Outcome Statement Review of ICT qualifications #14 CONSULTATION DRAFT July 2014 Qualification details Title New Zealand Diploma in Software Development Version 1 Qualification type Diploma Level 6 Credits 240 NZSCED 020103 Information Technology Computer Science - Programming DAS classification Qualification developer Institute of IT Professionals NZ and NZQA National Qualifications Services Next review Mmmm 2016 Approval date Strategic purpose statement Dd Mmmm YYYY The purpose of this qualification is to provide Aotearoa New Zealand with graduates who have attained a range of IT knowledge, specialist practices and technical skills in software development. It will prepare people for employment in a junior developer or tester role in a range of organisational contexts, or to proceed to further study. The qualification is designed for those seeking to focus on one or more application domains, such as general Application Development, Web Development, Games Development, and Mobile Applications Development. Graduates will be capable of operating with appropriate professional standards and practice both as part of a team and independently under broad supervision. They will contribute to software development in Aotearoa New Zealand, and be internationally relevant. Businesses, organisations and communities will benefit from having graduates with programming, coding, scripting and testing skills in all sectors of the economy and society. Graduate profile Graduates of this qualification will be able to: 1. Write and maintain programs using appropriate design patterns, data structures and algorithms. (60 credits) 2. Analyse, design and develop software solutions for a range of problems to appropriate professional standards. (45 credits) 3. Apply an appropriate range of software quality assurance techniques to verify systems, components, and processes. (25 credits) 4. Apply appropriate data management and storage technologies. (25 credits) 5. Establish application security by integrating security principles throughout software development. (15 credits) 6. Choose, justify and apply appropriate architecture, technologies, and tools, to implement the software solution. (15 credits) Qualification Reference XXXX Page 1 of 8
Cert L5 & core L6 added, or integrated in above GPOs 7. Apply methodologies of project management to an IT related project, to analyse and solve problems. (10 credits) 8. Behave as a responsible Information Technology professional to contribute to society. (10 credits) 9. Apply communication, information design, personal and interpersonal skills clearly and professionally in an organisational environment. (10 credits) 10. Apply the fundamentals of current and emerging information systems concepts and practice. (10 credits) 11. Apply the fundamentals of current and emerging IT technical support concepts and practice. (15 credits) Education pathway Graduates of this qualification may progress to a computing degree, or specialised qualification such as software testing or software security. This qualification may also equip learners to attempt optional industry certifications at the appropriate level and area of specialty. Employment pathway This qualification provides an education pathway from: - NCEA Level 2 or 3 with appropriate credits in mathematics and digital technologies subjects - New Zealand Certificate in Information Technology Essentials (Level 4) - New Zealand Certificate in Information Technology (Level 5) - New Zealand Diploma in Web Design and Development (Level 5) - Appropriate international certifications in software development Graduates of this qualification will have the skills and knowledge to be employed in a junior role in development or testing, in a range of organisational contexts. These roles may require fundamental coding, scripting, and testing skills, and are less likely to require significant architecture and design skills. Graduates may also be employed in other roles that use programming skills, such as teaching, university, small business projects; or be selfemployed. Qualification specifications Qualification award Arrangements for managing consistency Awarding bodies for this qualification will be any education organisation accredited under section 250 of the Education Act 1989. The candidate will be awarded the qualification by the education organisation where the accredited and approved programme has been completed. The formal document certifying the award of this qualification will display the full qualification title, date of award, the NZQF logo and may also include the name and/or logo of the qualification developer or programme owner or other awarding education organisation. All education organisations arranging training or delivering approved programmes leading to the qualification must engage with arrangements for managing consistency, including covering Qualification Reference XXXX Page 2 of 8
actual and reasonable related costs. The purpose will be to evaluate the consistency of achievement by graduates against the qualification outcomes. NZQA Quality Assurance Division s National Consistency Management System in liaison with the qualification developer will appoint an external reviewer(s) to manage the process, review periodic consistency event outcomes, and prepare a report which will be distributed to the TEOs and other relevant stakeholders, including programme developers. The report will highlight good practice and opportunities for improvement in achievement of outcomes. Each year the focus of arrangements for managing consistency will be outlined. Programme owners, and education organisations delivering approved programmes leading to the qualification will be required to: submit to the qualification developer and/or NZQA Quality Assurance Division s National Consistency Management System a statement outlining their intended delivery for the coming year provide evidence to show the consistency of their learners achievement against the requirements of the graduate profile outcomes of the qualification in the previous year. Evidence will be reviewed by one of a group of appropriately skilled and experienced Evaluator(s) appointed by the qualification developer and/or NZQA Quality Assurance Division s National Consistency Management System. Detailed information regarding arrangements for managing consistency will be published and updated via the qualification developer s website. Please visit:.. link to official document when available Credit transfer and recognition of prior learning arrangements Education providers must have policies and procedures in place for managing credit transfer, and assessing recognition of prior learning and recognition of current competency. These policies and procedures, and information about associated fees, must be available to the candidate prior to enrolment. Information on and evidence of the application of the credit transfer and recognition of prior learning arrangements by accredited providers must be made available for benchmarking as part of the arrangements for managing consistency. Credit transfer will be automatic where standards on the Directory of Assessment Standards are used within approved programmes of study or training leading to this qualification. Minimum standard of achievement and standards for grade endorsements The minimum standard of achievement required for the award of the qualification will be the achievement of all the graduate outcomes in the graduate profile. There are no grade endorsements for this qualification. Qualification Reference XXXX Page 3 of 8
Entry requirements (including prerequisites to meet regulatory body or legislative requirements) Learners enrolling are expected to hold the New Zealand Certificate in Information Technology Essentials (Level 4) or equivalent knowledge, skills and experience. International students must have an appropriate level of English proficiency for the level at which they intend to study. Details of English language entry requirements are contained in the NZQF Programme Approval and Accreditation Rules 2013 (Appendix 2). E.g. IELTS Academic score of 6, with no band score lower than 5.5; NZ Certificate in English Language (Academic) (Level 5). Qualification conditions Overarching conditions relating to the qualification Conditions for programme structure A capstone project is recommended to meet the requirements for this qualification, in a software development context to appropriate industry coding standards and principles. Learners are expected to adhere to professional standards for enterprise software development including code structure, testing and documentation (including version control). This qualification is aimed at producing IT professionals. As such, professional practice must be an integral part of the curriculum and delivery. It is expected that all programmes have professionalism both purposefully taught and integrated with technical content. Here, professional practice includes the 'soft skills' of communication, team work, interpersonal skills, and ethical principles. Programmes must reflect industry best practice and maintain currency with amendments to, and replacements of, relevant legislation, regulations, Australia/New Zealand standards (AS/NZS), and security responsibilities. Current legislation and regulations can be accessed at http://legislation.govt.nz Current AS/NZS standards can be accessed at http://standards.co.nz The Information Technology Code of Practice - Guidelines of good and acceptable practice for IT professionals and organisations operating in New Zealand can be accessed at http://www.iitp.org.nz/about/ethics, as can the Code of Professional Conduct. Conditions for programme context The programme may be designed to focus on one or more application domains, such as General Application Development, Web Development, Games Development, and Mobile Applications Development. Programme design and delivery, and assessment, where applicable, will be conducted in and for the context of real or realistic organisations and/or settings; and be relevant to current and/or emerging practice. Programmes leading to the award of this qualification must identify the context, and must justify the allocation of credits to graduate profile outcomes within the programme, in light of the requirements of the context. The graduate must clearly align with the definition of a Level 6 graduate on the NZQF. See the NZQF level descriptors for further information. All programmes are to be developed with level 6 descriptors in mind specialised technical knowledge and skills in a field of work, applied in specialised/strategic contexts. Qualification Reference XXXX Page 4 of 8
Some outcomes include embedded lower level learning from the NZ Certificate in Information Technology (Level 5). Other conditions Principles and practices of literacy and numeracy are inherent and are recommended to be embedded within programmes leading to this qualification. Some content could also be aligned with industry certifications. There is a preference for open and vendor neutral standards where possible. Specific conditions relating to the Graduate profile Qualification outcomes Indicative Credits Conditions or Optional 1 Write and maintain programs using appropriate design patterns, data structures and algorithms. 60 credits Programmes must include: Coding object oriented, procedural; Facility in multiple (at least 2) major programming languages and integrated development environments (IDEs); Ability to migrate to new languages, tools and systems; Ability to construct software with complex, multi-element architectures; Abstract data types (ADTs), such as general graphs, trees, linear data structures, tables; Writing code following design patterns; Source and version control; Automated software builds; Program maintenance techniques; Data validation techniques. Programmes may include: Interpreted (scripting) and compiled languages; Functional programming. Optional Qualification Reference XXXX Page 5 of 8
2 Analyse, design and develop software solutions for a range of problems, to appropriate professional standards. 3 Apply an appropriate range of software quality assurance techniques to verify systems, components, and processes. 4 Apply appropriate data management and storage technologies. 5 Establish application security by integrating security principles throughout software 45 credits Programmes must include: Analysis of requirements; Applying appropriate business process modelling tools to analyse and document business processes; Design and development of solutions; Software estimation; Design of User experience (Ux) including user interface (UI), HCI principles, and universal accessibility; Software development standards e.g. proprietorial and/or in-house coding standards; Software development paradigms e.g. agile, structured; Creating accurate and clear technical documentation for both end users and technical staff; Contributing to the design of systems, components/modules, or processes. 25 credits Programmes must include: Software testing and software quality assurance; A range of software testing techniques e.g. white box, black box, boundary value testing; Managing bug reports and issues; Debugging; Testing in a range of platforms e.g. multiple devices and browsers; Designing user acceptance tests; Unit and system testing; Automated software testing. 25 credits Programmes must include: Designing and implementing appropriate application data access, management, and storage technologies to match the application domain; Using digital asset management and storage technologies appropriate to match the application domain e.g. source and version repository control. 15 credits Programmes must include: Application security principles; Encryption and privacy; Qualification Reference XXXX Page 6 of 8
development. Protecting data integrity; Authentication and authorization; Data validation techniques; Applying current best practices in IT security e.g. Open web application security project (OWASP). 6 Choose, justify and apply appropriate architecture, technologies, and tools, to implement the software solution. 7 Apply methodologies of project management to an IT related project, to analyse and solve problems. 8 Behave as a responsible Information Technology professional to contribute to society. 9 Apply communication, information design, personal, and 15 credits Programmes must include: Tool selection and architecture; Understanding service orientation and using external services e.g. simple object access protocol (SOAP), representational state transfer (REST); Model view controller (MVC) and model view presenter (MVP). 10 credits Programmes must include cognitive skills: Critical thinking skills, business logic and organisational processes; Evaluation of various project management tools, including project methodologies; Project planning, management and control cost, risk, quality, stakeholder, change, configuration, contracts, and maintenance management; Consideration of innovative solutions and the use of emerging technologies, and the opportunities and risks for organisations. 10 credits Programmes must include affective skills: Application of professional, sustainable, socially responsible and ethical principles relevant to an organisational environment o o Ethical work practice; Professional behaviour. Implications of managing and complying with legal, regulatory, privacy and security responsibilities relevant to an organisational environment. o o Compliance with relevant legislation and regulations (e.g. health and safety, contract management); and industry codes of practices and codes of conduct (e.g. IITP); Equity, social and contemporary cultural issues relevant to Information Technology e.g. Treaty of Waitangi; accessibility issues. 10 credits Programmes must include people skills: Interpersonal and communication skills in Qualification Reference XXXX Page 7 of 8
interpersonal skills, clearly and professionally in an organisational environment. 10 Apply the fundamentals of current and emerging information systems concepts and practice. 11 Apply the fundamentals of current and emerging IT technical support concepts and practice. Transition information Replacement information a team environment - written, oral, digital; Information representation design for multiple purposes, audiences, genre and media e.g. data visualisation, technical writing - help documents, user instructions, specifications; Personal and interpersonal skills including customer service, leadership, teamwork, self-management, relationship and conflict management. 10 credits Programmes and assessment must include core Information Systems knowledge and skills in: Business concepts understand functions, structure and cultural context of business; Organisational context and impact of IT on Business; Development life cycle including migrating changes through environments; Database data modelling; design and create a simple (multiple tables) database with user functions; User experience consideration of user experience and usability concepts in IT; Information management and retrieval. 15 credits Programmes must include core IT technical knowledge and skills in: Installation and configuration of hardware resources, - PCs, laptops, mobile and other devices; Foundation networking including internet concepts; Installation and configuration of systems software; Carrying out hardware and software diagnostic testing, maintenance, technical and customer support; Demonstrated advanced technical knowledge of applications for supporting user requirements; Security concepts, tools and techniques. (Write any additional transition information here or delete the row) Qualification Reference XXXX Page 8 of 8