Fundamentals of Information and Communication Technology
Domain focus
The Fundamentals of ICT domain tests whether you can separate data from information, describe an ICT system as more than hardware, and judge information quality. O/L questions often ask you to classify examples or explain why a computerised system improves a process.
Core rules and concepts
- Data are raw, unprocessed facts:
28,Nimal,2025-03-01. - Information is data processed into meaning for a decision:
Nimal is 28 today. - An ICT system has people, procedures, data, hardware, software and connectivity; omitting people or procedures is a common error.
- A useful model is input → process → output → feedback. Feedback compares output with a goal and adjusts input or process.
- Information quality is judged by accuracy, timeliness, relevance, completeness and cost-effectiveness.
- Hardware is physical; software is instructions; data is the raw material; people are users and operators.
Worked example
An ATM withdrawal: input is the card number, PIN and amount (data). Processing checks the PIN and balance. Output is cash and a receipt showing the new balance. The receipt is information because it is processed data used by the customer. Feedback is the balance update sent to the bank database; if funds are low, the system rejects the withdrawal. Note that the ATM camera, keypad and screen are hardware; the security procedure is a procedure; the customer is a person.
Traps that cost marks
Calling any output information without showing processing or meaning; listing only hardware and software as system components; confusing data with information; ignoring feedback; and treating ICT as a synonym for computers rather than technologies used to capture, process, store and communicate data.