This unit applies to individuals who work in a range of environments and require skills in desktop publishing. They may work as individuals providing administrative support within an enterprise, or may be technical or knowledge experts responsible for the production of their own documents.

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Prepare to produce desktop published documents

1.1. Use safe work practices including addressing ergonomic requirements and using work organisation strategies

1.2. Use energy and resource conservation techniques

1.3. Identify document purpose, audience and presentation requirements, and clarify with relevant personnel as required

1.4. Identify organisational and task requirements for desktop published documents to ensure consistency of style and image

2. Set up desktop published document

2.1. Design content structure and layout to ensure information and graphics are arranged according to related topics and logical sequences

2.2. Select appropriate formatting and create templates or master pages to ensure consistency of design and layout

2.3. Confirm layout with appropriate person

3. Create desktop published document

3.1. Prepare, format and enter required text

3.2. Import text from other applications and resolve any formatting issues

3.3. Scan or import graphics from other applications and resolve any formatting issues

3.4. Arrange text and graphics according to organisational and task requirements

4. Finalise desktop published document

4.1. Review text for possible errors and omissions, and resolve any issues

4.2. Check page order, structure and linkages

4.3. Produce completed document in required format

4.4. Name and store text documents, in accordance with organisational requirements and exit the application without information loss/damage

4.5. Prepare text documents within designated time lines and organisational requirements for speed and accuracy

4.6. Use manuals, user documentation and online help to overcome problems with document design and production

Required skills

communication skills to clarify requirements of documents

culturally appropriate communication skills to relate to people from diverse backgrounds and people with diverse abilities

editing and proofreading skills to check own work for accuracy against original

keyboarding skills to enter text and numerical data

literacy skills to read and understand the organisation's procedures and to use models or exemplars to produce a range of documents

problem-solving skills to edit documents and to resolve issues of consistency of design.

Required knowledge

energy and resource conservation techniques

organisational requirements for ergonomics, work periods and breaks

organisational style guides

purposes, uses and functions of desktop publishing software

styles and their effect on formatting, readability and appearance of document.

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:

knowledge of document design and layout principles

producing desktop published documents.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

access to office equipment and resources in a workplace or simulated environment

access to samples of relevantworkplace desktop published documents.

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:

direct questioning combined with review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate

review of desktop published documents

demonstration of techniques

oral or written questioning to assess knowledge of desktop publishing software functions.

Guidance information for assessment

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:

general administration units

other IT use units.

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.

Ergonomic requirements may include:

avoiding radiation from computer screens

chair height, seat and back adjustment

document holder

footrest

keyboard and mouse position

lighting

noise minimisation

posture

screen position

workstation height and layout

Work organisation strategies may include:

exercise breaks

mix of repetitive and other activities

rest periods

Energy and resource conservation techniques may include:

double-sided paper use

recycling used and shredded paper

re-using paper for rough drafts (observing confidentiality requirements)

utilising power-save options for equipment

Documents may include:

brochures

calendars

faxes

flyers

forms

mail merge documents, including labels

memos

multi-page letters

promotional material

reports

schedules

tables

Organisational and task requirements may include:

company colour scheme

company logo

consistent corporate image

content restrictions

established guidelines and procedures for document production

house styles

observing copyright legislation

organisation name, time, date, document title, filename or other fields in headers and footers

templates

Design may include:

balance

diversity

relative positioning of graphics, headings and white space

simplicity

text flow

typography

Structure and layout may include:

boxes

colour

columns

drawing

graphics

headings

letter and memo conventions

page layout

photographs

typeface

white space

Consistency of design and layout may include:

annotated references

borders

bulleted and numbered lists

captions

consistency with other business documents

footnotes and endnotes

indentations

page numbers

spacings

font styles and point size

Naming and storing documents may include:

authorised access

file and folder names which identify requirements such as the operator, author, section or date

filing locations

file names according to organisational procedure

file names which are easily identifiable in relation to the content

organisational policy for backing up files storage in folders and sub-folders

organisational policy for filing hard copies of documents

security and password protection

storage on disk drives, USBs, CD-ROM, tape back-up to server

Designated time lines may include:

time line agreed with internal or external client

time line agreed with supervisor or person requiring document

organisational time line e.g. deadline requirements

Unit sector

Information and Communications Technology - IT Use

This unit contains employability skills.