Assessor Resource

ICASAD604A
Manage and communicate IT solutions

Assessment tool

Version 1.0
Issue Date: April 2024


This unit applies to senior business analysts in medium to large organisations who ensure that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the nature of an IT solution; and to ensure that those stakeholders with approval authority agree on the requirements that the solution meets.

Their job roles combine high-level management, business and technical skills necessary to manage complex analysis efforts within the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, often as part of IT projects critical to the business.

This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to manage and communicate requirements for new IT systems to a broad and diverse audience.

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

Prerequisites

Not applicable.

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 ability to:

establish processes to trace requirements, and control and track changes to requirements and solution scope

package and communicate requirements according to what is appropriate for a project or stakeholder group.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure access to:

documentation, including appropriate policies, current business analysis practices, tools and legislation

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:

evaluation of a simulated or workplace project in a medium to large enterprise

direct observation of the candidate carrying out business analysis work

verbal or written questioning to assess required knowledge and skills

review of reports and plans prepared for the projects

evaluation of a portfolio of the project work undertaken.

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.

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

analytical skills to perform impact analysis of possible changes to solution scope

communication skills to bring stakeholders from different backgrounds and business domains to a common understanding of the IT requirements

organisational and management skills to manage the integrity of requirements to the business goals and actual solution through uncertainty and change over time

strategic thinking skills to ensure that knowledge of the organisation gained during business analysis is available for future use

technical skills to develop evaluation criteria.

Required knowledge

conflict-resolution and issue-management techniques to handle possible changes to solution scope

requirements management and requirements traceability processes

techniques for managing version control and configuration.

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.

Requirements management tools may include:

Caliber-RM

MKS requirements

Requisite Pro

RTM Workshop

SoftREQ

Teamcenter

TestTrackRM.

Requirements package may exist in the form of:

formal documentation, usually based on a template used by the organisation, such as a vision document or software requirements specification

models, where the requirements may be presented only in the form of a model, such as a process map, or captured on a whiteboard

presentation that delivers a high-level overview of the functionality delivered by the solution.

Business analysis tasks may include:

enterprise analysis tasks

elicitation tasks

requirements analysis tasks

solution assessment and validation tasks.

Presentations of requirements may be used to:

as a precursor to delivery, e.g. examining solution options with a delivery team

ensure cross-functional fit with other business process areas within the same project

ensure that internal project quality standards have been adhered to

make decisions regarding solution scope

obtain business acceptance and sign-off

obtain delivery team sign-off

obtain testing team sign-off

prioritise a set of requirements before proceeding to next project stage.

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
Establish baseline client IT requirements and change control processes to track changes to requirements and solution scope 
Resolve issues and conflicts that emerge during final stages of identifying and analysing requirements 
Determine how requirements will be presented for review 
Secure approval of requirements from those stakeholders who have the appropriate authority 
Examine and organise the set of requirements and record the dependencies and relationships for each 
Perform impact analysis to assess or evaluate the impact of a change 
Deploy requirements management tools as necessary 
Identify requirements that the organisation will use in the long term 
Name and define requirements available for future re-use 
Decide which formats are appropriate for a particular project and its stakeholders 
Prepare requirements package according to organisational need 
Communicate requirements iteratively and in conjunction with business analysis tasks 
Develop and deliver presentations of requirements according to communication objectives 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

ICASAD604A - Manage and communicate IT solutions
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

ICASAD604A - Manage and communicate IT solutions

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: