HSC Information Processes and Technology (discontinued course): legacy study notes
Legacy notes for HSC Information Processes and Technology (IPT), a NESA course that has been replaced. The last IPT HSC exam was in 2024; current students study Enterprise Computing or Software Engineering. The core and option topics, the seven information processes and links to our archived dot point answers.
Legacy course. Information Processes and Technology has been replaced. The last IPT HSC exam was held in 2024. Students starting Year 11 from 2024 study Enterprise Computing 11-12 (the successor to IPT) or Software Engineering 11-12, with first HSC exams in 2025. For the current courses, see our HSC Enterprise Computing hub and HSC Software Engineering hub.
HSC Information Processes and Technology (IPT) was a NESA technology course about how information systems work: how they collect, organise, analyse, store, process, transmit and display information, and how teams build them responsibly.
This page indexes our archived IPT notes: the core and option topics, the seven information processes, the former exam structure, and links to every dot point answer we wrote for the course. They remain useful background for databases, networks and project management, but they do not describe the current syllabus.
The seven information processes
Every system in IPT is analysed through seven information processes:
- Collecting gathers data and enters it into the system.
- Organising arranges data into a usable structure.
- Analysing interprets data to find meaning and patterns.
- Storing and retrieving saves data and brings it back when needed.
- Processing manipulates data to create new or updated data.
- Transmitting and receiving moves data between locations and systems.
- Displaying presents information to people clearly.
These processes are carried out by five system components: participants, data and information, information processes, and information technology (hardware and software).
The three core topics
- Project Management
- How a team plans, schedules and controls the building of an information system. The system development life cycle, Gantt charts and scheduling, the project journal, team roles, communication and prototyping, and the social and ethical responsibilities (privacy, security, accuracy, the changing nature of work, the digital divide).
- Information Systems and Databases
- What an information system is and the seven information processes. Relational databases (tables, records, fields, keys, relationships) and SQL. Non-database organisation such as flat files, hypermedia and free text retrieval. Storage and retrieval methods, indexing, backup and the social impact of databases.
- Communication Systems
- How data moves between devices. The communication model and functions, protocols and handshaking, the TCP/IP idea, error detection. Network types (LAN, WAN), topologies (star, bus, ring, mesh), transmission media and bandwidth, and the issues raised by networked communication.
The option topics
Schools choose options to study in depth. Common options are:
- Transaction Processing Systems. High-volume business transactions, batch versus real time processing, data integrity, concurrency, backup and recovery.
- Decision Support Systems. Modelling and what-if analysis, spreadsheets, data warehouses, OLAP and data mining, and the contrast with expert systems.
- Automated Manufacturing. Computer-aided design and manufacture, robotics and control systems in production.
- Multimedia Systems. Combining text, image, audio, video and animation, authoring, compression and delivery.
Former exam structure
The HSC IPT exam (last held in 2024) was a written paper. It had:
- A multiple choice section.
- A short answer section covering the three core topics.
- An extended response section with a separate question for each option; students answered the option their school studied.
Past IPT papers, marking guidelines and marking feedback are in NESA's HSC exam papers archive.
Using these notes now
If you are studying Enterprise Computing or Software Engineering, these topics overlap most with the new courses: relational databases and SQL, networks and protocols, project management, and the social and ethical issues of information systems. Treat the points below as study habits, not exam predictions.
- Master the seven processes. Be able to describe any familiar system (a library loans system, an online shop) process by process. This skill underpins the whole paper.
- Drill databases and SQL. Practise designing small relational schemas and writing SELECT queries with WHERE, ORDER BY and joins until they are automatic.
- Learn the networking vocabulary. LAN versus WAN, topologies with their trade-offs, media, protocols and handshaking are reliably tested.
- Know your option deeply. Each option carries an extended response, so practise structured answers for the one your school teaches.
- Weave in social and ethical issues. Privacy, security, accuracy and the impact on work earn marks across the whole paper, especially in extended responses.
- Use archived papers carefully. Old IPT questions can be good practice for database and networking skills, but check every topic against your current syllabus first.
Our archived IPT notes, dot point by dot point
These pages were written for the IPT syllabus. They are kept as reference material for the topics that carry over into the new computing courses.
Core: Project Management
Core: Information Systems and Databases
- The seven information processes
- Relational databases and SQL
- Non-database organisation methods and storage
- Storage and retrieval methods
- Collecting, analysing and displaying in databases
- Issues raised by database systems
Core: Communication Systems
- Communication concepts and protocols
- The communication framework
- Network topologies and transmission
- Examples of communication systems
- Issues raised by communication systems
Option: Transaction Processing Systems
- Characteristics of transaction processing systems
- Storage and retrieval in transaction processing systems
- Data integrity and issues in transaction processing
Option: Decision Support Systems
Option: Automated Manufacturing Systems
- Characteristics of automated manufacturing systems
- Information processes in automated manufacturing
- Issues raised by automated manufacturing
Option: Multimedia Systems
- Characteristics of multimedia systems
- Information processes in multimedia systems
- Issues raised by multimedia systems
Browse the full set at /hsc/information-processes-and-technology/syllabus.
System context
Related explainers on the wider HSC system:
For the official syllabus
NESA publishes the current Enterprise Computing and Software Engineering syllabuses, and the archived IPT exam papers, at educationstandards.nsw.edu.au.