This is a major piece of work set in your workplace and to be carried out on an individual basis.

Dissertation topics must be drawn from activities relating to your apprenticeship role.

Dissertation topics must link to all of the spcaialism KSBs of the DTSS apprenticeship standard of your apprenticeship.

During your Dissertation you will be expected to:

demonstrate a deep understanding of the core knowledge of your DTS specailism

demonstrate a high level of technical skill by identifying and investigating a significant problem relevant to your DTS specailism

meet the requirements of professional bodies, codes of conduct and expectations of good practice, legal, social, ethical, cultural, global, environmental and professional issues

consider risk assessment and mitigation, health and safety issues and problem reduction strategies

demonstrate principles of project management

develop and enhance your digital capabilities

copyright and intellectual properties


This module will support the development and assessment of the following Knowledge, Skills and Bevaviours from the DTSS Apprenticeship Standard:

Knowledge

CK1 The strategic importance of technology enabled business processes, and how they are designed and managed to determine a firm’s ability to compete effectively;

CK2 The principles of business transformation and how organisations integrate different management functions in the context of technological change;

CK3 The role of leadership in contemporary technology based organisations;

CK4 Own employer’s business objectives and strategy, its position in the market and how own employer adds value to its clients through the services and/or products they provide;

CK5 How to justify the value of technology investments and apply benefits management and realisation;

CK6 How to monitor technology related market trends and research and collect competitive intelligence;

CK7 The personal leadership qualities that are required to establish and maintain an organisations technical reputation.

CK8 The role of leaders as change agents and identify contributors to successful implementation;

CK9 Technology road-mapping concepts and methods and how to apply them;

CK10 The role of learning and talent management in successful business operations.

Skills

CS2 Design and develop technology roadmaps, implementation strategies and transformation plans focused on digital technologies to achieve improved productivity, functionality and end user experience in an area of technology specialism;

CS3 Deliver workplace transformations through planning and implementing technology based business change programmes including setting objectives, priorities and responsibilities with others in an area of technology specialism;

CS4 Negotiate and agree digital and technology specialism delivery budgets with those with decision-making responsibility;

CS5 Develop and deliver management level presentations which resonate with senior stakeholders, both business and technical;

CS9 Evaluate the significance of human factors to leadership in the effective implementation and management of technology enabled business processes;

CS10 Develop own leadership style and professional values that contributes to building high performing teams;

CS11 Apply broader technical knowledge combined with an understanding of the business context, and how it is changing, to deliver to the company’s business strategy;

CS12 Demonstrate effective technology leadership and change management skills for managing technology driven change and continuous improvement;

CS13 Create and implement innovative technological strategies to support the development of new products, processes and services that align with the company’s business strategy, and develop and communicate compelling business proposals to support these.

Behaviours

CB1 Inspire and motivate others to deliver excellent technical solutions and outcomes

CB2 Establish high levels of performance in digital and technology solutions activities

CB3 Be results and outcomes driven to achieve high key performance outcomes for digital and technology solutions objectives

CB4 Promote a high level of cooperation between own work group and other groups to establish a technology change led culture

CB5 Develop and support others in developing an appropriate balance of leadership and technical skills

CB6 Create strong positive relationships with team members to produce high performing technical teams

In addition to the Dissertation Project will support the developmand assessment of the appropriate specialism KSBs as defined the Assessment Plan https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/media/5623/st0482_digital-technology-solutions-specialist_l7_ap-for-publication_2021_10_21.pdf

Written Report – The written report will include an initial project plan and literature review. The purpose is to establish that the student has adequately planned the dissertation and identified appropriate literature on which to base the work (Learning Outcomes 1 and 2).

Assessing the following KSBs from the DTSS Apprenticeship Standard

CS1 Identify, document, review and design complex IT enabled business processes that define a set of activities that will accomplish specific organisational goals and provides a systematic approach to improving those processes;

CS6 Professionally present digital and technology solution specialism plans and solutions in a well-structured business report;

Dissertation – A formal dissertation that documents the work undertaken by the student. The dissertation will cover topics of introduction, literature review, extension research, designs, implementation, testing, and evaluation of an artefact (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7).

Viva / Demonstration - A final viva voce defence of the written dissertation and artefact consisting of a demonstration and discussion of the dissertation and associated contents (Learning Outcomes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7).

Ini combination the Disseration and Viva/Demonstration will assessing the following KSBs from the DTSS Apprenticeship Standard

Knwoeldge

CK1 The strategic importance of technology enabled business processes, and how they are designed and managed to determine a firm’s ability to compete effectively;

CK2 The principles of business transformation and how organisations integrate different management functions in the context of technological change;

CK3 The role of leadership in contemporary technology based organisations;

CK5 How to justify the value of technology investments and apply benefits management and realisation;

CK7 The personal leadership qualities that are required to establish and maintain an organisations technical reputation.

CK9 Technology road-mapping concepts and methods and how to apply them;

Skills

CS1 Identify, document, review and design complex IT enabled business processes that define a set of activities that will accomplish specific organisational goals and provides a systematic approach to improving those processes;

CS2 Design and develop technology roadmaps, implementation strategies and transformation plans focused on digital technologies to achieve improved productivity, functionality and end user experience in an area of technology specialism;

CS4 Negotiate and agree digital and technology specialism delivery budgets with those with decision-making responsibility;

CS5 Develop and deliver management level presentations which resonate with senior stakeholders, both business and technical;

CS6 Professionally present digital and technology solution specialism plans and solutions in a well-structured business report;

CS7 Demonstrate self-direction and originality in solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing digital and technology solutions specialist tasks at a professional level;

CS8 Be competent at negotiating and closing techniques in a range of interactions and engagements, both with senior internal and external stakeholders;

CS11 Apply broader technical knowledge combined with an understanding of the business context, and how it is changing, to deliver to the company’s business strategy;

CS13 Create and implement innovative technological strategies to support the development of new products, processes and services that align with the company’s business strategy, and develop and communicate compelling business proposals to support these.

Behaviours

CB2 Establish high levels of performance in digital and technology solutions activities

CB3 Be results and outcomes driven to achieve high key performance outcomes for digital and technology solutions objectives

In addition to the Core KSBs the appropriate specialism KSBs are assessed as defined the Assessment Plan https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/media/5623/st0482_digital-technology-solutions-specialist_l7_ap-for-publication_2021_10_21.pdf

1. Utilise established research techniques and sources to create or interpret knowledge at the forefront of technology in the chosen field of study

2. Demonstrate self-direction. Planning and originality in completing an advanced level research project working independently but with support from a supervisor

3. Demonstrate a professional approach to problem resolution, including analysis, design and implementation, based on a logical, scientific and well-engineered methodology

4. Show the absorption, critical evaluation and extension of existing knowledge in the chosen field of study and the development of new skills and understanding

5. Communicate and defend the process and conclusions of the Dissertation orally and through a written document

6. Act in an ethically responsible manner, fully in compliance with professional codes of conduct

7. Clearly address emerging issues in computing and technology including global and environmental issues, standards and security

All teaching sessions will blend theory and practical learning. Students will be introduced to curriculum concepts and ideas and will then be able to apply theory to practical examples within the same sessions. In addition, students will be provided with a range of resources for independent study such as case studies, academic papers and industry stories. There will be a mixture of practical and theoretical formative (mock or practice) exercises which will help students build knowledge and confidence in preparation for summative (formal) assessment.

7 hours of class contact taking the form of supporting lectures

You will attend a series of introductory lectures at the beginning of the semester which will cover the general points that apply to all Dissertations, followed by weekly supervisory meetings will address issues relevant to your individual dissertation project.

13 hours of one-to-one supervisory meetings over a 26 weeks (maximum) period.

You will find or be allocated a supervisor and you will normally meet on a weekly basis for approximately 30 minutes to present your project progress.

A typical Dissertation requires you to create the following deliverables or outcomes:

A proposal approved by your Employer and Course Leader

An authorised Ethical Approval Form and Risk Assessment document

A definition of the project describing the background, aims and objectives, deliverables and resources, etc.

A research programme explaining and justifying your methodology

A literature review in the relevant domains identifying the key theories and examples, etc.

A narrative describing the analysis and development of an artefact (whose nature will depend on your award)

A test plan, documentation and results

A critical evaluation of the project with conclusions and suggestions for further work, etc.

The Module Handbook and VLE resources;
The Masters project management system
Guided reading material from textbooks, journals and recommended online resources in the research domain;
Word processing software, statistical analysis packages, and presentation software;
Relevant software and hardware to be determined as part of the scoping of the dissertation.

All texts and electronic resources will be updated and refreshed on an annual basis and available for students via the online Study Links resource platform. All reference materials will be collated and curated and aligned to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion indicators.

Core Text/Resource:

1. Joyner, R.L., Rouse, W.A. and Glatthorn, A.A., (2018). Writing the winning thesis or dissertation: A step-by-step guide. Corwin press.
2. Hart, C., (2018). Doing a literature review: Releasing the research imagination. Sage.

Optional Text/Resource:

As determined by the topic area covered - texts will vary given the nature of an individual Dissertation / Project

The final element of your Masters degree is your dissertation which provides an exciting opportunity to apply your skills and understanding in your DTS specialism to the development of a substantial and distinctive piece of written work. The emphasis is on student-led learning, but you will also be offered excellent support from an experienced supervisor. The dissertation enables you to apply the breadth of research skills necessary for the delivery of a successful project. This includes framing the research problem, building your design, and carrying out the study itself. The dissertation is a hugely rewarding creative process.

It will be the main project that you consider when creating the report for your End Point Assessment