Audience, purpose and copyright
Plan an ICT product around real users, then use software and media legally and responsibly.
Section 9 · Audience
Exam scope and assessment notes
Cambridge IGCSE Information and Communication Technology 0417, for exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Examples, datasets and practice are original StudyForA material; they are not Cambridge questions, source files, mark schemes or grades. Practical lessons teach transferable operations, but learners must perform them in locally available office and web-authoring software and inspect their own files. This site does not reproduce a Cambridge practical examination or award an official grade. The separate 2029 syllabus is not mapped here.
Before you begin
- No previous ICT course is assumed. Read each scenario carefully and justify a tool or method by connecting it to the task, user and constraints.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should be clarified before choosing a poster, website or presentation?
What you will learn
- Analyse an audience's needs and make a solution fit its purpose, accessibility and context.
- Explain why copyright law protects software and other works and how licensing or technical controls discourage software piracy.
Start with the user and purpose
Audience analysis asks who will use or read the product, what they already know, what language and format they need, where they will use it and what devices or access needs they have. Purpose clarifies whether the solution informs, guides, persuades or records. Choices about text size, contrast, terminology, navigation, media and complexity should follow those findings.
A product for a public visitor needs different guidance from a technical report for staff. Respectful design avoids assuming every user has the same language, device, vision, motor control, connectivity or experience. Test the design with representative users and refine it against stated requirements.
Copyright and software use
Copyright protects original works, including software. Software may use different licences that state who can install, copy, modify or distribute it. A lawful copy is not automatically licensed for unlimited users; check the terms for the organisation's use.
Software producers may use product keys, licence servers, activation, subscriptions or copy protection. These controls do not replace responsible behaviour: use authorised software, retain licence evidence and do not copy or distribute work without permission. Local law and licence terms determine the exact rights.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
A learner wants to install one school-purchased program on 80 devices. What should they check?
Worked example
A school designs an online homework guide for learners who use phones and may have low bandwidth. State two audience requirements and how they change the design.
Show the worked solution
- Most learners need a layout that works on small screens.
- Low bandwidth makes a text-first page with compressed optional media useful.
- Use readable language, clear navigation and accessible contrast; test on target devices.
Answer The guide should be readable on a phone and usable with limited connectivity. Use short sections, clear headings, compressed optional media and high-contrast text with descriptive links. Test the page on representative phones and with learners before treating those design choices as successful.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Plan an emergency notice for primary learners, parents and school staff. Name one need for each audience and a design choice.
Give me a hint
Different readers need different detail and routes to action.
Compare my reasoning
- Children need simple language and a clear action.
- Parents need timing, contact and collection information.
- Staff need roles, procedures and a version they can update.
Use short sentences and a clear symbol/action for children; include dates, contact and collection instructions for parents; give staff a detailed procedure and controlled editable version. Keep the key emergency instruction consistent while changing detail for each audience.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies distinct needs
- Connects each need to a design decision
A team uses photographs from a search result and a paid application on a public kiosk. What should it check before launch?
Give me a hint
Check rights for media and software in the actual use context.
Compare my reasoning
- Confirm that each image can be used and modified in a public kiosk under its licence or permission.
- Check that the application licence covers the number of kiosk devices and public use.
- Keep attribution and licence evidence where required.
The team should not assume search visibility grants reuse rights. It must check the image licence or obtain permission for public display and any edits, and verify the application's licence permits all kiosk installations and the intended use. Keep required attribution and records.
Look for these in your work
- Separates image and software rights
- Checks the planned use rather than just ownership
A museum web page works for staff on desktop but a visitor using a phone and screen reader cannot navigate it. Suggest a user-centred redesign and evaluation.
Give me a hint
Identify barriers, revise structure and verify with the affected audience.
Compare my reasoning
- Use semantic headings and descriptive link text, and ensure keyboard focus is visible.
- Reflow content for narrow screens and check contrast and text alternatives.
- Test with a screen reader and phone users, then compare against the original requirements.
Use a responsive layout, a logical heading structure, descriptive links and text alternatives; ensure keyboard navigation and visible focus work. Ask phone and screen-reader users to complete realistic tasks, record where they struggle and revise the design. A desktop-only review would not catch these barriers.
Look for these in your work
- Names specific access improvements
- Tests with representative users
Common mistakes
- Designing for the creator instead of the audience
- Assuming accessibility is a single font-size setting
- Assuming a purchased copy gives permission to share it
What can you explain now?
Why should an ICT solution be tested with representative users?
Compare with the explanation
To check whether it meets their actual needs and reveal barriers the designer may have missed.
Audience requirements are hypotheses until users try the solution in realistic conditions.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
Your review choice appears on Today. Sign in to sync it across devices.
Make it stick
State two audience questions that should shape a product and one copyright check before using software or media.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.