Candidate details
Candidate Name: David Hollands
Candidate Number: 9008
Centre Name: West Thames College
Centre Number: 13134
Authentication
Candidate Authentication Sheet (CAS)
Unit introductions (the assessor is not obliged to read)
Unit 8: Managing ICT Projects
You already have considerable experience of planning and carrying out small-scale projects. You know how difficult it can be to juggle resources and make effective use of time. Imagine how much more difficult it is when the project you are managing involves large numbers of people, lots of resources and substantial amounts of money! Determining what has to be done when and by whom, keeping track of progress and reporting to senior management requires considerable expertise. Perhaps not surprisingly, a large number of projects — particularly in ICT — do not fully meet their objectives. Some fail spectacularly!
It is now widely recognised that specialist knowledge and skills are required to manage projects successfully. This unit will introduce you to some formal project management tools and methods and give you an opportunity to use specialist software to plan and monitor projects.
You will be able to put into practice what you have learnt by setting up and running a small-scale software project. You will have to draw upon the knowledge and skills you have learned throughout the course in order to plan for and produce the required software product. It is assumed that you already have skills in at least two different software applications and some experience of the processes involved in software design and implementation.
Although – in real life – budgeting is an important factor in any project, you will not be expected to consider finance. However, you will need to identify other resource requirements such as expertise, equipment and time. This is not a team activity, but will involve working closely with others, since people skills and good communication are key to successful project
management.
The summative evaluation of your work for this unit will take the form of an end-of-project review at which you and other project stakeholders will assess the success of the project and your performance as the project manager.
This is a user-focused unit. The knowledge and skills developed in this unit are particularly relevant to those who use ICT on a daily basis at work or at school/college for personal, social and work-related purposes.
Recommended prior learning:
This unit builds on the work you have done throughout the course. It assumes that you already have some experience of developing a software product, possibly though your work on Unit 7: Using Database Software.
Unit 10: Using Multimedia Software
Everything is created to be communicated! Advances in digital technology have transformed the way we live and learn and, in particular, how we communicate.
One of the major areas of development is digital multimedia which combines two or more media types such as text, graphics and video, and allows us to present information in ways that have a major impact on the audience. Multimedia is widely used throughout the world in business, education, industry and leisure.
You will already have gained experience of some of the ICT tools and techniques needed to develop a multimedia product. In this unit you will increase your understanding of the features and possibilities of these and other tools so that you can combine them to produce well-designed multimedia products that communicate your ideas effectively.
Your work for this unit will culminate in the design, development and testing of an interactive multimedia product for a specified target audience.
You will establish the functional requirements of the product at the outset and carry out formative evaluation and testing throughout its development. You will learn the importance of seeking and making use of feedback from others to help you in your work.
The summative evaluation of your work for this unit will include a self assessment of your current skill level and an indication of what else you need to know or be able to do in order to further enhance your ability to produce interactive multimedia products.
This is a user-focused unit. The knowledge and skills developed in this unit are particularly relevant to those who use advanced ICT skills on a daily basis at work or at school/college for personal, social and work-related purposes.
Recommended prior learning:
This unit builds on the knowledge and skills related to producing on-screen publications that you acquired in Unit 1: The Information Age.
Note: The two introductions above are copyright of Edexcel 2005.
