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 the ability to identify the expected outcomes of the modification and demonstrate the steps involved in the implementation of the modification. The learner must have a good knowledge of the implications of success and failure of the proposed modification and what steps or procedures to carry out in each of these scenarios.

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

Live system

Benchmarking/testing tools

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. Leadership and guidance would be involved when organising activities of self and others as well as contributing to technical solutions of a non-routine or contingency nature.

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.

Applications may involve responsibility for, and limited organisation of, others.

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, for example:

ICAS4022B Determine client computing problems and action

ICAS4114B Implement maintenance procedures

ICAS4127B Support system software

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

Required skills

Problem solving skills for a defined range of unpredictable problems involving participation in the development of strategic initiatives

Plain English literacy and communication skills in relation to analysis, evaluation and presentation of information

Teamwork skills involve the contribution to solutions and goals of a non-routine or contingency nature

Group facilitation and presentation skills in relation to transferring and collecting information and gaining consensus on concepts

Negotiation skills in relation to other team members and applied to a defined range of predictable problems

Report writing skills for business requiring depth in some areas, analysis and evaluation of information in a defined range of areas

Change management skills in relation to maintaining the continuity of ICT operations and business functions

Customer service skills in relation to reviewing change procedures

Skills in handling difficult clients in relation to reviewing change procedures

Conflict resolution skills in relation to reviewing change procedures

Risk analysis skills in relation to reviewing change procedures

Low-level training needs analysis skills

Low-level programming skills

Required knowledge

Broad knowledge of help desk and maintenance practices

Current industry-accepted hardware and software products, with broad knowledge of general features and capabilities and detailed knowledge in some areas

Broad knowledge of the role of stakeholders and the degree of stakeholder involvement

Broad general knowledge of the client business domain

Detailed knowledge of the system's current functionality

Broad knowledge of quality assurance practices

Broad knowledge of system testing

Broad knowledge of change control procedures

Detailed knowledge of the system under modification

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.

Modification may include but is not limited to:

error correction

system recovery

assistance

enhancement

System may include but is not limited to:

hardware and software components that run a computer

Repositories may include but is not limited to:

central repository

program library

databases

Standards may include:

ISO/IEC/AS standards

organisational standards

project standards (for further information refer to the Standards Australia website at: www.standards.com.au)

Documentation may include:

collection of records that describe the structure

purpose

operation

maintenance and data requirements for a computer program

operating system

hardware device

User may include:

a person within a department

a department within the organisation

a third party

Appropriateperson may include:

supervisor

teacher

authorised business representative

client

Reporting procedures - help desk and maintenance structures will vary, some may be:

Customer contact centre or general contact point that then consults with a supplier or other technician

Customer contact centre staffed by technicians capable of solving the problem

real-time on-line support

web-based support