Assessment criteria
There are 21 assessment criteria required to gain a "Pass" grade. There are an additional 3 criteria to attain a "Distinction" grade. However the Distinction criteria overlap with 3 of the Pass criteria, so there are functionally 20 criteria to meet.
You must use evidence to demonstrate that you meet each of the criteria. For example to meet the criterion "Describes basic software testing frameworks and methodologies" you would need to describe how you wrote tests for a project you worked on.
Here are the criteria:
Describes all stages of the software development lifecycle
Describes the roles and responsibilities of the project lifecycle within their organisation, and their role
Describes methods of communicating with all stakeholders that is determined by the audience and/or their level of technical knowledge.
Distinction: Compares and contrasts the different types of communication used for technical and non-technical audiences and the benefits of these types of communication methods
Describes the similarities and differences between different software development methodologies, such as agile and waterfall
Suggests and applies different software design approaches and patterns, to identify reusable solutions to commonly occurring problems (include Bespoke or off-the-shelf)
Distinction: Evaluates and recommends approaches to using reusable solutions to common problems.
Explains the relevance of organisational policies and procedures relating to the tasks being undertaken, and when to follow them including how they have followed company, team or client approaches to continuous integration, version, and source control
Applies the principles and uses of relational and non-relational databases to software development tasks
Describes basic software testing frameworks and methodologies
Distinction: Evaluates the use of various software testing frameworks and methodologies and justifies their choice.
Explains, their own approach to development of user interfaces
Explains, how they have linked code to data sets
Illustrates how to conduct test types, including Integration, System, User Acceptance, Non-Functional, Performance and Security testing including how they have followed testing frameworks and methodologies
Creates simple software designs to communicate understanding of the programme to stakeholders and users of the programme
Creates analysis artefacts, such as use cases and/or user stories to enable effective delivery of software activities
Explains, how they have interpreted and implemented a given design whilst remaining compliant with security and maintainability requirements
Describes, how they have operated independently to complete tasks to given deadlines which reflect the level of responsibility assigned to them by the organisation’.
Illustrates how they have worked collaboratively with people in different roles, internally and externally, which show a positive attitude to inclusion & diversity.
Explains how they have established an approach in the workplace which reflects integrity with respect to ethical, legal, and regulatory matters and ensures the protection of personal data, safety and security.
Illustrates their approach to meeting unexpected minor changes at work and outlines their approach to delivering within their remit using their initiative.
Explains how they have communicated effectively in a variety of situations to both a technical and non-technical audience.
Illustrates how they have responded to the business context with curiosity to explore new opportunities and techniques with tenacity to improve solution performance, establishing an approach to methods and solutions which reflects a determination to succeed
Explains how they reflect on their continued professional development and act independently to seek out new opportunities