Assignment - Professional Practice in IT

General Objectives

1. Demonstrate an awareness of legal and ethical issues for the IT practitioner

2. Relate professional issues to their own practice

3. Understand and apply the principles of group working

4. Explain the quality management process

5. Search and select appropriate information

6. Prepare for the job application process

7. Make a successful presentation

1 To be able to:

Compare different types of information

Describe different sources of information

Explain the need for validating information and list appropriate criteria

Explain the nature of information, for example, data, information, knowledge, understanding

Describe different types and sources of information

Describe the search process and different techniques

Discuss criteria for assessing information based  upon both the context of the author and the needs of the user

2-4 To be able to:

Justify the need for a legal framework and relate it to moral and ethical ones

Compare IT-related laws in different countries

Explain morals, ethics and laws

Describe the Libyan legal system and highlight laws relating to IT practice

Describe ITrelated laws in other countries

5-6 To be able to:

Justify the need for professional standards

Explain the role of professional bodies

Explain the concepts of a profession and a professional

Describe professional bodies using an example such as the British

Computer Society

Explain a Code of Conduct

7-8 To be able to:

Describe the dynamics of a group and the role of different members

Describe the stages of group formation

Describe: Group roles eg Belbin

Group formation

9-11 To be able to: Justify the need for quality management within the field of IT

Justify the need for standards and defined processes by describing examples of good and bad practice

Justify the need for quality assurance

Explain the meaning of quality in the context of IT products and IT projects eg to specification, on time, within budget

Contrast different types of system eg business information and safety critical systems

Explain the need for a quality program and the three stages of quality management (defined standards and processes, quality assurance, quality improvement)

12-13 To be able to:

Describe and compare roles within the IT profession

Outline the IT job market 

Explain the characteristics (including abilities and career paths) of roles within the IT profession

Describe the IT job market

14-15 To be able to:

Describe the criteria of a good presentation

Demonstrate examples of bad and good presentations

Explain the elements and structure of a good presentation and the role of media in supporting presentations