Unit of Competency Mapping – Information for Teachers/Assessors – Information for Learners

ICAS4116B Mapping and Delivery Guide
Undertake capacity planning

Version 1.0
Issue Date: April 2024


Qualification -
Unit of Competency ICAS4116B - Undertake capacity planning
Description This unit defines the competency required to monitor and assess the current and future capacity requirements of a system and to plan and install capacity enhancements.The following units are linked and form an appropriate cluster:ICAI3021B Connect internal hardware componentsICAS4106B Action and complete change requestsICAS4109B Evaluate system statusNo licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Employability Skills This unit contains employability skills.
Learning Outcomes and Application
Duration and Setting X weeks, nominally xx hours, delivered in a classroom/online/blended learning setting.
Prerequisites/co-requisites
Competency Field
Development and validation strategy and guide for assessors and learners Student Learning Resources Handouts
Activities 		Slides
PPT 		Assessment 1 Assessment 2 Assessment 3 Assessment 4
Elements of Competency Performance Criteria              
Element: Analyse existing system capacity
  • Review the existing system configuration information, both hardware and software, to determine capacity issues
  • Investigate the current workload of the system and analyse its effect on the capacity to perform
  • Examine the current service-level agreement to determine the agreed-upon capacity standards
  • Examine and analyse the fault logs for those caused by capacity problems
  • Discuss and review capacity issues with users
  • Document the information gathered about the existing system workload and capacity according to organisationalguidelines
       
Element: Determine future capacity requirements
  • Interview the user in order to gather data about future capacity requirements of the system
  • Organise and analyse the future requirements data and then evaluate to obtain a forecast workload for the system
  • Using the data and information gathered, compare the existing workload with the forecast workload and evaluate, to determine capacity problem areas
  • Estimate the resources and equipment required to resolve predicted capacity problems
  • Undertake a financial analysis of the estimated capacity requirements
  • Organise and document relevant information according to organisationalguidelines
  • Evaluate documentation in order to create a report, detailing recommendations for capacity enhancements, for presentation to appropriateperson
       
Element: Develop plan for capacity enhancements
  • Develop a plan for implementing the recommended enhancements, with prioritised tasks and minimum disruption to users
  • Factor into the implementation plan the availability of finances, staff and other requirements
  • Submit the implementation plan to appropriate person for approval and revision
       
Element: Install capacity enhancements
  • Install the capacity enhancements in accordance with installation procedures, organisational guidelines and implementation plan
  • Measure the increase in capacity and performance resulting from installed equipment in order to assess that capacity requirements have been met
  • Update documentation according to organisationalguidelines to reflect the capacity enhancements
       
Element: Monitor ongoing capacity requirements
  • Monitor and assess the impact of new technology and application development on capacity and performance
  • Implement and maintain a performance database
  • Review and assess benchmarks and performance regularly with work team, to enable timely capacity enhancements and updates of benchmarks
       


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 predict capacity requirements resulting from business growth, with forecasts being realistic and achievable; to monitor and accurately assess current and future capacity requirements of a system; to plan and install capacity enhancements; and to create and maintain required documentation.

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

A live system

Service-level agreements

Fault logs

Users

Hardware components for installation

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Capacity planning is the process of measuring a system's ability to carry out its intended function. For example, to serve content a web server provides web pages to its visitors at an acceptable speed. If visits were to double in one day, or multiply one thousand-fold, like some of the large news sites, how well-prepared would the organisation be in coping with this volume of traffic.

This unit also establishes the general concepts and methodology involved in performing capacity planning, so that one can adapt the testing to a business.

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:

ICAI3021B Connect internal hardware components

ICAS4106B Action and complete change requests

ICAS4109B Evaluate system status

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

Submission Requirements

List each assessment task's title, type (eg project, observation/demonstration, essay, assignment, 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

Problem solving skills directed at problems involving the development of capacity planning initiatives

Language, literacy and communication skills necessary to process and present written and verbal information

Literacy skills for interpretation of technical manuals and forecasting data

Interpersonal skills in relation to other team members, clients and vendors

Project planning skills in relation to scope, time, cost, quality, communications, risk management and forecasting skills

Report writing skills for business

Analysis and evaluation of information in a defined range of areas

Questioning and active listening at a range of user/vendor levels

Ability to modify the current system to incorporate the planned changes by installing hardware and software elements

Required knowledge

Broad knowledge of component performance management

Broad knowledge of performance monitoring tools

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

Detailed knowledge of the system's current functionality

Broad knowledge of quality assurance practices

General knowledge of the client business domain

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

Service-level agreements

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.

System may include but is not limited to:

hardware and software components that run a computer

Software may include but is not limited to:

commercial, in-house, packaged or customised software

Hardware may include but is not limited to:

workstations

personal computers

modems or other connectivity devices

networks

DSL modems

remote sites

servers

Service-level agreement

May be specified for different infrastructure services, including communications carriers, ISPs, ASPs and for vendor products.

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

User may include:

a person within a department

a department within the organisation

a third party

Equipment may include but is not limited to:

workstations

personal computers

modems or other connectivity devices

printers

hard drives

DSL modems

monitors

switches

hubs

personal digital assistant (PDA)

other peripheral devices

Documentation may follow:

ISO/IEC/AS standards

audit trails

naming standards

version control

project management templates

report writing principles

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

Requirements may be in reference to:

business

system

network

people in the organisation

Problem may be in reference to:

business

system

network

people in the organisation

there may be a business need or opportunity that must be addressed

Appropriate person may include:

supervisor

teacher

authorised business representative

client

Forecast workload may be ascertained from:

Trends in existing workload

Corporate business plans

User interviews

User questionnaires

Application development personnel

Outside influences (e.g. legal requirements)

Competitive pressures

Economic trends

Database may include but is not limited to:

Oracle

Sybase

Microsoft SQL server

Ingres

DB2

Informix

mSQL

MySQL

SQL server

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
Review the existing system configuration information, both hardware and software, to determine capacity issues 
Investigate the current workload of the system and analyse its effect on the capacity to perform 
Examine the current service-level agreement to determine the agreed-upon capacity standards 
Examine and analyse the fault logs for those caused by capacity problems 
Discuss and review capacity issues with users 
Document the information gathered about the existing system workload and capacity according to organisationalguidelines 
Interview the user in order to gather data about future capacity requirements of the system 
Organise and analyse the future requirements data and then evaluate to obtain a forecast workload for the system 
Using the data and information gathered, compare the existing workload with the forecast workload and evaluate, to determine capacity problem areas 
Estimate the resources and equipment required to resolve predicted capacity problems 
Undertake a financial analysis of the estimated capacity requirements 
Organise and document relevant information according to organisationalguidelines 
Evaluate documentation in order to create a report, detailing recommendations for capacity enhancements, for presentation to appropriateperson 
Develop a plan for implementing the recommended enhancements, with prioritised tasks and minimum disruption to users 
Factor into the implementation plan the availability of finances, staff and other requirements 
Submit the implementation plan to appropriate person for approval and revision 
Install the capacity enhancements in accordance with installation procedures, organisational guidelines and implementation plan 
Measure the increase in capacity and performance resulting from installed equipment in order to assess that capacity requirements have been met 
Update documentation according to organisationalguidelines to reflect the capacity enhancements 
Monitor and assess the impact of new technology and application development on capacity and performance 
Implement and maintain a performance database 
Review and assess benchmarks and performance regularly with work team, to enable timely capacity enhancements and updates of benchmarks 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

ICAS4116B - Undertake capacity planning
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

ICAS4116B - Undertake capacity planning

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: