Submission details

The assessment task is due on the date specified by your assessor. Any variations to this arrangement must be approved in writing by your assessor.
Submit this document with any required evidence attached. See specifications below for details.

Performance objective

You will need to demonstrate skills and knowledge required to identify and establish
document standards in an organisational context.

Assessment description

In response to a simulated business case study and a scenario, you will answer and submit written answers to four questions.

Procedure
1. Read the scenario in Appendix 1 and make sure you have received the Adept Owl simulated business documentation provided by you assessor.
2. Read through the questions provided in Appendix 2 of this task.
3. Respond to the questions by referring to the Adept Owl simulated business documentation provided by your assessor and the scenario in Appendix 1.
4. Submit written answers to your assessor within an agreed timeframe and in an agreed format. Ensure your answers reflect specifications as outlined below. Keep copies of all submitted materials for your records.

Specifications

You must provide:
● written answers to four questions (provided in Appendix 2).

Your assessor will be looking for responses to questions that demonstrate:

● literacy skills to read and interpret policies and procedures
● research and analysis skills to evaluate content, structure and purpose of technical texts, and to adapt task instructions to suit changes in technology
● knowledge of cost constraints
● knowledge of document production processes
● knowledge of key provisions of relevant legislation and regulations, codes and standards that may affect aspects of business operations, such as:
○ anti-discrimination legislation
○ ethical principles
○ codes of practice
○ privacy laws
● knowledge of sources of expertise that are external to the organisation or workgroup.

Adjustment for distance-based learners
● No changes are required to the assessment procedures or specifications.
● Submitted answers to questions may be in electronic or paper-based format.

Appendix 1: Adept Owl scenario
Background

Adept Owl produces high-quality, entertaining board, card and puzzle games for the enjoyment of all ages. According to the company’s vision, Adept Owl intends to establish its reputation within five years, ‘as one of the finest, most innovative and entertaining board game developers in Australia’. To achieve this goal, the company will need to engage in several strategic directions:
● engaging with customers
● developing and improving products and production
● supporting innovative thinking, management and leadership skills
● creating a high-performing organisation
● ensuring sustainable materials and processes are used in manufacture and distribution.

On the level of creating, maintaining and storing company documentation, these strategic directions are supported by specific activities, for example:

● creating standards for documents, in the form of a style guide, to improve readability (for internal and external customers) and to promote a consistent look-and-feel
● creating procedures for document production that ensure consistent, high-quality outcomes and efficiency
● designing templates and standard text – in conformity with the style guide and production procedures – to improve workflow further
● developing people-focused implementation strategies – for example delivering training on documentation – to ensure the cooperation of all staff in the maintenance of document quality, sustainability, and legal and ethical compliance.

As a new member of the administration team, with a responsibility for team leadership and document design and development, your first order of business is to identify the existing documentation standards at Adept Owl.

In order to plan for meeting current and future organisational needs, you will need to consider current performance and administration team capability.

Administration team performance
The administration team at Adept Owl performs a range of documentation tasks. These tasks are grouped into several main areas of activity, which provide the basis for measuring performance that drives organisational outcomes.

The administration team at Adept Owl uses the following performance scorecard, which includes various targets for documentation output and quality.

Current business needs

In attempting to achieve its wider business goals, Adept Owl has a number of current specific business needs relating to the skills capability and performance of the administration team in designing and using documentation.

Letter mail-outs

One of the most common tasks undertaken by the team is writing letters to both internal and external customers. In all cases such letters need to conform to Adept Owl house styles. Currently letters are created from scratch. Mass mail-outs present a problem for efficiency as letters are created individually. This practice presents a problem with respect to consistency and wastage of resources. A standard procedure for completing a mass letter mail-out
including a mail merge that is consistent with existing letter standards is required. In the interest of budgetary control, only existing organisational software should be required. The entire mail merge process should take no more than 5 minutes to perform.

Expense reporting

One type of document the organisation currently lacks standard processes for is expense reporting. Staff use a range of methods to report expenses. There are several problems associated with this arrangement. Staff complain about the time needed to input expenses. Administration staff complain about the lack of consistency, including incorrect or incomplete coding of expenses. Allowable expenses codes are:
● Food
● Transportation
● Communication
● Training
● Other.

A standard procedure for creating expense reports that encourages the use of time-saving macros is required. In the interest of budgetary control, only existing organisational software should be required. The entire procedure should take no more than 5 minutes to perform.

Future business needs and capability

At this point it is unclear whether the organisation’s software list will be sufficient to take the organisation through the next five years. The advent of social media platforms (Web 2.0) and their use in both internal and external business communications/marketing and digital publishing technologies present both challenges and opportunities for Adept Owl. Unfortunately, current software capability within the administration team means that the team
is barely proficient to use Microsoft Office and they will likely struggle with complex document tasks without further training or recruitment to bolster capability.

Appendix 2: Test questions
Question 1

As a new member of the team you will need to identify organisational requirements.

Referring to the Adept Owl scenario in Appendix 1, the Adept Owl style guide and procedures, identify:
● one requirement for information entry
● two requirements for file naming and storage
● two requirements for output or quality of document design and production
● two compliance requirements – explain how the existing Adept Owl processes help ensure compliance with one piece of legislation and identify and explain one possible code of practice or standard relevant to document production for possible improvement of processes.

Question 2

Evaluate Adept Owl’s present and future information technology capability to satisfy document design and production needs.
● With respect to human resource capability, where are the skills gaps that exist currently within the administration team?
● How could the skills gaps be closed in keeping with organisational practices?
● What future IT capability needs (both physical and human) could the organisation have with respect to document design and production within the next 2–5 years? Identify at least one source of external advice or information you have used to help you make this evaluation.
● What changes might be required to the Adept Owl style guide and procedures to take account of anticipated technological changes?

Question 3

Referring to the Adept Owl style guide and procedures, identify three types of documents used and required by the organisation.

Question 4

Develop a short procedure for either (a) a mass letter mail-out or (b) the creation of an expense report. Ensure your procedures:
● follow general style requirements of the Adept Owl style guide; include at least two references to the style guide or procedures, for example, storage or use of fonts or headings
● adhere to information, budget and technology requirements outlined in the scenario in Appendix 1.