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.

data
program libraries
network/communications and other equipment
operating system
other support software

supervisor
project leader and/or programmer responsible for code

organisational standards or those that may be based on products such as PSM or SPICE

Procedural language criteria may encompass:
Procedures
Parameters
Return values
Behaviour that affects the attributes of the program
Object-oriented language criteria may encompass procedural language criteria as well as:
Inheritance between classes
Proper instantiation of classes
Interaction between methods of the classes

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 following is essential:

Assessment must confirm sufficient knowledge of object-oriented methodology to carry out test. Assessment must confirm the ability to meet client requirements by successfully validating the test object and documenting the results.

To demonstrate competency in this unit the person will require access to:

Suitable test plan
Specific requirements
Design documents used in the analysis of the test
A suitable class to test
Top-down testing may mean that user representatives should be present at a unit testing session if predicates and pathways are being tested.

Context of and specific resources for assessment
The breadth, depth and complexity of knowledge and skills in this competency would cover a broad range of varied activities or application in a wider variety of contexts most of which are complex and non-routine.

Assessment must ensure:

Performance of a broad range of skilled applications including the requirement to evaluate and analyse current practices, develop new criteria and procedures for performing current practices and provision of some leadership and guidance to others in the application and planning of the skills would be characteristic.

Method of assessment
The purpose of this unit is to define the standard of performance to be achieved in the workplace. In undertaking training and assessment activities related to this unit, consideration should be given to the implementation of appropriate diversity and accessibility practices in order to accommodate people who may have special needs. Additional guidance on these and related matters is provided in ICA05 Section 1.
Competency in this unit should be assessed using summative assessment to ensure consistency of performance in a range of contexts. This unit can be assessed either in the workplace or in a simulated environment. However, simulated activities must closely reflect the workplace to enable full demonstration of competency.
Assessment will usually include observation of real or simulated work processes and procedures and/or performance in a project context as well as questioning on underpinning knowledge and skills. The questioning of team members, supervisors, subordinates, peers and clients where appropriate may provide valuable input to the assessment process. The interdependence of units for assessment purposes may vary with the particular project or scenario.

Guidance information for assessment
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended.

An individual demonstrating this competency would be able to:

Demonstrate understanding of a broad knowledge base incorporating some theoretical concepts
Apply solutions to a defined range of unpredictable problems
Identify and apply skill and knowledge areas to a wide variety of contexts, with depth in some areas
Identify, analyse and evaluate information from a variety of sources
Take responsibility for own outputs in relation to specified quality standards
Take limited responsibility for the quantity and quality of the output of others
Maintain knowledge of industry products and services