Assessor Resource

ICAW4027B
Relate to clients on a business level

Assessment tool

Version 1.0
Issue Date: March 2024


This unit defines the competency required to formulate and implement service level agreements.

The following units are linked and form an appropriate cluster:

ICAA4041C Determine and confirm client business expectations and needs

ICAW4026B Coordinate and maintain work teams

No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

You may want to include more information here about the target group and the purpose of the assessments (eg formative, summative, recognition)

Employability Skills

This unit contains employability skills.




Evidence Required

List the assessment methods to be used and the context and resources required for assessment. Copy and paste the relevant sections from the evidence guide below and then re-write these in plain English.

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 formulate and implement service-level agreements to encourage clients to engage in further business. Assessment must confirm the ability to successfully negotiate client support service provision and satisfy client requirements for client support service within quality, time, target performance and cost parameters.

To demonstrate competency in this unit the following resources will be needed:

Service-level agreement

Context of and specific resources for assessment

The demonstration of this competency requires breadth, depth and complexity of knowledge and skills which would prepare a person to relate to clients at a business level.

Operations must be in accordance with organisational polices and procedures.

Understanding client needs should be done under competent supervision where there is a clearly defined range of contexts for negotiating service-level agreements and resultant contracts.

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 to 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.

Guidance information for assessment

The interdependence of units for assessment purposes may vary with the particular project or scenario. Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:

ICAA4041C Determine and confirm client business expectations and needs

ICAW4026B Coordinate and maintain work teams

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

Additionally, an individual demonstrating this competency would be able to:

Demonstrate relevant understanding of client needs in line with procedures related to client business domain

Apply known solutions to a variety of predictable client business needs that require some discretion

Interpret available client information using discretion and judgement

Take responsibility for outputs in managing client outcomes

Maintain knowledge of industry products and services


Submission Requirements

List each assessment task's title, type (eg project, observation/demonstration, essay, assingnment, checklist) and due date here

Assessment task 1: [title]      Due date:

(add new lines for each of the assessment tasks)


Assessment Tasks

Copy and paste from the following data to produce each assessment task. Write these in plain English and spell out how, when and where the task is to be carried out, under what conditions, and what resources are needed. Include guidelines about how well the candidate has to perform a task for it to be judged satisfactory.

Required skills

Applying customer service skills in a range of contexts at various levels

Problem solving for a broad range of unpredictable problems involving analysis, diagnosis, evaluation and the development of new criteria, knowledge or procedures (e.g. when adjusting client support services based on feedback and in line with organisational policies)

Facilitation and presentation skills in relation to transferring and collecting information and gaining consensus on concepts (e.g. when determining and building business relationships)

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

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

Negotiation skills in relation to others applied to an undefined range of predictable problems

Required knowledge

Theoretical concepts relating to negotiation and business relationships

Current business practices in relation to preparing reports (e.g. when monitoring, adjusting and implementing procedures to maintain client focus)

Basic legal principles of commercial contracts and service-level agreements

Components of the client's business planning process relevant to the development of IT business solutions

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

Vendor product directions (e.g. when planning to meet internal and external client requirements)

Basic knowledge of information gathering techniques (e.g. when building and maintaining business networks and relationships)

General knowledge of change management systems (e.g. when monitoring, adjusting and implementing procedures to maintain client focus)

General knowledge of organisational policies on contracting (e.g. when negotiating client support service costs)

Organisational policies on external client relationships

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.

Service-level agreement

May exist for many different infrastructure services, including communications carriers, ISPs, ASPs and SLAs for vendor products.

SLAs should consider business processes and requirements, clearly specify and quantify service levels, identify evaluation or audit of service levels. May include workload and performance considerations, expectations regarding servicing, penalties, and charge back to business units.

Organisational guidelines may include but are not limited to:

personal use of emails and internet access

content of emails

downloading information and accessing particular websites

opening mail with attachments

virus risk

dispute resolution

document procedures and templates

communication methods

financial control mechanisms

Client may include but is not limited to:

internal departments

external organisations

individual people

internal employees

Appropriate person may include:

supervisor

teacher

authorised business representative

client

System may include but is not limited to:

hardware and software components that run a computer

Copy and paste from the following performance criteria to create an observation checklist for each task. When you have finished writing your assessment tool every one of these must have been addressed, preferably several times in a variety of contexts. To ensure this occurs download the assessment matrix for the unit; enter each assessment task as a column header and place check marks against each performance criteria that task addresses.

Observation Checklist

Tasks to be observed according to workplace/college/TAFE policy and procedures, relevant legislation and Codes of Practice Yes No Comments/feedback
Investigate organisational service standards, values and culture in order to understand the organisational environment 
Become familiar with and document the goods and services provided by the organisation 
Review current service-level agreements if appropriate 
Research client service needs and preferred level of service 
Determine the level of service to be provided to the client 
Develop a draft service-level agreement for the client that incorporates quality, time, target performance and cost specifications 
Conduct a session with the client to present the draft service-level agreement 
Present proposed service-level agreement to the client in a clear, concise and comprehensive manner 
Present proposed cost and timeframes to the client 
Negotiate the terms with the client and record alterations if required 
Seek clarification where areas of uncertainty or disagreement occur 
Document the terms of service negotiated with the client, and refer the document to appropriate person for approval and feedback 
Assess progress in achieving the client support service targets using organisational systems and procedures 
Gather client feedback to improve the provision of client support services where appropriate 
Make adjustments to client support service based on client feedback and in line with organisational guidelines 
Document changes to service-level agreement and report changes to appropriate person 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

ICAW4027B - Relate to clients on a business level
Assessment task 1: [title]

Student name:

Student ID:

I declare that the assessment tasks submitted for this unit are my own work.

Student signature:

Result: Competent Not yet competent

Feedback to student

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:


Assessment Record Sheet

ICAW4027B - Relate to clients on a business level

Student name:

Student ID:

Assessment task 1: [title] Result: Competent Not yet competent

(add lines for each task)

Feedback to student:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall assessment result: Competent Not yet competent

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Student signature:

Date: