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.

Personal computer devices may include:
iPAD (or similar)
laptop
notebook
personal digital assistant (PDA)
personal computer (Mac or PC)
server
workstation.
Personal computer components may include:
cooling systems:
case fans
CPU fans
heat sinks
thermal compound
memory:
adapter cards
capture cards (TV and video)
graphics cards
I/O cards:
Firewire
parallel
serial
universal serial bus (USB)
media reader
sound cards
storage controllers:
eSATA cards
redundant array of inexpensive or independent disks (RAID) cards (RAID array - levels 0,1,5)
wired and wireless network cards
motherboards:
advanced network basic input/output system (BIOS) settings
bus speeds
chipsets
complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) battery
expansion slots
firmware updates
front panel connectors
I/O ports
jumper settings
memory slots
socket types
sound, video, USB 1.1, USB 2.0, serial, IEEE 1394 or Firewire, parallel, NIC, modem, PS/2
power supplies:
connector types and quantity
output voltage
wattages and capacity
processors:
32bit versus 64bit
cache
front side bus
number of cores
power consumption
socket types
speed
storage devices:
CD, DVD, RW or blu-ray
external
floppy disk drive (FDD)
hard disk drive (HDD):
parallel advanced technology attachment (PATA)
serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)
solid state
optical drives
removable.
Mobile personal computer components may include:
components of the LCD, including inverter, screen and video card
communication connections:
Bluetooth
cellular wireless area network (WAN)
ethernet
infra-red
modem
expansion devices:
docking station
peripheral component interconnect (PCI) express cards
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) cards
hard drive and memory
input devices:
function keys
point devices, such as touch pad, point stick or track point
stylus or digitiser
internal laptop expansion slot types
keyboard, processor, plastics, pointer devices, heat sinks, fans, system board, CMOS battery, and speakers
power and electrical input devices:
auto-switching
batteries
fixed input power supplies
wireless cards and video card.
Peripheral hardware components may include:
input devices:
bar code reader
biometric devices
keyboard
KVM switch
mouse
multimedia, such as web and digital cameras, MIDI, microphones
touch screen
output devices:
printers
screen
speakers
printer consumables
printer drivers (compatibility).
Clients may include:
department within the organisation
person within a department
third party.
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.
Testing tools may include:
anti-static pad and wrist strap
cable testers
extension magnet
loop back plugs
multi-meter
power supply tester
specialty hardware or tools.
Print devices may include:
impact
inkjet
laser
local versus network printers
thermal.
Printer issues may include:
blank paper
error codes
garbage printout
ghosted image
lines and smearing
no connectivity
out of memory error
paper jams.
Printer issue resolution may include:
clean printer
clear paper jam
install maintenance kit (reset page count)
power cycle
replace drum
replace fuser
set IP on printer.

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:
identify and categorise the different types of hardware, internal hardware and peripheral hardware components
install components across a variety of situations and account for unexpected contingencies
modify system's hardware, internal hardware and peripheral hardware components to meet client requirements
plan the modification and connection hardware, internal hardware and peripheral hardware components according to vendor and technical specifications
test components and rectify identified problems.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure access to:
hardware, internal hardware and peripheral hardware components for installation and configuration
use of current industry standard performance testing software
documents detailing organisational guidelines and requirements
technical manuals and tools
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:
verbal or written questioning to assess candidate’s knowledge of systems diagnostic software and systems functionality
direct observation of candidate:
connecting hardware, internal hardware and peripheral hardware components
testing components and rectifying identified problems
evaluation of client requirements and candidate’s final recommendations
review of candidate’s written notes.
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.