standards
project-management templates
report writing
version control.

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:
perform integration requirements for the units of the particular system
determine whether the units of the system operate according to requirement specifications
prepare reports in compliance with documentation and reporting standards.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure access to:
acceptance criteria
test plan
integration standards
requirements and design documents used in the analysis of the test
system or application suitable for testing
appropriate learning and assessment support when required
modified equipment for people with special needs.
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:
direct observation of candidate conducting a test using appropriate test tools and integration standards in line with quality benchmarks and ensuring that components have passed the integration tests at the interface level between each component
verbal or written questioning of underpinning skills and knowledge of compiling, linking and loading components together
evaluation of report prepared by candidate outlining testing procedures and test results.
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.