Transcript Info and the Professional

ICT and the
Professional
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Introduction

This presentation is about:
“the personal qualities and general characteristics
necessary for a person working effectively within the
ICT industry and as part of an ICT team”

It’s NOT about ethics/codes of conduct which are
covered in ICT4
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Working with ICT

What sorts of jobs are available working with ICT?

Can broadly be categorised as:

Development personnel

•
Analysts and programmers.
People responsible for
designing and producing new
systems
Operational personnel
•
Computer operators and
support personnel. People who
use the systems and keep
them running
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Qualifications

There are many professional
qualifications available that allow
the ICT professional to demonstrate
their technical competence or
specific skills within a particular field

Often though it’s personal
qualities and general
characteristics unrelated to ICT
that allow an individual to progress
within the ICT industry
Note: This is the key point in this presentation! Qualities can be as important as qualifications!
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Personal Qualities?
Good
Communication
Integrity
Attention to detail
Teamworking
Desirable
Qualities?
Creativity/Initiative
Management Skills
Flexibility
Problem solving
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Communication Skills

Good communication skills are essential

These skills will include both oral and written
communication
•
•
Need to be able to discuss problems/solutions with
clients who may be “technophobic” (oral)
May need to produce clear and concise documents for
others e.g. feasibility studies, technical guides etc.
(written)
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Teamworking
Most ICT projects are now managed by teams

•
•
•
Teams are most effective when each
team member is sensitive to the
needs of the other members
Effective teams will be cooperative
and share ideas openly
Only possible if each member is a
“team player” i.e. able to listen as
well as contribute
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Management Skills

Project leaders don’t need
technical skills!
•
•
•
They have people working for
them who have the necessary
technical skills
Their role is to manage people
and resources effectively
May include managing schedules
or motivating employees
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Flexibility

Many ICT professionals need to be flexible about both
the hours they work and/or their place of work
•
•
•
ICT support workers for critical projects may need to “on call”
when they are not in the office e.g. in case of technical
problems outside office hours
International software support workers may need to work
“anti social hours” to answer queries from customers in
different time zones
Hardware support employees may need to visit clients “onsite” anywhere in the country (or aboard)
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Problem Solving

An analytical approach to problem solving is essential
in almost all ICT careers
•
•
•
Employees should be able to
tackle problems systematically
May be in the design of ICT
systems e.g. programmers,
analysts etc.
May be in operations e.g. enduser support, after sales
service
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Creativity

The ability to think innovatively
and creatively is a very
important quality in some ICT
careers
•
•
A web designer will need to
have a strong sense of
creativity to produce new and
visually exciting sites
Programmers and project
managers may need to think
of new ways of doing things
to utilise resources
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Attention to Detail

This is a particularly important
quality in programming which
requires precision. Seemingly
minor deviations from designs
can have very unpredictable
effects

It is also important in data entry
where incorrect data entry will
affect the quality of information
output (remember GIGO?)
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Integrity (Honesty)

Employees in the ICT industry may have access to sensitive
information (commercial and personal)

It’s important that they are trustworthy and don’t misuse their
position

The BCS (British Computer Society) has a code of conduct for ICT
professionals which lays out rules they are expected to follow.
This is covered in ICT4 but includes things such as:
•
•
Rejecting bribes
Avoiding situations that lead to a conflict of interest
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Exam Tips

At most you’ll usually be asked to
name and/or describe FOUR personal
qualities

Make sure you give an example to
illustrate each quality described in
your answer

Make sure the qualities you choose
relate to the question i.e. certain
qualities will be more relevant to a
project manager than a web designer
and vice versa
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Revision Tasks

Use your textbook and Internet sources to make notes
on the desirable personal qualities and general
characteristics of an ICT professional

Complete the worksheet “Working in the ICT Industry”
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License