This unit looks at how ICT is used by most organisations in some aspects of their work. An investigate into how local businesses use ICT, or an investigation into case study materials, or a mixture of both will be necessary to complete this unit..
In this unit you will learn about and report on:

• how and why organisations use ICT
• the main components used to design an ICT system
• how ICT systems are designed.
  

You will learn how to design, implement and test a system and represent it graphically.

You will need to produce an investigation of an organisation (or a department in a large organisation) and compile a portfolio that includes reports on:

• The different purposes for which the organisation / department uses ICT
• The ICT system used in the organisation / department, and how it meets the needs identified above

You also need to design and implement an ICT system which must be added to the portfolio.

• A design specification for the system including information sources, input, process and output requirements, and types of application software needed
• Evidence that you have successfully implemented, tested and evaluated the system, together with guidance for the user.

How and Why Organisations use ICT.

ICT systems meet particular organisational needs. You need to learn how to identify the
components used in an ICT system and describe their contribution to the overall purposes of the
system. Organisations use ICT systems according to their needs. The needs of some
organisations are met by the limited use of ICT. However, many organisations have a variety of
needs that are met by extensive use of ICT systems.

Large organisations are often divided into departments that carry out the four main functions of business:

• sales – processing transactions involving the sale of goods or services provided by the organisation
• purchasing – processing transactions involving the purchase of goods or services required by the organisation
• finance – managing the flow of money in and out of the organisation
• operations – carrying out the main business of the organisation.
  

You must understand that departments communicate and exchange information with each other, and with external bodies such as customers and suppliers. You must also understand why and how organisations use ICT to:

• communicate effectively internally and with suppliers and customers
• manage and control a production process
• manage finance (payroll; budgeting/forecasting; transactions, reporting)
• manage stock control
• market products and services efficiently.
  

Main Components.

You must be able to identify and know the purpose and characteristics of the main hardware
components of an ICT system including:

• input devices eg keyboard, mouse, scanner, bar code readers, sensors
• processors eg central processing unit (CPU)
• output devices eg screen, printer, speaker, motor
• ports and cables eg parallel, serial, universal serial bus (USB)
• storage devices eg RAM, hard drive, CD, DVD, floppy disk.

Some systems use additional devices, eg networked systems need network interface cards (NICs), and systems accessing the internet may use a modem or ASDL connection. You need to find out about network protocols and network services which are central to the movement of data within and between organisations.
You must learn how to match applications software to users’ processing needs when designing ICT systems, including:

• word processing, publications and presentation
• spreadsheet
• database
• multimedia
• graphics
• control and monitoring.
  

You must understand that ICT systems often integrate features of more than one application to meet user needs.

How ICT Systems are Designed and Implemented.

You must learn how to design and implement an ICT system.

To do this you must:

• identify the user requirements
• produce a design specification, including specifying information sources, input, process and
  output requirements, and the types of application software needed
• implement the system
• test the system under a range of conditions
• produce user documentation for the system
• evaluate the design and implementation of the system, by checking against user
  requirements, and making any necessary modifications and improvements.
  

The flow of information in an organisation can be represented using dataflow diagrams. These diagrams are often used when considering how an ICT system could solve an information processing problem in an organisation.
You must learn how to produce simple dataflow diagrams to give an overview of an ICT system.

Having investigated and understood the use of ICT in a range of organisations, you must be able to design and produce an ICT system for a given situation. The system might replace and update an existing ICT system, or it might replace an overloaded manual system.