IT question

Template for assessment 2 of ICTICT508

Note: Check page 3 for template. Copy and paste the template after assessment 2 in the assessment booklet. Delete all written in blue before submission. Only keep the headings and your explanation as a solution to assessment 2.

WHAT IS A FINAL EVALUATION REPORT? A final evaluation report is a written document that describes how you monitored and evaluated your program. It presents the findings, conclusions, and recommendations from a particular evaluation, including recommendations for how evaluation results can be used to guide program improvement and decision making. While evaluation is an ongoing process, the term “final,” as used in this workbook, refers to the last report of a funding period or the final report of a specific evaluation activity.

The final report should describe the “What,” the “How,” and the “Why It Matters” questions about your program.

� The “What” describes your program and how its purpose and activities are linked with the intended outcomes.

� The “How” addresses the process for implementing your program and provides information about whether it is operating with fidelity to its design. The “How” (or process evaluation), along with output and/or short-term outcome information, helps to clarify whether and why changes were made during implementation.

The “Why It Matters” (sometimes referred to as the “So What” question) provides the rationale for your program and its impact on public health. The ability to demonstrate that your program has made a difference is crucial to program sustainability.

WHY DO YOU WANT A FINAL EVALUATION REPORT? A final evaluation report is needed to relay information from the evaluation to program staff, stakeholders, and funders to support program improvement and decision making. The final evaluation report is only one communication method for conveying evaluation results. It is useful, however, to have one transparent document with information about stakeholders, the program, the evaluation design, activities, results, and recommendations. Such information can be used to facilitate support for continued or enhanced program funding, create awareness of and demonstrate success (or lessons learned from program failures), and promote sustainability. Torres, Preskill, and Piontek, (2005, p. 13) contend that there are three reasons for communicating and reporting evaluation results:

1. Build awareness and/or support and provide the basis for asking questions

2. Facilitate growth and improvement

3. Demonstrate results and be accountable

Assessment 2 Solution

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary

This brief summary of the evaluation includes a program description, evaluation questions, design description, and key findings and action steps

2. Project Introduction

It is a brief summary of the background of the project, its objectives, planned outputs, outcomes, impacts and stakeholders of the project. Introduction to the project states what the project aims to achieve and what measures are to be taken for this purpose. Here information about the project team, target area can also be provided briefly.

3. Evaluation Purpose

It is a statement of why the assessment is needed, how it will benefit the program/project. In this section the evaluator should state the purpose of this practice that may be to assess the degree of achievements of the objectives and results of the project, as outlined in the proposal. The purpose of the evaluation is usually mentioned in the Request for Proposal (RFP) too, so that document can also be used as reference here.

4. Evaluation Objective

Objectives of the evaluation include assessing the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impacts and sustainability of the project and its activities. These should be realistic, in line with the RFP and the given resources (time and money). Objectives of the evaluation can also include what challenges were faced during implementation of the project, important lessons learned and recommendations for the future project implementation.

Sometimes the main purpose of the evaluation can be to focus on the process of implementation rather than on its impact, since this would be minimal if the project has started short time ago or was a short duration project. In this case it would also be important to access the participatory approaches used to identify project beneficiaries and the communities’ role in implementing and monitoring the project.

a. Problems and Needs (Relevance)

· Is the overall project design relevant to the specific needs of the target population?

b. Achievement of Purpose (Effectiveness)

· To what extent does the intended outputs and outcomes level indicators achieved in relation to targets set up in the project document;

· How effective and appropriate is the project approach?

· How well was beneficiaries’ and stakeholders’ (including government) participation incorporated in the project cycle? 

· What was the quality of the M&E system?

c.      Sound management and value for money (Efficiency)

· How far funding, staff, time and other resources contributing to or hindering the achievement of the results. Is ‘Value for money’ achieving?

d.      Achievement of wider effects (Impact)

· Will the project activities be helpful in impacting the lives of the people? If the project is a short-term, care should be taken about committing for long term impacts. What difference is expected in the lives of those targeted in the project as compare the project baseline initial bench marks?

· Who were the direct and indirect/wider beneficiaries of the project?

e.      Likely continuation of achieved results (Sustainability)

· What were the prospects for the benefits of the project being sustained after the funding will be over?

· How was the exit strategy defined, and how this will be managed at the end of the funding period?

5. Methodology

The evaluator should make use of this section to define what methods of research (Quantitative / qualitative) did he/she used, what documents/reports did he/she study, how was the sampling done and how did he/she arranged for knowing about the community’s feedback on the project. In short, the evaluator should mention all of the sources of data collection, sampling techniques used, methods of data collection (e.g. surveys, FGDs, key informant interviews, staff debriefing), data analysis and documentation. Here he/she can also select or finalize the key areas of investigation like:

1. Impact on beneficiaries and the community

2. Community participation

3. Selection and processing of beneficiaries

4. Project management and overall implementation process

It would also be necessary to include the limitations of the methodology, if any.

5. Evaluation Findings

Here the evaluator can discuss whether the project has adequate number of qualified and experienced staff and whether they are performing their duties to the required performance level or not. Details about individual staff members involved in the project can be included either as part of this section or in the appendix, depending on the length and importance of this information.

a.      Relevance

The evaluator should answer at least the following questions with regards to the project being evaluated:

· What activities were planned/implemented and how relevant the activities are in the context of what is to be achieved in the outcomes/impact

· Can it really bring lasting changes in the community?

· Are the activities culturally relevant?

· What are the shortcomings in the relevance of the planned activities in the proposal?

· To what extent the objectives of the project are still valid etc.

b.      Effectiveness

· What is the degree of effectiveness of the activities on the lives of the people?

· To what extent were the objectives achieved

· Are people engaging and taking ownership of the project?

· What were the challenging factors?

c.      Efficiency

Efficiency of the project should be assessed against its costs, human resources and time. Answers to following questions should be found out:

· Are the outputs completed in specified time and allocated budget?

· Is the Burn rate of the project OK?

· Were activities cost efficient?

· Were objectives achieved on time?

· What alternatives were available and Was the best of the alternatives was chosen in implementing activities?

d.      Impact

This involves evaluation of all the social, economic and environmental changes, direct or indirect, intended or unintended, produced by the project. An impact evaluation assesses changes in the well-being of individuals, households, communities or firms that can be attributed to a particular project, program or policy. The main impact evaluation question is what would have happened to the beneficiaries if they had not received the program. The evaluator can gauge the number of beneficiaries and see what real difference has the project or its activities made in the lives of the people?

Impact evaluation provides feedback to help improve the design of programs and policies. In addition to providing for improved accountability, impact evaluations are a tool for dynamic learning, allowing policymakers to improve ongoing programs and ultimately better allocate funds across programs. Information generated by impact evaluations informs decisions on whether to expand, modify, or eliminate a particular policy or program and can be used in prioritizing public actions.

e.      Sustainability

Sustainability or exit strategy of a project is a plan describing how the program will continue to achieve its goal after the project funding has exhausted. The community should be the main stakeholder in planning an exit strategy, as they are the most expert on their communities. Exit Strategies, when planned and implemented correctly, can be a springboard for sustainable development.

The evaluator should answer the following questions:

· Will the project benefits continue after completion of the project?

· Is there an exit strategy? Is it being implemented?

· How effective is the exit strategy?

· Will the project be sustainable through this strategy? What are the challenges in carrying out the exit strategy?

Areas of Improvements

Equipping field office, staff capacity building, staff turnover, increasing community involvement, improvement in checks and balances system (M&E), planning and implementation, sustainability strategy (exit strategy), security issues, linkages between outputs, outcomes and impact.

6. Conclusion

7. Recommendation

Recommendations/solutions. Evaluations often make recommendations about how a program can be improved, how the risk of program failure can be reduced or whether a program should continue. However, the inclusion of recommendations is based upon the provided terms of reference for the evaluation. These should be formed on the basis of the evaluation findings and processes which involve all the stakeholders.

References

Assessment: ICTICT508 Evaluate vendor products and equipment

ICTICT508
EVALUATE VENDOR PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT
ICT60115
ADVANCED DIPLOMA OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
_______________________________________
STUDENT ASSESSMENT
_______________________________________

Introduction

Purpose

This document provides necessary information to guide learners to undertake the assessment of the following unit.

· ICTICT508 – Evaluate vendor products and equipment

Unit summary and application

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to evaluate and test a range of vendor products and equipment against a client’s business requirements.

It applies to individuals in a range of information and communications technology (ICT) areas who are required to assess hardware and software products.

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

Sector

General ICT

Pre-requisites

There are no recommended pre-requisite units for this unit.

ASSESSMENT INFORMATION for students

Throughout your training, Kingston Institute of Australia is committed to your learning by providing a training and assessment framework that ensures the knowledge gained through training is translated into practical on the job improvements.

You are going to be assessed for:

· Your skills and knowledge using written and observation activities that apply to the workplace or a simulated environment.

· Your ability to apply your learning.

· Your ability to recognize common principles and actively use these on the job.

All of your assessment and training is provided as a positive learning tool. Your assessor will guide your learning and provide feedback on your responses to the assessment materials until you have been deemed competent in this unit.

Assessment Process

The process we follow is known as competency-based assessment. To achieve competency in this unit, you need to consider the components of the training package and fulfill the assessment requirements. Some of the components are Elements, Performance Criteria, Performance Evidence, Knowledge Evidence and Assessment Conditions. For more details on components, please visit the following links and search for the unit using the unit code;

https://training.gov.au/Training/Details

In competency-based assessment, the evidence of your current skills and knowledge will be measured against national standards of best practice, not against the learning you have undertaken either recently or in the past. Some of the assessment will be concerned with how you apply your skills and knowledge in the workplace, and some in the training room as required by each unit.

The assessment tasks have been designed to enable you to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge and produce the critical evidence to successfully demonstrate competency at the required standard.

Your assessor will explain the assessment process and ensure that you are ready for assessment. Your assessment tasks will outline the evidence to be collected and how it will be collected, for example; a written activity, case study, or demonstration and observation.

If you have any special needs to be considered during assessment, changes can be made to the way assessment is undertaken to account for special needs and this is called making reasonable adjustment.

Reasonable Adjustments

The institute makes reasonable adjustments to assessments and assessment conducting process, to meet the special needs of identified students. Reasonable adjustments are made in such a way that the identified students do not use it to take extra advantage than other.

What if I believe I am already competent before training?

If you believe you already have the knowledge and skills to be able to demonstrate competency in this unit, speak with your trainer, as you may be able to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

Credit Transfer

Credit transfer is a recognition for study you have already completed. To receive Credit Transfer, you must be enrolled in the relevant program. Credit Transfer can be granted if you provide the institute with certified copies of your qualifications, a Statement of Attainment or a Statement of Results along with Credit Transfer Application Form. (For further information, please visit Credit Transfer Policy of the institute)

Assessor Responsibilities

Assessors need to be aware of their responsibilities and carry them out appropriately. To do this they need to:

· Ensure the students read and understand ‘Assessment Information for Students’ prior conducting the assessments.

· Ensure the students are assessed fairly based on the outcome of the language, literacy and numeracy review completed at enrolment.

· Ensure that all documentation is signed by the student, trainer, and assessor when units and certificates are complete, to ensure that there is no follow-up required from the administration perspective.

· Ensure that their own qualifications are current.

· When required, request the manager or supervisor to determine that the student is ‘satisfactorily’ demonstrating the requirements for each unit. ‘Satisfactorily’ means consistently meeting the standard expected from an experienced operator.

· When required, ensure supervisors and students sign off on third party assessment forms or third party report.

· Follow the recommendations from moderation and validation meetings.

WHS Guidelines

The institute seeks to ensure the health and safety of everyone in its workplaces. Meanwhile as a duty of care, all employees, students and visitors of the institute are to ensure their own and others health and safety while at the institute’s premises. Your trainer/assessor will inform you of the WHS guidelines that you should follow in and out of the classes and in the workplace environment.

How can I get resources to prepare for the assessments?

Resources	Description
Learner resource	You can get learner resource that contains detail explanation of the syllabus of the unit, from the Library or College Administration Office.
PPT slides	You can download PPT slides from your Moodle account or get it from the Trainer, upon request.
Additional Resources	You can get additional resources in the form of PDF files, URLs, Videos, etc. from the Moodle. Additional books and print outs are also available from the Library of the college.

How should I format my assessments?

You can download the document the institute’s ‘Style Guide’ from your Moodle account. The Style Guide has all instructions on how to format your assessment. It includes information related to the required Font Type/Size/Color, Indents, Spacing, Bullets, Numbering, etc.

How long should my answers be?

The length of your answers will be guided by the description in each assessment, for example:

Type of Answer	Answer Guidelines
Short Answer	4 typed lines = 50 words, or 5 lines of handwritten texts
Long Answer	8 typed lines = 100 words, or 10 lines of handwritten texts = of a foolscap page
Brief Report	500 words = 1 page typed report, or 50 lines of handwritten texts = 1foolscap handwritten pages
Mid Report	1,000 words = 2 page typed report 100 lines of handwritten texts = 3 foolscap handwritten pages
Long Report	2,000 words = 4 page typed report 200 lines of handwritten texts = 6 foolscap handwritten pages

In case if any variation is needed in the length of the answers, your trainer will give you the instructions.

How should I reference the sources of information I use in my assessments?

Include a reference list at the end of your work on a separate page. You should reference the sources you have used in your assessments using the referencing style suggested by your Trainer.

How should I submit the assessments?

You must consider the following important points before you submit your assessment.

· You must submit the assessments of a unit in PDF format or Word format as suggested by the trainer/assessor, by the ‘Due Date’ mentioned in the submission portal of your Institute’s Moodle account

· If needed, your trainer may separate the assessments and set different due dates for different assessments, assessment cover sheet and student declaration forms.

· If there is a single due date for all assessments, submit them in a same single assessment file that you download from your Moodle account.

· In both cases, you must complete the assessment cover sheet and student declaration section available to you along with the assessment package.

· Any evidence that may not be suitable to include inside the assessment package, may be submitted separately in submission portal of the Moodle, after consultation with the trainer/assessor.

· Before submission, you must ensure all required tasks are completed and evidences are submitted. Your assessor may not accept your submission if an incomplete assessment is submitted.

· If you face any technical problem during the submission of assessments in the Moodle, please notify the college administration or the assessor with proper evidence of the problem, prior to the Due Date.

How does the college ensure fairness, flexibility, validity and reliability of the assessment?

To help students achieve competency in a unit, the institute may use different methods for assessments. In the process, the institute ensures the principle of fairness, flexibility, validity and reliability are met through the following ways;

Fairness

· The institute ensures the student is fully informed of the assessment process and that the student has to fill declaration form before the start of the assessment.

· Student can also transfer the credit if the competency has already been achieved by the student.

· For if the student wants recognition of prior learning (RPL), the institute makes it available, upon request.

· To address the special needs of any student, reasonable adjustments can be made to the assessment through contextualization.

· If the student is not satisfied with the grading of the unit, he/she can go for an appeal process, challenge the assessment decision and have the assessment reviewed objectively.

Flexibility

· The institute uses a range of assessment methods to allow student demonstrated competency in a varieties of ways. These methods can be written activity, practical activity, observation and demonstration, case study, etc.

· For if the student wants recognition of prior learning (RPL), the institute makes it available, upon request. Adjustments will be made on the training and assessment of that student.

· Based on the institute’s Assessment Policy, multiple chances are given to the students for assessment submission and additional training can be arranged in case if competency is not yet achieved, even after the regular effort of the assessor and the students.

Validity

· The institute ensures the assessment tasks used to assess student’s competency for each unit fulfil assessment requirements for performance evidence, knowledge evidence, performance criteria and foundation skills, as mentioned in the Training Package of the Unit of Competency.

· Students are given opportunity to demonstrate skills by actually doing practical tasks than just theoretical explanation and by providing various ways to demonstrate the skills.

Reliability

· To ensure reliability in assessment grading, the institute has created an efficient assessment system. Assessors are provided with learner resources, PPT slides and assessment guide, so that there is consistency in assessment grading even when different assessors are grading the assessments.

· Assessors are asked to provide feedback on student assessments and also fill the marking guide on each assessment of the students.

How does the assessor make decisions during the assessment grading?

The students are declared competent by the assessor only if the knowledge and performance evidences submitted by the student are valid, sufficient, authentic and current, and if the student demonstrate the required foundation skills, during observation and demonstration.

Validity

To ensure the validity of evidence submitted by you, during grading the assessor will ensure your performance matches the performance requirement as described in the competency standard. This is why you should be able to demonstrate the required knowledge and skills through your evidences, to ensure your evidences are valid.

Sufficiency

To ensure the sufficiency of evidences submitted by you, the institute ensures the assessment tools being used are valid and reliable to collect all required evidences as described in the competency standard. During grading, the assessor will ensure that you provide all required evidences as per the assessor’s checklist for each assessment. This is why you should always consult with the assessor and read the assessment requirements for the unit to ensure the evidences are sufficient.

Authenticity

To ensure the authenticity of evidence submitted by you, the assessor, when in doubt, may compare your assessment with a group of other assessments and resources from the internet, and check for similarity. Meanwhile during moderation of assessment, a team from the institute may identify similarities in different assessments. As long as the assessments are similar to an acceptable range as per the Student Assessment Policy and Procedure of the institute, your assessment will be deemed authentic. This is why you should ensure your assessment is your own work and that references are given if resources are used from the internet.

Plagiarism is not accepted in Australian education system and at the institute. You should not practice any plagiarism in your assessments or any other works. Plagiarism practices may affect your results of the assessment as well as your student visa. Student Assessment Policy and Procedure is shared in every orientation event during every intake. This policy’s hard copy is kept at the reception desk of the institute.

Currency

To ensure the currency of evidence submitted by you, the institute performs validation activities of assessment that involves checking that your assessment tools have produced valid, reliable, sufficient, current and authentic evidence. Meanwhile, the trainer/assessor will continuously observe your performance during the training period. The trainer/assessor may ask you to demonstrate the required skills in the simulated environment or the workplace environment. You can ensure your evidences are current by attending the training on a regular basis and demonstrating the knowledge and performance evidences under the observation of the trainer/assessor.

What happens after the submission of assessments and in case of no submission?

After the submission of assessment, your assessor will grade your assessment and take different actions at different stages of grading and feedback process. Please adhere to the Student Assessment Policy and Procedure for more details on how the grading and feedback process will occur and what will happen if no submission of assessment is made.

What if you disagree on the assessment outcome?

You can appeal against a decision made in regards to your assessment. An appeal should only be made if you have been assessed as ‘Not Yet Competent (NYC)’ against a specific unit and you feel you have sufficient grounds to believe that you are entitled to be assessed as competent. You must be able to adequately demonstrate that you have the skills and experience to be able to meet the requirements of units you are appealing the assessment of.

Your trainer will outline the appeals process, which is available to the student. You can request a form to make an appeal and submit it to your trainer, the course coordinator, or the administration officer. The institute will examine the appeal and you will be advised of the outcome within 14 days. Any additional information you wish to provide may be attached to the appeal form.

assessment guide

The following table shows you how to achieve a satisfactory (S) result against the criteria for each type of assessment task. The following is a list of general assessment methods that can be used in assessing a unit of competency. Check your assessment tasks to identify the ones used in this unit of competency.

Answers address the question in full; referring to appropriate sources from your workbook and/or workplace

Attachments if requested are attached

Requested supplementary items are not attached

Assessment Method	Satisfactory(S) Result	Not Yet Satisfactory (NYS) Result
You will receive an overall result of Competent (C) or Not Yet Competent (NYC) for the unit. The assessment process is made up of a number of assessment methods. You are required to achieve a satisfactory result in each of these to be deemed competent overall. Meanwhile, you must demonstrate satisfactory foundation skills to the assessor, during the observation of demonstration of the assessment tasks, and through the submission of evidences. Your assessment may include the following assessment types.
Questions	All questions answered correctly	Incorrect answers for one or more questions
	Answers address the question in full; referring to appropriate sources from your workbook and/or workplace	Answers do not address the question in full. Does not refer to appropriate or correct sources.
Written Activity	The assessor will mark the activity against the detailed guidelines/instructions	Does not follow guidelines/instructions
	Attachments if requested are attached		Requested supplementary items are not attached
All requirements of the written activity are addressed/covered.	Response does not address the requirements in full; is missing a response for one or more areas.
Responses must refer to appropriate sources from your workbook and/or workplace	One or more of the requirements are answered incorrectly. Does not refer to or utilize appropriate or correct sources of information
Observation/ Demonstration	All elements, criteria, knowledge and performance evidence and critical aspects of evidence, are demonstrated at the appropriate AQF level	Could not demonstrate elements, criteria, knowledge and performance evidence and/or critical aspects of evidence, at the appropriate AQF level
Case Study	All comprehension questions answered correctly; demonstrating an application of knowledge of the topic case study.	Lack of demonstrated comprehension of the underpinning knowledge (remove) required to complete the case study questions correctly. One or more questions are answered incorrectly.
Answers do not address the question in full; do not refer to appropriate sources.
Practical Activity	All tasks in the practical activity must be competed and evidence of completion must be provided to your trainer/assessor. All tasks have been completed accurately and evidence provided for each stated task.	Tasks have not been completed effectively and evidence of completion has not been provided.

Assessment Summary/cover sheet

Assessment Cover Sheet

Course code/name:

ICT60115 – Advanced Diploma of Information Technology

Unit code/name:

ICTICT508 – Evaluate vendor products and equipment

Assessor’s name:

Student’s name:

Due Date:

14/02/2020

Submission date:

Student Declaration

I declare that;
· I am aware of the assessment process.
· I am aware of all the components of the assessments that includes assessment conditions, knowledge and performance evidence, elements and performance criteria and foundation skills.
· I am aware of the assessment tasks, requirements and due dates.
· I am aware of Kingston Institute of Australia’s assessment policy and appeal process.
· I am aware that plagiarism is not accepted in the institute.
· I am aware of my rights to appeal, if I am not satisfied with my results.
· The material I have submitted is my own work.
· I have kept a copy of all relevant notes and reference material that I used in the production of my work.
· I am aware of WHS guidelines that should be followed at the institute and workplace environment.
· I have given references for all sources of information that are not my own, including the words, ideas and images of others.

Student Signature: _______________________ Date: ______________________

Assessment Outcome

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Results

Assessment 1: Written Activity

☐S ☐NYS

Assessment 2: Evaluation and selection of software solution

☐S ☐NYS

Feedback / Comments:

Overall Outcome

☐ Competent

☐ Not yet Competent

Student Declaration:
· The result of my performance in this unit has been discussed and explained to me.
□ I want to make an appeal against the overall outcome of the assessments.

Student signature: _____________________ Date: _____________

Assessor Declaration:
· I declare that I have conducted a fair, flexible, valid and reliable assessment with the student and that the evidence submitted to me are valid, sufficient, authentic and current.

Assessor’s Signature: __________________ Date: _____________

Assessment 1- written activity

1. What is the MoScoW Technique for prioritisation of business requirements?

2. Why is Requirements Management important?

3. Why is the Test Environment Management Process Important?

4. What are some of the relevant problems that ICT faces today?

5. Outline each of the comparative criteria below of determining the quality of a software solution against business requirements.

(a) Flexibility and Extensibility: 

(b) Maintainability and Readability

(c) Performance and Efficiency

(d) Scalability

(e) Usability and Accessibility

(f) Platform Compatibility and Portability

(g) Testability and Manageability

(h) Security

(i) Functionality and Correctness

Flexibility and Extensibility

Maintainability and Readability

Performance and Efficiency

Scalability

Availability, Robustness, Fault Tolerance and Reliability:

Usability and Accessibility

Platform Compatibility and Portability

Testability and Manageability

Security

Functionality and Correctness

6. How would you identify benefits in a Cost-Benefit Analysis?

7. Should you select a vendor specializing in your industry?

8. Is it important to determine whether the proposed software be able to meet the needs as your business grows? Why/Why not?

9. How would you make a list of potential vendors?

10. How could you use a dependency map?

11. What is Information Technology budgeting?

12. Outline two characteristics of good business requirements specifications.

Assessment Outcome

Question

Correct ()

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Assessed by: _________________________

Assessor Signature: ___________________

Date: _____________________

Skills Assessment (Practical Tasks)

ASSESSOR NOTE

These instructions must be followed when assessing the student in this unit. The checklist on the following page is to be completed for each student. Please refer to separate mapping document for specific details relating to alignment of this task to the unit requirements.
This competency is to be assessed using standard and authorised work practices, safety requirements and environmental constraints.
Assessment of essential underpinning knowledge will usually be conducted in an off-site context.
Assessment is to comply with relevant regulatory or Australian standards’ requirements.
Resource implications for assessment include:
• an induction procedure and requirement
• realistic tasks or simulated tasks covering the mandatory task requirements
• relevant specifications and work instructions
• tools and equipment appropriate to applying safe work practices
• support materials appropriate to activity
• workplace instructions relating to safe work practices and addressing hazards and emergencies
• material safety data sheets
• research resources, including industry related systems information.
Reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities must be made to assessment processes where required. This could include access to modified equipment and other physical resources, and the provision of appropriate assessment support.

Assessment 2 – evaluation and selection of software solution

Decisions regarding selecting and deploying a new software to run a process have far reaching implications, and can even make or break the enterprise. Deploying the wrong software, or even implementing a good software the wrong way, can wreak havoc with company process and systems, put off customers, and at the very least stress out the enterprise into a perennial firefighting mode. You have been tasks with undertaking an evaluation of available software solutions for the courier company requiring an electronic logistics tracking system. Your Assessor will play the role of representing the business where stakeholder engagement is required. Your Assessor will also set the budget for the project.

When selecting software vendor partners, most enterprises look primarily at the experience and skill-set of the development team, and the portfolio of completed projects. The usual questions asked to relate to testimonials, experience, costs, and training. While these aspects indeed constitute the basic due-diligence areas for selecting a competent software vendor, the devil lies in the details. Many enterprises make the mistake of conducting a superficial due-diligence, only to regret it later when a half-baked software with messed up implementation stares at their face.

A decision on software vendor selection, to implement new software requires proper planning, a well-defined process, and careful evaluation. In order to do so, you are required to complete each of the following:

1. Define the Broad Needs

The first step in software vendor selection is to define the needs of the enterprise in a clear-cut manner, without any ambiguity, and match such needs with the features and functionality proposed or offered through the vendor’s software. A related consideration is to seek a fit with the vendor in terms of having the same outlook towards the business, in terms of a proactive attitude, prompt and transparent communications, focus on agility, or any other traits.

When considering logistics software, some of the usual needs include warehouse automation tasks, tracking cargo, automation of various activities related to supply chain management, and more. The need for supply chain visibility is critical for transparency, which in turn would deliver process efficiency and customer satisfaction. Enterprises would, however, do well to be wary of blindly falling for a generic list of functionality, and make sure the vendor is capable of delivering software, which fulfils the specific needs of the enterprise. This often translates to custom software or a highly customized variant of generic software.

Many enterprises make the mistake of designing the system rather than defining the business needs. A successful software implementation usually makes work easier and more streamlined, but a new system that does not take into account the specific process flows of the business would only result in making the enterprise dysfunctional. Make sure to clarify the business needs, and ensure the software vendor has the capability not only to fulfil the technical requirements, but also identify the specific requirements of the enterprise, and design the software accordingly.

2. Reconcile Process Conformity with Flexibility

Today’s businesses are caught in the crosshairs of an extremely volatile business environment. In such a scenario, specifying exact requirements for an inherently rigid software system is a challenging task.

Requirements gathering encompass both functional and non-functional requirements. The best approach is to keep the requirements gathering simple, at the initial stage, to get the basic structure right, and delve into the details later, with flexibility inbuilt into the structure. A full-blown set of system specifications take a significant amount of time, effort and skills to put together, such details are anyway an overkill when initiating a vendor selection exercise. Once it is proven the vendor is capable enough for the task, it is time to delve into the details.

Staying away from detailed system specifications is not an excuse to ignore developing a list of clear and verifiable requirements. Make sure to include the specific business process the software has to support. In the case of the logistics industry, this could be anything from warehouse management to inventory control, from shipment tracking to invoicing, or anything else, including a combination of any number of processes.

Regardless of the initial specifications, the trick is to ensure the software is expandable, with the provision to support other key feature areas, which may be needed in future, especially as IoT is all poised to unleash a big disruption in the logistics space. There is also a need to ensure seamless integration and ability to pull in data from with diverse systems, considering the logistics ecosystem is now marked by strategic alliances and tie-up with different partners, each having their own software and systems. In fact, a single enterprise may run two or more systems, developed by different vendors, and sync or data integration from such other systems is a must in today’s age of big data.

These requirements translate to the vendor being competent not just in the technical front, but also adhere and comply with industry best practices and well-established quality standards.

3. Clarify Expectations on the Feature List

Drawing up the list of essential features the software should have is indispensable, but only part of the story. It is equally essential to define up front in a clear-cut manner, the other essentials. Requirements include anything related to the product offering and go beyond functional and non-functional system requirements. The following are some of the most common requirements which require clarity up front.

· The languages the system needs to support, and whether the interface should match the language preference of the users.

· The nature of the user base, as in the number of expected concurrent users, whether the software will supporting remotely dispersed users, whether the software will be accessed by external stakeholders such as channel partners and customers, and more.

· The nature of technology, as in whether the enterprise is willing to be an early adopter of promising yet untested technology, or wants to play it safe with legacy technology which may have some limitations.

· The extent of dependency, as in whether the enterprise prefers dependency with the new vendor or whether the enterprise would eventually want to manage and update the system in-house. In the latter case, it is best to use open-source software rather than proprietary software of the vendor.

· The nature and scope of regulations and standards to be co-opted into the system, mostly as validations and as reports.

· Nature and extent of essential software related services, such as deployment, validation, migration, training and general support, quality maturity level, and more.

· The extent of reconfigurability of the new system, which influences the speed of deployment. The speed of deployment may be just as important as the quality and scope of deployment. For instance, a cloud-based solution with minimum configuration could be up and running a matter of weeks whereas an on-premise deployment could take months.

It is not enough the software vendor has the technical capability to implement all these requirements. There has to be a cultural fit to ensure the vendor approaches the software development process in the way preferred by the enterprise. Success depends on the vendor being flexible in their approach, and communicating or collaborating with the enterprise in a proactive way. A DevOps approach may work best, though there are no one-size-fits all magic pill. Any agile approach which involves the business end users would work well.

4. Do Not Ignore Reporting Capabilities

Many enterprises and software vendors focus extensively on requirements gathering, and in the process ignore the equally critical part of reporting. Several enterprises also make the mistake of straight jacketing reports into a few handpicked options. Today’s dynamic businesses require dynamic reports, deeply integrated with analytical capabilities. One of the essential purposes of the software itself is to gather all relevant data, subject it to analytics, and deliver it to the relevant stakeholders or decision maker, in the form of actionable information, in the format of choice. A dynamic logistics management software would offer intuitive dashboard and live reports, to facilitate easy decision-making.

For the successful deployment of logistics software, there is no shortcut or workaround than the vendor being competent in deploying the latest and the most versatile analytical tools and being able to roll out intuitive dashboards, mobile apps, and other front-end digital assets for the enterprise.

5. Undertake a Cost Benefit Analysis

As the saying goes, “if wishes were horses, there would be all cathedrals and no chapels.” The range of possibilities with software is endless, but success lies in prioritizing for the available budget. Not everything, no matter how utilitarian, productivity enhancing, or beneficial, will make sense from a financial point of view. It is very important to have a budget up front and sync the capabilities of the software to the budget. Also, the budget for software is not just the cost to get it developed and running, but also the cost to maintain it, and upgrade it from time to time.

A best practice for the enterprise is to weigh the requirements or functionality on a scale from “essential” to “nice to have” and “dispensable”, and evaluate the vendor in terms of the extent to which they can deliver on such functionality, and the range of functionality available within the available budget. Understand the basic offerings, and what exactly each specific add-ons will cost.

6. Do Not Ignore Support, Training, and Maintenance

The software is never static, more so in today’s dynamic business environment where the only constant is change. The extent of support required, and on offer vis-a-vis the requirements, is a crucial consideration in the vendor selection exercise.

Clarify expectations on the range of support, the documentation accompanying the software, and develop a blueprint on training users for the new system. The value of supporting documentation such as procedural templates, validation documents, and training materials can never be understated, though these considerations are rarely given much importance during the vendor selection exercise.

Many enterprises leave it at this stage, which is a cardinal mistake. Unless the enterprise is a startup with no legacy systems or business data, it becomes imperative to migrate some or all of the existing records to the new system. An action plan to enforce such migration, or sync the new system with the old is just as important as developing the new system. Many enterprises focus solely on the new system, oblivious to the migration issues, such as source and destination data format, and other issues. A sound technical partner offers comprehensive end-to-end support on all the apparently minor issues, but which have far-reaching implications.

7. Create an Evaluation and Recommendation Report

This stage requires the development of a report that will ultimately be presented to the client for approval and includes all of the following:

· Overview of the client domain

· general functionality of Logistics tracking software and general features and capabilities of current industry accepted hardware and software products used in the logistic industry

· established business requirements

· applicable standards required for products

· evaluation of a range of vendor products and equipment against requirements

· testing undertaken and selection the most appropriate products

· summary of any applicable copyright, licencing and intellectual property requirements

· reasons for the product selections

· documentation related to the selected items and selection rationale including detailed product information

· approval section for client approval.

Issue Date: January 2020 Version : 1.0 Review Date: December 2020 Authorised by: Compliance Manager
Doc: ICTICT508 Student Assessment Page 25 of 30