ACS Core Body of Knowledge for ICT Professionals|V1.1|22 February 2019 Page 1
The ACS Core Body of Knowledge for
ICT Professionals (CBOK)
ACS Core Body of Knowledge for ICT Professionals|V1.1|22 February 2019 Page 2
Australian Computer Society Inc
ARBN 160 325 931
National Secretariat
Level 11, 50 Carrington Street, Sydney NSW 2000
PO Box Q534, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney
NSW 1230
T +61 2 9299 3666 | F +61 2 9299 3997
[email protected]
www.acs.org.au
© 2015 Australian Computer Society
Data in this publication, and this publication itself, are copyright. Other than for the purposes of and subject to the
conditions prescribed under the Copyright Act, no part of it may be in any form or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, micro-copying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted without prior written permission.
Skills Framework for the Information Age
This publication contains information from the Skills Framework for the Information Age with the permission of the
SFIA Foundation.
ACS Core Body of Knowledge for ICT Professionals|V1.1|22 February 2019 Page 3
CONTENTS
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4
1.1 Using this document……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
2. Acronyms………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
3. Authority ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
4. Purpose ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5
5. Scope ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
6. The ICT Profession ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6
6.1 Defining the ICT Profession ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………6
6.2 Definition of an ICT Professional …………………………………………………………………………………………………….7
6.3 ICT Graduate Attributes…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8
7. Knowledge Areas: CBOK……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9
7.1 Essential Core ICT Knowledge ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9
7.2 General ICT Knowledge ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11
8. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13
9. Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..14
Appendix A. Mapping of General ICT knowledge against SFIA categories ………………………………………………..14
Appendix B. ICT Occupations Contained within ANZSCO……………………………………………………………………….16
Appendix C. Graduate attributes – Adapted from the Australian Qualifications Framework………………………17
Appendix D. Graduate attributes – Seoul Accord………………………………………………………………………………….18
Appendix E. Graduate attributes – SFIA Responsibility Matrix ……………………………………………………………….19
10. Version Control………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………20
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1. INTRODUCTION
There are 600,000 ICT workers in Australia with 52% employed in industries outside of ICT itself1. There are
over 2 million trading businesses in Australia, with only 4% employing twenty or more staff2. This diversity
results in a high degree of variability of competencies and skills applied within occupations. Larger
organisations tend to employ specialists, while smaller organisations require employees with a breadth of ICT
skills and not necessarily the depth expected in larger organisations.
One approach towards establishing a CBOK is to develop a set of knowledge requirements for each specific
domain area (for example, distinguishing between computer science and information systems). In an
environment of rapid technological innovation, this requires continual monitoring to ensure the knowledge
areas remain current, with the risk being that updates are too slow to respond to changes in ICT occupation
requirements.
An alternative approach is to specify common skills that all ICT professionals must hold and then require
additional skills to specialise in specific ICT occupations (see Appendix A).
The second approach is adopted in this revision of the CBOK to enhance flexibility and best support variances in
localised occupation requirements across Australia.
1.1 Using this document
The CBOK has been developed as a framework for assessing capability across a variety of contexts such as the
education system and professional practice within industry.
This development has been informed by other frameworks such as the Australian Qualification Framework
(AQF) and the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), and mutual recognition arrangements such as
the Seoul Accord.
To maintain currency of the CBOK, other frameworks referenced are included in the appendices. The purpose
of this approach is to enable the CBOK to be updated immediately should one of these other frameworks be
modified, without the CBOK undergoing a review outside of its own maintenance cycle.
1
Deloitte Access Economics, Australia’s Digital Pulse 2015, p1.
2
ABS Cat. No. 8165.0 http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/8165.0
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2. ACRONYMS

3. AUTHORITY
The Professional Standards Board is the delegated authority of ACS chartered for the development and
oversight of professional standards including ethics, the code of professional conduct and the disciplining of
members. Review and continuous improvement of the Core Body of Knowledge ICT Professionals (CBOK) rests
with the Professional Standards Board.
4. PURPOSE
The CBOK is the framework used by ACS to determine whether an individual holds the appropriate knowledge
and can apply the appropriate skills for initial and ongoing professional practice.
5. SCOPE
The CBOK is used by ACS for the accreditation of degree and post-graduate degree programs of study (where
applicable), and for assessing capability through ACS professional certifications. Certified Professional is one of
a number of pre-requisites for inclusion in the ACS Professional Standards Scheme as covered by the
Professional Standards Act 1994 (NSW).
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6. THE ICT PROFESSION
Professions Australia defines a profession as being:
“… a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as,
and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised body
of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level, and who are prepared to
apply this knowledge and exercise these skills in the interest of others.”3
6.1 Defining the ICT Profession
Given the pervasiveness of ICT enabling all business operations, it is problematic to definitively define the ICT
profession. Occupations and professional ICT skills however provide a strong context. There are two
frameworks that assist with this context:
• ANZSCO; a statistical classification used by Federal Government for jobs and occupations
• The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA).
ANZSCO is an Australian all of industry classification model and doesn’t necessarily represent contemporary ICT
occupation titles. Despite this, as it is used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and reported on via data
captured through the national census, it is an important framework for understanding employment patterns
across ICT occupations. ICT occupations contained within ANZSCO can be reviewed in Appendix B.
SFIA is a mature framework having been first published in 2003 and undergoing regular reviews since that time.
It best represents the global nature of ICT profession given it’s adoption in nearly 200 countries.
Professionals purport to have specialist skills which can be relied upon. Consequently laws require that a
Professional exercises the required skill to an appropriate level expected by that profession. Any damage
arising from a failure by the Professional to exercise the required level of skill may mean that a legal judgement
is made against them if their lack of professionalism caused loss to others.
In Australia, ICT professionals do not require a licence to practice. To provide a form of self-regulation for the
profession, ACS has influenced professional standards for ICT through Professional Standards legislation and
the establishment of the ACS Professional Standards Scheme.
Professional Standards Schemes are legal instruments that bind occupational associations such as ACS to
monitor and improve the professional standards of their members in order to protect consumers of ICT
professional services.
Requirements of ACS to participate in the Scheme include having the following systems in place:
• Admission requirements to the association
• Continuing Professional Development (i.e. continuing occupational education) of its members
• A publicly accessible Complaints and Discipline process
• A Code of Ethics
• Compulsory standards for Professional Indemnity Insurance for all its members, up to a specified level
of liability
• Risk Management systems that monitor all of the above, and track claims made against any members
3
Professions Australia Definition; http://www.professions.com.au/about-us/what-is-a-professional
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6.2 Definition of an ICT Professional
The historical entry point into a profession is through a relevant degree. ACS provides an accreditation service
to ensure ICT degrees are appropriate for initial professional practice.
In Australia however, 43% of workers in ICT occupations studied courses other than ICT or engineering4. ACS
Professional Certifications provide the bridge between the historical entry point and current practice within the
ICT Industry. The International Standard, ISO/IEC 17024, alludes to why this bridge has presented itself:
“…it is necessary to distinguish between situations where certification schemes for persons are justified
and situations where other forms of qualification are more appropriate. The development of new
certification schemes for persons, in response to the ever increasing velocity of technological
innovation and growing specialization of personnel, may compensate for variations in education and
training and thus facilitate the global job market.” (p. iv)
The CBOK addresses these trends by ensuring all persons seeking professional membership of the ACS hold an
in-depth understanding of the skills and knowledge areas common to all ICT professional occupations. These
core knowledge areas are:
• Problem solving, abstraction, design
• Ethics & Professionalism
• Teamwork concepts and issues
• Interpersonal communication
Independent of any specific ICT occupation, an ICT professional is expected to hold an in-depth understanding
in each of these four areas.
At a minimum, they are also expected to have at least a conceptual understanding of the general ICT
knowledge areas (Technical Resources, Technology Building, and ICT Management).
In relation to ACS Professional Certifications, given that 43% of workers in ICT studied courses other than ICT or
engineering, an outputs based assessment method is adopted. That is, if a candidate can demonstrate
competency in the SFIA categories supported by the ACS General ICT Knowledge (see Appendix A), it is
assumed that the person has sufficient underlying ICT conceptual knowledge to satisfy the General ICT
Knowledge requirements.
4
Deloitte Access Economics, Australia’s Digital Pulse 2015, p1.
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6.3 ICT Graduate Attributes
Graduate attributes for initial professional practice in ICT form a set of individually-assessable outcomes that
are indicative of the potential competency of a professional beginning his/her professional practice. The
graduate attributes are exemplars of the attributes expected of a graduate from an accredited program. Each
attribute is a discrete statement of an expected capability, qualified, if necessary, by a range of indicators
appropriate to the type of program.
ACS Accreditation evaluates how ICT Graduate Attributes have been addressed by each program submitted for
accreditation. It also validates how each program addresses the CBOK core knowledge areas and general ICT
knowledge areas.
A qualification at AQF level 7 (or above) is a basic requirement for an ACS accredited program for initial
professional practice. Hence the AQF level 7 graduate attributes are adopted as the starting point (see
Appendix C). They are refined with knowledge specific requirements for the ICT industry.
ICT Graduate attributes:
1. Graduates will have broad and coherent knowledge and skills for ICT professional work and/or further
learning in a global economy5. This knowledge should extend to being innovative and entrepreneurial
as appropriate to the ICT occupation they are pursuing.
2. Graduates will have broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge with depth in one or
more disciplines or areas of practice in ICT
3. Graduates will have well-developed cognitive, technical and communication skills to select and apply
methods and technologies to:
a. analyse and evaluate information to complete a range of activities in their ICT area of
expertise
b. analyse, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex ICT
problems
c. transmit knowledge, skills and ideas to others
4. Graduates at this level will apply knowledge and skills to demonstrate autonomy, well-developed
judgement and responsibility:
a. in contexts that require self-directed work and learning
b. within broad parameters to provide specialist advice and functions
To support international mobility of ICT graduates, ACS participates in the Seoul Accord. The Accord provides
mutual recognition of accredited academic computing programs that prepare graduates for professional
practice. For comparative purposes, the Accord’s documented graduate attributes are summarised in Appendix
D.
5
Graduates should have an understanding of working in a global ICT industry. This would include understanding issues such as cultural
differences, legal/regulatory differences, etc.
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7. KNOWLEDGE AREAS: CBOK
The CBOK is used in two ways to support the accreditation and certification processes. It provides:
• Essential Core ICT Knowledge required for any ICT professional. This includes ICT Professional
Knowledge and ICT Problem Solving.
• General ICT Knowledge which provides graduates with a breadth of understanding of the ICT industry
regardless of his/her ICT job role. This includes Technical Resources, Technology Building, and ICT
Management.
7.1 Essential Core ICT Knowledge
All graduates are expected to have an in-depth understanding of two knowledge areas: ICT Professional
Knowledge and ICT Problem Solving.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 1: ICT PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE
This area includes:
• Ethics
• Professional expectations
• Teamwork concepts and issues
• Interpersonal communication
• Societal issues/legal issues/privacy
• Understanding the ICT profession.
It is expected that Professional Knowledge topics will need to be addressed at multiple levels in different stages
of professional development. The very nature of professional work means that some knowledge and skills are
best developed through experience and that understanding of complex issues such as ethics grows with
maturity. Thus, the goals for developing professional knowledge/skills will be different at entry-level (graduate)
than at full professional level (a certification program). Appendix E demonstrates this continuum using the
most relevent two of the seven SFIA responsibility levels.
Ethics
Topics covered should include:
• Fundamental ethical notions (virtues, duty, responsibility, harm, benefit, rights, respect and
consequences);
• Basic ethics theories;
• Integrity systems (including, the ACS Code of Ethics, the ACS Code of Conduct, ethics committees and
whistle blowing);
• Methods of ethical analysis;
o Methods of ethical reflection
o Methods and procedures of ethical repair and recovery;
• ICT specific ethical issues (professional – e.g. compromising quality and conflict of interest, and
societal – e.g. phishing and privacy).
Professional expectations
Topics covered should include: expertise, certification, competence, autonomy, excellence, reflection,
responsibility and accountability.
Teamwork concepts and issues
Topics covered should include: collaboration, group dynamics, leadership styles, conflict resolution, team
development and groupware.
Communication
Topics covered should include: oral and written presentations, technical report writing, writing user
documentation and the development of effective interpersonal skills.
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Societal issues
Topics covered should include: history of computing and the ICT discipline, privacy and civil liberties, cyber
crime, intellectual property and legal issues.
Understanding of ICT profession
Professionals should have some knowledge of where and when their discipline began and how it has evolved,
in addition to understanding of ongoing issues in the discipline.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 2: ICT PROBLEM SOLVING
This requires knowledge of how to use modelling methods and processes to understand problems, handle
abstraction and design solutions.
The methods and tools that are used for handling abstraction could vary a great deal with the branch of ICT,
from circuit diagrams to data modelling tools to business process modelling.
It is important to recognise this area because it captures some of the creativity and innovation that is required
of ICT professionals, and the excitement that is present in their jobs. Recognising this component also assists in
identifying what is unique about ICT and what differentiates it from other disciplines. In no other discipline is
there such an emphasis on developing artefacts (e.g., computer and information systems) which are so abstract
and complex and where modelling tools and methods are essential. The systems that ICT professionals deal
with cannot be seen or handled in the same simple and direct manner as products of other applied disciplines
(e.g., buildings, bridges, chairs, drugs). Consequently, highly developed problem solving skills and the need for
methods to handle abstraction and modelling are absolutely vital.
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7.2 General ICT Knowledge
As well as have essential core ICT knowledge (ICT Problem Solving and ICT Professional Knowledge), it is
essential that all graduates have a conceptual understanding of ICT as a broad discipline6.
The three General ICT Knowledge areas are related to the SFIA categories that they support in Appendix A.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 1: TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES
This area includes:
• Hardware and software fundamentals
• Data and information management
• Networking.
Hardware and software fundamentals
An understanding of the basic components of computer systems is required, including:
• Computer architecture and organisation – including processors, memory, storage systems and
input/output devices;
• Systems software – Operating systems and application system software.
Data and information management
An understanding is required of how data is captured, represented, organised and retrieved from files and
databases. Topics include:
• Data modelling and abstraction
• Database Management Systems (DBMS)
• Information assurance and security in a shared environment
• Acquisition, custodianship and eventual disposition of information
• Nature of data, information and knowledge transformation through technologies.
Networking
This area requires an understanding of data communications and networking fundamentals. Topics include:
• Network concepts, protocols and standards
• Network security
• Wireless and mobile computing
• Distributed systems.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 2: TECHNOLOGY BUILDING
This area includes:
• Human factors
• Programming
• Systems development
• Systems acquisition.
Human factors
This area requires an understanding of the importance of the user in developing ICT applications and systems,
and involves developing a mindset that recognises the importance of users, their work practices and
organisational contexts.
6
Note: In addition, for a program to be accredited at the Professional level, it must ensure graduates have developed ICT Role Specific
Knowledge at SFIA level 3 or above. This will be assessed during the accreditation process.
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Programming
This involves an understanding of the fundamental concepts of a programming language. It is expected that the
requisite knowledge of programming fundamentals would be best developed by engaging students in software
developments tasks (programming). However, the range of programming languages and tools that could be
used to develop this knowledge is wide and will vary with the expected ICT job role of the graduate.
Systems development and acquisition
An understanding is required of how to develop or acquire software (information) systems that satisfy the
requirements of users and customers. All phases of the lifecycle of an information system should be
understood including: requirement analysis (systems analysis) and specification, design, construction, testing,
and operation and maintenance. There should also be knowledge of methodologies and processes for
developing systems.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 3: ICT MANAGEMENT
This area includes:
• IT governance and organisational issues
• IT project management
• Service management
• Cyber security
IT governance and organisational issues
Topics covered should include:
• Fundamental governance principles (e.g. structures to encourage moral behaviour within
organisations and corporations, and moral behaviour by organisations and corporations);
• Organisational context, including business processes, organisational culture, change and risk
management.
IT project management
This area involves an understanding of the factors required to successfully manage systems development
projects. Topics include: team management, estimation techniques, cost/benefit analysis, risk analysis, risk
management, project scheduling, quality assurance, software configuration management, project management
tools, reporting and presentation techniques.
Service management
Service management deals with the ongoing operation of ICT in an organisational context and includes
frameworks for structuring the interactions of ICT technical personnel with business customers and users.
Many frameworks exist to guide ICT service management, for example, the Information Technology
Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT).
Cyber security
This area is based on the ACM Cyber Security Curriculum 2017 and includes:
• Data Security
• Software Security
• Component Security
• Connection Security
• System Security
• Human Security
• Organizational Security
• Societal Security
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8. CONCLUSION
The use of the CBOK ensures that all persons seeking professional membership of the ACS have an in-depth
understanding of the ICT Essential Areas (ICT Professional Knowledge, and ICT Problem Solving) plus a
conceptual understanding of the General ICT Knowledge Areas (Technical Resources, Technology Building and
ICT Management).
The ACS Accreditation process looks at how the ICT Graduate Attributes have been addressed by each program
submitted for accreditation. It also checks how each program addresses both the ICT Body of Knowledge (both
ICT Essential Areas as well as General ICT Knowledge areas).
Assessing the conceptual knowledge (as seen in the ICT General Knowledge component of the ICT Body of
Knowledge) is more difficult for persons applying for CT/CP status who have not undertaken an accredited ACS
degree. Here it is recommended that an outputs based method be applied to determine if the applicant has
satisfied this component. If the candidate can demonstrate competency in the SFIA categories and
subcategories (Appendix Aw) supported by the ACS General ICT Knowledge, it is assumed that the person has
sufficient underlying ICT conceptual knowledge to satisfy the General ICT Knowledge requirements.
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9. APPENDICES
Appendix A. Mapping of General ICT knowledge against SFIA categories
SFIA version 7 has six skills categories. The General ICT Knowledge Areas which all graduates are expected to
hold a conceptual understanding of, are grouped under four of the six SFIA categories: Strategy and
Architecture, Change and Transformation, Development and Implementation, and Delivery and Operation.
These four SFIA categories are the ones most likely to apply for ICT programs that prepare students for initial
professional practice. The aim for this grouping is to reinforce the linkage between SFIA and the ICT Body of
Knowledge.
KNOWLEDGE AREA: TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES

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KNOWLEDGE AREA: TECHNOLOGY BUILDING

KNOWLEDGE AREA: ICT MANAGEMENT

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Appendix B. ICT Occupations Contained within ANZSCO
135111 – Chief Information Officer
135112 – ICT Project Manager
135199 – ICT Managers NEC
223211 – ICT Trainer
225211 – ICT Account Manager
225212 – ICT Business Development Manager
225213 – ICT Sales Representative
261111 – ICT Business Analysts
261112 – Systems Analysts
261211 – Multimedia Specialist
261212 – Web Developer
261311 – Analyst Programmer
261312 – Developer Programmer
261313 – Software Engineer
261314 – Software Tester
261399 – Software and Application Programmer
262111 – Database Administrator
262112 – ICT Security Specialist
262113 – Systems Administrator
263111 – Computer Network and Systems Engineer
263112 – Network Administrator
263113 – Network Analyst
263211 – ICT Quality Assurance Engineer
263212 – ICT Support Engineer
263213 – ICT Systems Test Engineer
263299 – ICT Support and Test Engineer NEC
263311 – Telecommunications Engineer
263312 – Telecommunications Network Engineer
313111 – Hardware Technician
313112 – ICT Customer Support Officer
313113 – Web Administrator
313199 – ICT Support Technicians NEC
313211 – Radiocommunications Technician
313212 – Telecommunications Field Engineer
313213 – Telecommunications Network Planner
313214 – Telecommunications Technical Officer or Technologist
621211 – ICT Sales Assistant
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Appendix C. Graduate attributes – Adapted from the Australian Qualifications Framework

Adapted from AQF 2nd Edition: http://www.aqf.edu.au/
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Appendix D. Graduate attributes – Seoul Accord

Adapted from Seoul Accord Graduate Attributes: https://www.seoulaccord.org/document.php?id=79
ACS Core Body of Knowledge for ICT Professionals|V1.1|22 February 2019 Page 19
Appendix E. Graduate attributes – SFIA Responsibility Matrix

Adapted from SFIA Version 7: https://www.sfia-online.org/en/framework/sfia-7/busskills
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10. VERSION CONTROL
AUTHORS

VERSION HISTORY

APPROVALS