Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd · RQF Level 5
BAA Level 5 Diploma in Professional Software Development
You don’t just earn this. You learn to use it, one-to-one, on your own real work.
- LevelRQF Level 5
- Total credits75
- Guided learning300 hours
- Units in this qualification20
Awarded by Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd · on the Ofqual register
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See how this course maps onto your role
Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this qualification rather than a generic one.
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What you’ll learn
What each unit actually teaches you to do
The BAA Level 5 Diploma in Professional Software Development is aimed at individuals seeking to enhance their skills in the digital technology sector. It covers areas such as software testing, database management systems, and programming. Learners will develop practical skills in software development.
These are the units Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated, and every one you earn is yours to keep.
Cloud ComputingReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of distributed computing, including its benefits, challenges, and common architectures.
- Understand the core concepts of cloud computing, including service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), deployment models (public, private, hybrid), and key characteristics.
- Design a cloud computing system that meets specific requirements, considering factors such as scalability, security, cost, and performance.
- Develop cloud computing systems, utilising appropriate tools, technologies, and best practises for deployment and management.
Commercial Software TestingReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand different software testing strategies and the principles of effective test management, including test planning, execution, and reporting
- Understand the principles and application of black box and white box (functional and structural) testing techniques, including their strengths and weaknesses
- Understand the components of a comprehensive test process for a software solution, from requirements analysis to defect tracking and resolution
- Effectively use an automated testing tool to test a software solution, including configuring tests, executing test suites, and analysing results
- Undertake thorough test analysis for a software solution, identifying test cases and creating test data based on requirements and design specifications
Database Management SystemsReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental concepts of databases and database management systems (DBMS), including data models, database architectures, and data integrity
- Apply data analysis and database design techniques to create a logical database design that meets specified requirements, including entity-relationship modelling and normalisation
- Build a physical database structure based on a logical design, using a specific DBMS and implementing appropriate data types, constraints, and indexes
Developing Software Applications Using C#Real unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Develop a solution using C#, demonstrating proficiency in C# syntax, data types, control structures, and object-oriented programming principles.
- Perform File I/O using C#, including reading from and writing to files, handling file exceptions, and managing file streams.
- Apply the advanced features of C#, including generics, delegates, lambda expressions, and LINQ.
- Develop ADO.Net software solutions, including connecting to databases, executing queries, and managing data sets.
Event Driven ProgrammingReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the key concepts underpinning event driven programming, including event handling, event loops, and asynchronous programming.
- Design a graphical user interface (GUI) using an event driven language, considering user experience and accessibility requirements, to address a specified software problem.
- Construct a graphical user interface using an event driven language to solve a software problem, implementing event handlers and ensuring correct program behaviour.
- Develop an event driven program to solve a software problem, incorporating appropriate error handling and input validation techniques.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the developed solution to a software problem, considering factors such as performance, usability, and maintainability.
Introduction to ProgrammingReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand different computer programming paradigms, including their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages
- Understand key logical constructs used in programming, such as sequence, selection, and iteration
- Understand data and memory management issues in different programming paradigms, including allocation, deallocation, and garbage collection
Job Control LanguageReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of the Job Control Language (JCL) scripting language, including its syntax, commands, and control statements
- Design JCL scripting language solutions to automate batch processing tasks
- Implement JCL scripting language solutions, ensuring correct syntax and functionality
- Test JCL scripting language solutions, verifying that they perform as expected and handle errors appropriately
Mainframe Programming in COBOLReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the core principles of the COBOL procedural language, including data types, control structures, and input/output operations
- Design COBOL procedural programming solutions to address specific business problems, including creating program flowcharts and pseudocode
- Implement COBOL procedural programming solutions, writing well-structured and documented code that adheres to coding standards
- Thoroughly test procedural programming solutions, identifying and correcting errors to ensure that the solutions meet specified requirements
Mobile App Development - AndroidReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of mobile application development for the Android mobile platform, including the Android SDK, Android Studio, and the Android application lifecycle
- Design software programs for the Android mobile platform using Java and XML, following established design patterns and best practises
- Develop Android mobile software solutions, implementing user interfaces, data storage, and network communication
- Test Android solutions for mobile technologies, ensuring functionality, performance, and security
Mobile App Development - iOSReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles underpinning mobile application development specifically for the iOS platform.
- Design software programs using Objective-C, tailored for deployment on the iOS platform.
- Develop a complete and functional mobile software solution for iOS, utilising Objective-C.
- Thoroughly test the developed software solution to ensure its functionality, stability, and performance on the iOS mobile platform.
Object Oriented ProgrammingReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the creation of class instances within a programming environment, including instantiation, constructors, and destructors.
- Understand the use of class instances within a programming environment, including accessing attributes and methods, and managing object lifecycles.
- Understand architectural principles for the development of user defined classes, including encapsulation, abstraction, inheritance, and polymorphism.
- Understand behavioural principles for the development of user defined classes, including method design, event handling, and state management.
- Implement software solutions using object oriented analytical methods, including requirements gathering, use case modelling, and class diagram creation.
- Implement software solutions using object oriented design models, including design patterns and architectural styles.
- Implement software solutions using object oriented programming strategies, including coding standards, testing methodologies, and version control.
Personal and Professional DevelopmentReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how self-managed learning can enhance lifelong development, recognising the benefits of continuous professional development and reflective practise.
- Take responsibility for own personal and professional development, identifying learning needs and setting realistic goals.
- Implement a personal and professional development plan, utilising appropriate learning resources and seeking feedback from others.
- Continually review own personal and professional development plan, adapting strategies and priorities based on progress and changing circumstances.
- Demonstrate acquired interpersonal skills, such as communication, teamwork, and conflict resolution, in a professional context.
- Demonstrate acquired transferable skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and time management, in a professional context.
Professional Practice in an IT contextReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand what is meant by professional practice in an IT context, including ethical conduct, responsibility, and accountability
- Understand the ethical and legislative environment relating to Information Technology activities, including data protection, intellectual property, and computer misuse
Programming in C++Real unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Develop a solution using C++, demonstrating an understanding of object-oriented programming principles and best practises.
- Apply different methods using C++, including procedural, object-oriented, and generic programming techniques.
- Utilise advanced template programming techniques in C++, including template metaprogramming and policy-based design.
- Implement data structures and algorithms using C++.
- Manage memory effectively in C++ to prevent memory leaks and improve performance.
Software ProjectReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Plan a software development project, including defining project scope, identifying resources, and creating a project schedule.
- Apply a system analysis process to a software development project, including gathering requirements, analysing data, and designing a solution.
- Apply a system analysis process to a software development project, including gathering requirements, analysing data, and designing a solution.
- Deliver a formal presentation evaluating the project implementation, including discussing the project's successes, challenges, and lessons learned.
Software TestingReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the management of testing using different strategies, including test planning, test execution, and test reporting
- Understand different techniques for testing, including black-box testing, white-box testing, and grey-box testing
- Test a process for a software solution for a broadly defined scenario, using appropriate testing techniques and tools
Systems Analysis and DesignReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand system modelling methodologies, including structured analysis, object-oriented analysis, and agile methodologies.
- Create documented system requirements, including functional and non-functional requirements, using appropriate techniques and tools.
- Develop functional and data models for a software system, using techniques such as use case diagrams, entity-relationship diagrams, and data flow diagrams.
- Develop software system documentation, including user manuals, technical specifications, and test plans.
- Use project management techniques for a professional software project, including planning, scheduling, risk management, and communication.
Systems ArchitectureReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how information is processed and manipulated within the internal architecture of a computer system.
- Configure the operating environment of various computer systems to meet specific requirements.
- Understand how architectural concepts are applied in the design and evaluation of computer networks.
- Understand the communication processes that occur within distributed operating systems and computer networks.
- Understand the different types of processing methods employed in mainframe systems.
Web Application using ASP.NETReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand event-driven architectures using ASP.NET, including the event lifecycle, event handlers, and the role of the .NET Framework.
- Understand the importance of data flow modelling for dynamic interactive websites using ASP.NET, including techniques for visualising and managing data flow within web applications.
- Implement dynamic interactive websites using ASP.NET technologies, including the use of controls, data binding, and server-side scripting.
Web Services DevelopmentReal unit · Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of web services development, including service-oriented architecture (SOA), RESTful APIs, and SOAP.
- Understand the different web service technologies and standards, such as XML, JSON, WSDL, and UDDI.
- Design a web service, considering factors such as functionality, security, and performance.
- Implement a web service, using appropriate programming languages and frameworks.
- Test and deploy a web service, ensuring its functionality and reliability.
The honest bit
You’ve started things before
Most courses were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.
There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.
And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.
Your passport
Every credit is a stamp you keep
Level 5 credits are regulated. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you’ve earned and what’s next.
Each stamp is a real unit registered against this qualification.
Who’d teach you this
The Evidence Evaluator
Assessor
Helps you show what you can actually do, gathering the evidence that proves it as you learn.
Meet all twelve tutorsWhere this connects
Where these credits take you
A qualification is never a dead end here. See the jobs its credits open, the national occupational standards its units map to, and the future skills they quietly build.
- Analyse and interpret the results of software testing activities
- Create and implement systems architecture models
- Manage software testing activities
Where this can lead
Associate Mobile Developer
Your journey as an Associate Mobile Developer is just the beginning. We're investing in you for the long haul, providing the environment, tools, and mentorship to help you build a truly impactful career in mobile technology. It won't always be easy, but it will certainly be rewarding.
See the whole journey →Showing 6 roles, drawn from 46 job records mapped to this qualification.
Skills it covers
What the job actually needs. These are the standards the units are built against, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.
How you’ll actually learn this
One-to-one, on your own real work
A qualification is usually something done to you: sit the class, sit the exam, hope it sticks. Here it’s the opposite. You learn it one-to-one with a companion, on your own real work, and you keep going until you can use it, not just recall it.
Applied to your work in any of these jobs
This unit provides an understanding of distributed and cloud computing principles, architectures, and challenges. Learners will design and develop cloud-based systems, considering service and deployment models, scalability, and fault tolerance.
- Remember
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyse
- Evaluate
- Create
Built for BAA Level 5 Diploma in Professional Software Development
20 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by Awarding Body for Vocational Achievement (AVA) Ltd.
- Cloud Computing
- Commercial Software Testing
- Database Management Systems
- Developing Software Applications Using C#
- Event Driven Programming
- Introduction to Programming
and 14 more in the full unit list below.
One to one, not one to many
No two people run this the same way
A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.
- Your actual work Every unit is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
- What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
- The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
- How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
- Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.
See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.
Why it sticks
Most courses stop at remembering
There’s a well-known ladder of how deeply you learn something, called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most courses get you up the first two rungs: you remember some facts, you pass a test, you forget it. Real skill lives at the top. Judging, deciding, creating. And this isn’t a generic ladder: every rung has a named Zavmo tutor who walks you up it.
- 6CreateThe Creative Catalyst
- 5EvaluateThe Evidence Evaluator
- 4AnalyseThe Analyst
- 3ApplyThe Coach
- 2UnderstandThe Connector
- 1RememberThe Builder
Where most courses leave you Where Zavmo takes you
The value
Why the companion is worth £70 a month
You’re not paying for the units. They’re regulated, and the same wherever you earn them. You’re paying for the one thing that decides whether you actually get there: a companion that makes them stick, on your real work.
That is one-to-one on this qualification, every day, on the work you already do, for £70 a month. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it. Billed monthly, cancel any time and billing stops.
Earned on your own work, taught to the top.
Everything you just read, learned one-to-one on the job you already do. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it.
Build my plan, freeNo card. See how this qualification maps onto your role and meet the tutors who’d teach it, free. The learning begins when you subscribe. It’s £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.