Masters Project 2

Unit Outline (Higher Education)

   
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Effective Term: 2024/05
Institute / School :Institute of Innovation, Science & Sustainability
Unit Title: Masters Project 2
Unit ID: ITECH7417
Credit Points: 15.00
Prerequisite(s): (ITECH7416)
Co-requisite(s): Nil
Exclusion(s): (ITECH7403 and ITECH7404 and ITECH7405 and ITECH7415 and ITECH7602)
ASCED: 029999
Other Change:  
Brief description of the Unit

This course provides you with the opportunity to synthesise knowledge and skills you have gained so far in your program to work on either an industry or research project. You can work on an industry Information Technology (IT) or Information System (IS) related real-world business problem and/ or engage in research.  

Your options are as follows: 

(i) Industry Specialisation

You will work in teams on an IT/IS project with an industry client and an academic project supervisor. A project can be related to development of a new IT/IS solution(s) or review, assessment or recommendation of an existing IT/IS solution(s) to improve client`s existing business processes. Projects must be aligned with your study stream.

(ii) Research Specialisation 

You will work on an individual research project across two units(ITECH7416 & ITECH7417). Students interested in the Masters Projects with a Research specialisation will need to contact an appropriate academic supervisor prior to the course commencement and have a research proposal approved.

Grade Scheme: Graded (HD, D, C, P, MF, F, XF)
Work Experience Indicator:
No work experience
Placement Component:
Supplementary Assessment:No
Supplementary assessment is not available to students who gain a fail in this Unit.
Course Level:
Level of Unit in CourseAQF Level(s) of Course
5678910
Introductory                                                
Intermediate                                                
Advanced                                        
Learning Outcomes:
Knowledge:
K1.

Analyse a business/research problem

K2.

Research state-of-the-art in a problem domain and investigate how similar problems were solved.

K3.

Relate theories and principles learned in other IT/IS courses to addressing or solving business/research problem.

K4.

 Identify/Propose/Develop solution(s) to business/research problem.

K5.

Choose appropriate methodologies, tools and technologies for a project.

K6.

Manage legal, ethical, privacy and security issues related to a project.

K7.

Analyse industry frameworks such as the Australian Computer Society`s (ACS) Core Body of Knowledge (CBOK) and Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) and how they relate to your project.

Skills:
S1.

Identify a gap in a research or industry context.

S2.

Lead specific aspects of a project.

S3.

Work as part of a collaborative team and maintain the professional relationship with team members, client and supervisor.

S4.

Demonstrate problem solving and critical thinking.

S5.

Apply state-of-the-art industry standards, approaches and methods in a project.

S6.

Utilise a variety of project management, collaboration, modelling and analytical tools as required.

S7.

Critique contemporary IT industry practices/presentations related to industry or research projects, and relate them to professional standards and your own career aspirations

Application of knowledge and skills:
A1.

Propose/Develop a new state-of-the-art IT/IS solution(s) to address business/research problem.

A2.

Deliver appropriate, professional, industry level documentations and/or research reports

Unit Content:

This course is designed to foster problem-based self learning and research. There will be minimal formal lectures.Topics may include:1.Requirements analysis and modelling.2.Problem solving.3.Research and literature review.4.Creative and critical thinking.5.Communication and reporting.6.Project management.7.Change and risk management.8.Product Evaluation.9.Business and data analysis.10.System development methodologies.11.Professional documentation.12.Team building.13.IT and related industry activity and research developments in the local community, and around the globe.14.ACS’s CBOK, SFIA and their relationship with industry and Career pathways.

Graduate Attributes:
Federation University recognises that students require key transferable employability skills to prepare them for their future workplace and society. FEDTASKS (Transferable Attributes Skills and Knowledge) provide a targeted focus on five key transferable Attributes, Skills, and Knowledge that are be embedded within curriculum, developed gradually towards successful measures and interlinked with cross-discipline and Co-operative Learning opportunities. One or more FEDTASK, transferable Attributes, Skills or Knowledge must be evident in the specified learning outcomes and assessment for each FedUni Unit, and all must be directly assessed in each Course.

FED TASK and descriptorDevelopment and acquisition of FEDTASKS in the Unit
Learning outcomes
(KSA)
Assessment task
(AT#)
FEDTASK 1
Interpersonal

Students at this level will demonstrate an advanced ability in a range of contexts to effectively communicate, interact and work with others both individually and in groups. Students will be required to display high level skills in-person and/or online in: • Using and demonstrating a high level of verbal and non-verbal communication • Demonstrating a mastery of listening for meaning and influencing via active listening • Demonstrating and showing empathy for others • High order skills in negotiating and conflict resolution skills\\ • Demonstrating mastery of working respectfully in cross-cultural and diverse teams.

S3AT1,AT2,AT3,AT4,AT5
FEDTASK 2
Leadership

Students at this level will demonstrate a mastery in professional skills and behaviours in leading others. • Creating and sustaining a collegial environment • Demonstrating a high level of self -awareness and the ability to self-reflect and justify decisions • Inspiring and initiating opportunities to lead others • Making informed professional decisions • Demonstrating initiative in new professional situations.

S2AT1,AT2,AT3
FEDTASK 3
Critical Thinking and Creativity

Students at this level will demonstrate high level skills in working in complexity and ambiguity using the imagination to create new ideas. Students will be required to display skills in: • Reflecting critically to generate and consider complex ideas and concepts at an abstract level • Analysing complex and abstract ideas, concepts and information • Communicate alternative perspectives to justify complex ideas • Demonstrate a mastery of challenging conventional thinking to clarify complex concepts • Forming creative solutions in problem solving to new situations for further learning.

S4AT2
FEDTASK 4
Digital Literacy

Students at this level will demonstrate the ability to work competently across a wide range of tools, platforms and applications to achieve a range of tasks. Students will be required to display skills in: • Mastering, exploring, evaluating, managing, curating, organising and sharing digital information professionally • Collating, managing complex data, accessing and using digital data securely • Receiving and responding professionally to messages in a range of professional digital media • Contributing competently and professionally to digital teams and working groups • Participating at a high level in digital learning opportunities.

Not applicableNot applicable
FEDTASK 5
sustainable and Ethical Mindset

Students at this level will demonstrate a mastery of considering and assessing the consequences and impact of ideas and actions in enacting professional ethical and sustainable decisions. Students will be required to display skills in: • Demonstrate informed judgment making that considers the impact of devising complex solutions in ambiguous global economic environmental and societal contexts • Professionally committing to the promulgation of social responsibility • Demonstrate the ability to evaluate ethical, socially responsible and/or sustainable challenges and generating and articulating responses • Communicating lifelong, life-wide and life-deep learning to be open to the diverse professional others • Generating, leading and implementing required actions to foster sustainability in their professional and personal life

K6AT3
Learning Task and Assessment:
Students will engage in project activities that align with their enrolled study stream.

Assessment tasks are designed to measure the learning outcomes of the capstone project courses, however, successful projects will require application of additional project-dependent skills not explicitly listed in this course outline. If students study a specialised stream then these additional learning outcomes will align with the learning outcomes identified by the stream of study at the program level.

Each study specialisation stream identifies with the corresponding ACS CBoK knowledge areas and the SFIA skills that will be assessed (these are in addition to those identified in the ACS and SFIA sections of this outline)  if students are enrolled in that study stream

Students will negotiate and complete a project in an area related to their stream specialisation/electives completed. 
Wherever possible, assessment tasks are generic to all projects and will not be specific to individual projects.
Assessment in this course aims to replicate many of the types of scenarios that students would face in a professional setting, including writing appropriate documentation, giving presentations to technical and non-technical audiences, and critical self reflection.

Typically, if all team members have worked equally in the project, the same grade will be awarded to all team members for team submissions. In cases where it can be demonstrated that one or more team members have not participated equally, the supervisor and course coordinator will alter individual grades and/or request additional assessment tasks to be completed.
 Learning Outcomes AssessedAssessment TasksAssessment TypeWeighting
1.K1, K2, K3, K4, K7, S1, S2, S3, A1, A2

Project Initiation and Planning

Project Storyboard; Product Roadmap

10-30%

2.S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7

Project Ownership

Actively participate in and contribute to group collaboration, research, workshops, team work and/or professional communication/meetings.

Evidence of appropriate engagement - Attendance at Workshops, Stand-ups, Statements of individual contribution

10-30%

3.K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, K6, S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, A1, A2

Project Execution & Delivery

Develop, Propose, and(or) Recommend a solution to an IT business/research problem(s).

Deliver professional product-specific industry/research documents specific to a negotiated project/research problem.

Product Demonstration; Project Write-up

40-60%

4.K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, K6, S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, A1, A2

Project Monitoring

Deliver professional product-specific industry/research documents specific to a negotiated project/research problem.

Assessments may include Sprint Reviews/Retrospectives,, and Evaluation of project execution by project supervisor/client.

20-40%

Adopted Reference Style:
Other  (Nil)

Professional Standards / Competencies:
 Standard / Competency
1.Australian Computer Society - Core Body of Knowledge: 2023 accreditation
AttributeAssessedLevel
Core ICT Knowledge
ICT Fundamentals
Design thinking: methods and tools that are used for handling abstraction could vary a great deal with the branch of ICT, from circuit diagrams to data modelling tools to business process modelling YesIntermediate
Systems thinking: components and interactions between them, structure and function, emergent properties and functions, systems layers YesIntermediate
Information & Data Science and Engineering
Database Management Systems and SQL, non-relational systems (blockchain, NoSQL, files) YesIntermediate
Computational Science and Engineering
Programming: programming language constructs, coding methods, scripts and apps, interfaces YesIntermediate
Software Engineering: systematic practices of specification, development and testing to produce reliable, safe, maintainable computing systems, integrated development and configuration management environments YesIntermediate
Application Systems
Analysis of human activity systems, ontological modelling, specifying organisational and external context of computing systems, impact and user experience analysis YesAdvanced
User experience: interface design, physical and cognitive ergonomics YesIntermediate
ICT Projects
Nature and types of projects: exploratory, prototype, agile, maintenance, construction and acquisition, etc YesAdvanced
Project initiation: stakeholders, benefits specification, scope and requirements, quality and acceptance criteria, cost/benefit, risk and time budgets YesIntermediate
Project management: team management, estimation techniques, project scheduling, quality assurance, configuration management, project management tools, progress analysis, reporting and presentation techniques YesIntermediate
ICT Management and Governance
Digital transformation and disruption, change management YesIntermediate
Professionalism as it applied in ICT
Professional ICT Ethics
Professional ethics issues: general professional issues such as conflict of interest, confidentiality YesAdvanced
Working Individually and in ICT development teams
Team organisation, development and management, especially of multi-disciplinary, diverse ICT teams; collaboration, group dynamics, leadership styles, conflict resolution, groupware and virtual teams YesAdvanced
Individual time management, workflow and information management YesAdvanced
Working effectively within an organisational context YesAdvanced
Professional Communication
Communication with different audiences (technical, managerial, users and non-digitally orientated audiences) in different forums (meetings, presentations, networking) YesAdvanced
Forms and styles of documentation - technical reports and specifications, progress reports YesAdvanced
The Professional ICT Practitioner
Continuing professional development, career upskilling, networking YesAdvanced
2.Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA): Version 8
AttributeAssessedLevel
Strategy and architecture
Strategy and planning
INOV Innovation (Levels 5 - 7)

Identifying, prioritising, incubating and exploiting opportunities provided by information, communication and digital technologies.

Yes4
EMRG Emerging technology monitoring (Levels 4 - 6)

Identifying and assessing new and emerging technologies, products, services, methods and techniques.

Yes4
RSCH Research (Levels 2 - 6)

Systematically creating new knowledge by data gathering, innovation, experimentation, evaluation and dissemination.

Yes4
Change and transformation
Change implementation
PGMG Programme management (Levels 6 - 7)

Identifying, planning and coordinating a set of related projects and activities in support of specific business strategies and objectives.

Yes4
PRMG Project management (Levels 4 - 7)

Delivering agreed outcomes from projects using appropriate management techniques, collaboration, leadership and governance.

Yes4
PROF Portfolio, programme and project support (Levels 2 - 6)

Providing support and guidance on portfolio, programme and project management processes, procedures, tools and techniques.

Yes4
Relationships and engagement
Sales and marketing
MKTG Marketing (Levels 2 - 6)

Researching, analysing and stimulating potential or existing markets for products and services.

Yes3