Practical / Project Work and Viva (School-Assessed Vocational Component)
Domain 11: Practical / Project Work and Viva (School-Assessed Vocational Component)
This domain is assessed in school and tests whether you can actually perform the skills and explain your work. The practical file, project report, and viva are evidence of process, not just a final product. Examiners look for correct technique, organised records, and your own understanding.
Core rules and concepts
- Maintain a practical file with index, dated entries, aim, procedure, observations, and results. For software tasks, record commands, formulas, or steps and include labelled screenshots where permitted.
- A project should solve a small real problem: for example, a computerised record system for a shop, a school event database, or a digital poster set. Follow stages: select topic, plan, collect data, build, test, document, present.
- Test your work with sample data, check totals, and correct errors. Keep backups and use clear file/folder names. Cite sources and do not copy a project from the Internet.
- Viva preparation: be ready to explain why you chose a method, what each formula/command does, what went wrong, and how you fixed it. Demonstrate the work live if asked.
- Present neatly: cover page, certificate (if required), acknowledgements, contents, chapters, conclusion, and bibliography. Follow school formatting instructions.
Worked example
Question: Your project is a spreadsheet for a small stationery shop. In the viva, the examiner asks why you used =SUM(D2:D20). How do you answer? Reasoning: Explain that column D stores item amounts, rows 2–20 hold individual sales, and SUM adds the range to give total sales. If a new row is inserted, the range may need updating; an alternative is a table or full-column reference. This shows understanding, not memorisation.
Traps that cost marks
Do not submit a downloaded project you cannot explain. Do not leave screenshots unlabelled or dates missing. Do not skip testing-totals that do not match lose credibility. Do not ignore the viva; a strong file can be undermined by inability to explain basic steps. Do not lose your backup before submission.