Elements and Performance Criteria

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.

Architectural requirements may include:
design requirement
functional requirements
non-functional requirements:
maintainability
performance
reliability
scalability
security
usability
quality requirements.
Layers may include:
business logic layer (BLL)
data-access layer (DAL)
services layer
user interface (UI) layer.
Cross-cutting concerns may include:
caching (improve performance)
communications (protocols)
configuration management
data protection
operational management
security:
authentication
authorisation.

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:
design layered applications to increase application performance, scalability and re-usability
create flexible and configurable applications and adapt to suit different locales
adapt a software product to a particular language and culture of the target market.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure access to:
specific requirements, including functional and non-functional requirements
tools to design software architecture
culture-specific information for the target culture or language
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:
review of candidate’s architecture requirements documentation
evaluation of software-layered architecture.
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.