Internal Assessment: Building and Documenting a Computational Solution
What the exam tests
The internal assessment tests your ability to build a computational solution for a real client and document the process. It is assessed holistically against planning, solution overview, development, functionality and evaluation.
Core rules
- Work with a client; define a problem and measurable success criteria before coding.
- Criterion A (Planning) needs a clear problem, client evidence, success criteria and a test plan.
- Criterion B (Solution overview) explains the design: data structures, algorithms, inputs/outputs and structure.
- Criterion C (Development) shows iterative development, techniques used, and evidence of testing and debugging.
- Criterion D (Functionality) demonstrates a working solution; a video or live demonstration may be required.
- Criterion E (Evaluation) judges the solution against each success criterion and gathers client feedback, with realistic improvements.
Worked example
A sports club needs fixture scheduling. Success criteria: create a fixture in under five clicks; detect a double-booked pitch; export a weekly list. Test plan includes normal, extreme and invalid data. Prototype 1 stores fixtures in a list; the client notes clashes are not detected. Prototype 2 adds a validation function comparing date, time and pitch before saving. Evaluation cites the client's sign-off and a remaining limitation: no automatic referee allocation. Reasoning: each criterion is evidenced, not just claimed.
Traps
Writing vague success criteria ('user-friendly'); scope creep; testing only at the end; no client evidence; copying code without understanding; evaluating features rather than success criteria.