week 1

CS1 - Communicate information clearly to a technical and non-technical audience

Exam Terminology and requirements

all of your work should be completed electronically using black font, Arial size 12pt unless otherwise specified

any work not produced electronically must be agreed with your tutor, in which case the evidence you produce should be scanned and submitted as an electronic piece of evidence

all your work should be clearly labelled with the relevant task number and your student details and be legible (for example, front page and headers)

electronic files should be named using the following format –Surname_Initial_student number_evidence reference for example Smith_J_123456789_Task1 for identification purposes; where evidence reference is shown, this should be replaced with the task number for which the work reflects and saved in a .pdf format

all pages of your work should be numbered in the format ‘Page X of Y’, where X is the page number and Y is the total number of pages

you must complete and sign the external assessment cover sheet (EACS) and include it at the front of your assessment task evidence

you must submit your evidence to the supervisor at the end of each session

Practical Activity – “Bridging the Communication Gap”

Scenario (Workplace Context)
You are part of a digital support team at a medium-sized UK company that is upgrading its network infrastructure. Two different stakeholder groups need to be informed about the progress and changes:

1.Technical Stakeholders – the IT Department (high digital literacy, comfortable with technical terminology, formal communication style).
2. Non-Technical Stakeholders – the Customer Services Team (basic digital literacy, non-technical, prefer informal but clear communication).

Task Steps

Step 1 – Identify Stakeholder Requirements (15 minutes)

In pairs, using given a stakeholder profile sheet describing each group (technical and non-technical).
You must highlight:
  - Terminology suitable for each group.
  - Formal vs informal tone.
  - Level of digital knowledge.
  - Preferred communication channels (e.g., email, presentation, meeting notes).

Non Technical Stakeholder
Technical Stakeholder

Step 2 – Plan the Communication (20 minutes)
Plan two separate communications about the same update:

- Technical Audience: Write a short technical update (e.g., “Server downtime due to VLAN reconfiguration”).
- Non-Technical Audience: Rewrite the same update in plain English (e.g., “Our systems will be offline this Friday while we improve network security”).

In your plan you must include:
Required format (e.g., email, slides, chat tool).
Frequency of updates (one-off, weekly progress).
Content & Context:
   - Layout and design (bullet points, images, plain text).
  - Level of detail (deep vs simple).
  - Digital inclusion (accessible fonts, alternative formats if needed).
  - Compliance (data protection, company policy, GDPR).

Step 3 – Apply Tools (25 minutes)

Using collaborative tools available in college (e.g., Google Slides/Docs, MS Teams, Trello, or Padlet), students create:
1. A short slide deck or formal email draft for the IT Department.
2. A poster, infographic, or simplified email for the Customer Services Team.


Step 4 – Deliver & Record (15 minutes)
Students present their outputs to the class.

Another pair plays is the role of the “stakeholder audience” and provides feedback on clarity, tone, and accessibility.
You will then summarise the key points of communication in a one-page communication log, including how you would securely store this record in line with GDPR (e.g., stored in encrypted company drive, not personal devices).

Reflection Task (10–15 minutes)
Complete a short reflection in their learning journal or worksheet:

What differences did you notice between writing for a technical vs non-technical audience?
Which tools did you find most effective for communicating with each audience, and why?
How did you ensure your communication was inclusive and compliant with legislation (e.g., GDPR, accessibility guidelines)?
If you repeated this task in the workplace, what would you improve?

It is important to consider who your writing your to and thier technical knowledge or lack of knowledge.

What is a Project Plan?

Why is a Project Plan important?

How do you layout a Project Plan?

Last Updated
2025-11-13 16:56:08