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DiplomaFoundation

DOA / COA - Diploma in Office Automation / Certificate in Office Applications

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, internet, email, Google Workspace, office reports and checked AI-assisted productivity with an office project.

Talk to a counsellor about DOA / COA - Diploma in Office Automation / Certificate in Office Applications

Fees, batch dates and timings are shared by a counsellor. No payment is needed to ask.

What you will cover
  • Word
  • Excel
  • PowerPoint
  • internet
  • email
  • Google Workspace
  • office reports
  • checked AI-assisted productivity with an office project

Topic list from the institute's programme record.

Certification

Certificate terms for this programme are confirmed by the institute at admission. Any ADIVAS course-completion certificate is an institute certificate; it is not a university degree, an externally accredited qualification or a vendor certification (such as AWS or Microsoft) unless the institute states so in writing.

The programme title is as supplied in the institute's list. Please confirm the awarding body and recognition with the institute before enrolling.

Curriculum 0.1 · Draft: written for ADIVAS and awaiting academic review and approval. Topics and weeks may change before your batch starts.

Your skill trail

You move through 7 stations. Each week builds one skill you can show, not just a topic you have heard.

  1. Computer, internet and email

    Work comfortably with files, the web and professional email.

    • Week 1 Computer and file management
    • Week 2 Internet, search and safe browsing
    • Week 3 Professional email and calendar

  2. Word for office documents

    Produce letters, forms and long documents to a professional standard.

    • Week 4 Word: text, paragraphs and typing practice
    • Week 5 Word: tables, pictures and layout
    • Week 6 Word: styles and long documents
    • Week 7 Word: letters, mail merge and labels
    • Week 8 Word: forms, templates, review and PDF

  3. Excel for calculations and data

    Calculate, look up, validate and visualise data in workbooks.

    • Week 9 Excel: data entry and formatting
    • Week 10 Excel: formulas and references
    • Week 11 Excel: text and date functions
    • Week 12 Excel: logic and conditional totals
    • Week 13 Excel: lookup functions
    • Week 14 Excel: sorting, filtering and validation
    • Week 15 Excel: charts and pivot tables

  4. PowerPoint presentations

    Design and deliver a clear presentation.

    • Week 16 PowerPoint: structure and design
    • Week 17 PowerPoint: charts, media and motion
    • Week 18 PowerPoint: delivery, notes and handouts

  5. Google Workspace

    Collaborate online with correct sharing.

    • Week 19 Google Workspace: Drive and Docs
    • Week 20 Google Sheets, Slides and Forms

  6. Reports and AI productivity

    Write verified reports and use AI with checks.

    • Week 21 Office reports: planning and structure
    • Week 22 Checked AI-assisted productivity

  7. Office project

    Combine all skills in a complete office project.

    • Week 23 Office project: build
    • Week 24 Office project: presentation and portfolio

  8. Branch Operations Pack

    Your project, reviewed by a trainer.

The ADIVAS mastery ladder: how each skill is recognised
  1. Explored You have seen the idea and tried a first example.
  2. Practising You can do it with hints and keep improving.
  3. Proficient You complete the weekly practical task correctly on your own.
  4. Proven You apply it in a project reviewed by your trainer.

Skill-level tracking is being added to the learner workspace. Your trainer already reviews weekly practical work.

What you will be able to do

  • Manage files and folders, use the internet safely and write professional email.
  • Produce formatted letters, forms and long documents in Word using styles, tables and mail merge.
  • Build Excel worksheets with formulas, absolute references and text, date and logical functions.
  • Analyse data with lookups, sorting, filtering, conditional formatting, charts and pivot tables.
  • Design a clear PowerPoint presentation and deliver it with notes and a handout.
  • Collaborate in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms with correct sharing permissions.
  • Write an office report that combines text, data tables and charts with a clear conclusion.
  • Use AI tools to draft and summarise, then verify facts, numbers and privacy before using the result.

Who it suits

  • School Class 11 and 12 students who want office skills for projects, internships and college readiness.
  • College Students and graduates who need dependable Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills for assignments and job applications.
  • Professional Office staff, shop owners and career restarters who must run documents, data and reports at work.

Prerequisites: Basic computer use (mouse, keyboard, saving files) and the ability to read simple English or Tamil. Tools: Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint (or LibreOffice Writer, Calc and Impress), Google Workspace account: Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, A web browser and a practice email account, A free AI assistant for the checked-use weeks, Sample datasets and templates supplied by the trainer.

Weekly plan

Computer, internet and email Weeks 1–3

Week 1: Computer and file management

Theory
  • Hardware, software and operating system basics
  • Folders, file names, extensions, search, copy and move
  • Backup, zip files and removable drives
Lab
Create a folder tree for an office (Accounts, Letters, Reports, Photos); rename 20 messy files with a naming rule; zip and back up the folder.
Homework
Write a one-page file naming guide for a small shop.
Deliverable
Organised office folder tree with a naming guide and a zip backup.
Weekly checkpoint
Locate five files given only clues (date, type, part of the name) in 5 minutes.
You will be able to
Manage files and folders, use the internet safely and write professional email.

Week 2: Internet, search and safe browsing

Theory
  • Browsers, tabs, bookmarks and downloads
  • Search operators and judging sources
  • Passwords, two-step verification, phishing and fake UPI messages
Lab
Find three facts using search operators and cite the source; inspect five sample messages and mark which are phishing and why.
Homework
Make a safe-browsing checklist for your family.
Deliverable
A fact sheet with sources and a phishing spotting table.
Weekly checkpoint
Identify red flags in a mock bank SMS and a fake job offer.
You will be able to
Manage files and folders, use the internet safely and write professional email.

Week 3: Professional email and calendar

Theory
  • Email structure: subject, greeting, body, closing
  • Cc/Bcc, attachments, reply-all etiquette
  • Calendar invites, contacts and signatures
Lab
Write and send five practice emails (request, follow-up, complaint, quotation reply, meeting invite) to the trainer's practice mailbox; set a signature and a calendar event.
Homework
Rewrite a rude email politely.
Deliverable
Five sent emails and one calendar invite.
Weekly checkpoint
Checkpoint: spot six errors in a sample email (subject, tone, attachment missing, wrong Cc).
You will be able to
Manage files and folders, use the internet safely and write professional email.
Word for office documents Weeks 4–8

Week 4: Word: text, paragraphs and typing practice

Theory
  • Fonts, alignment, spacing and indents
  • Bullets, numbering and tab stops
  • Tamil and English typing with Unicode and keyboard layouts
Lab
Format a 1-page notice, a leave letter and a bilingual (Tamil/English) circular; practise typing for 15 minutes daily.
Homework
Type a page of Tamil and English text and record your speed and errors.
Deliverable
Three formatted documents and a typing log.
Weekly checkpoint
Timed task: reformat a messy page into a neat circular in 20 minutes.
You will be able to
Produce formatted letters, forms and long documents in Word using styles, tables and mail merge.

Week 5: Word: tables, pictures and layout

Theory
  • Tables: insert, merge, borders, alignment
  • Images, shapes, text wrapping, SmartArt
  • Margins, columns, orientation and page breaks
Lab
Create a company profile page with a logo, a team table and a two-column text; build a visiting card using a table.
Homework
Design a class timetable with merged cells.
Deliverable
Company profile page and a visiting card sheet.
Weekly checkpoint
Print preview checks: fit on one page, no orphan lines, no overlapping image.
You will be able to
Produce formatted letters, forms and long documents in Word using styles, tables and mail merge.

Week 6: Word: styles and long documents

Theory
  • Heading styles and modifying them
  • Headers, footers, section breaks, page numbers
  • Table of contents, captions and cross references
Lab
Turn an unformatted 8-page office procedures manual into a styled document with a cover page, page numbers (roman then arabic) and contents.
Homework
Add captions to three tables and tables-of-tables list.
Deliverable
Styled eight-page manual with automatic contents.
Weekly checkpoint
Update fields after edits; explain why styles beat manual formatting.
You will be able to
Produce formatted letters, forms and long documents in Word using styles, tables and mail merge.

Week 7: Word: letters, mail merge and labels

Theory
  • Business letter formats and tone
  • Mail merge letters, envelopes and labels
  • Rules and filters in a merge
Lab
Merge a quotation letter with a 15-row Excel customer list; print address labels for the same list; filter the merge to Madurai customers only.
Homework
Prepare an interview call letter template with merge fields.
Deliverable
Merged letters, labels PDF and the data source.
Weekly checkpoint
Fix a merge that shows <<Name>> blanks and duplicates.
You will be able to
Produce formatted letters, forms and long documents in Word using styles, tables and mail merge.

Week 8: Word: forms, templates, review and PDF

Theory
  • Content controls and fill-in forms
  • Templates, building blocks and quick parts
  • Track changes, comments, compare documents, PDF export, password protection
Lab
Build a fillable leave-request form template; review a colleague's document with tracked changes and resolve comments; export final PDF.
Homework
Create a invoice template with content controls.
Deliverable
Fillable form template and a reviewed document.
Weekly checkpoint
Module test: build a two-page office circular from a brief in 40 minutes.
You will be able to
Produce formatted letters, forms and long documents in Word using styles, tables and mail merge.
Excel for calculations and data Weeks 9–15

Week 9: Excel: data entry and formatting

Theory
  • Workbooks, sheets, cells and ranges
  • Number, date and currency formats (₹), data entry shortcuts
  • Freeze panes, print titles, page setup
Lab
Enter a 30-row staff attendance register, format it professionally, set print titles and print area.
Homework
Build a vegetable shop daily rate sheet.
Deliverable
Formatted attendance register ready to print.
Weekly checkpoint
Spot and fix five data-entry problems (text numbers, merged headers, inconsistent dates).
You will be able to
Build Excel worksheets with formulas, absolute references and text, date and logical functions.

Week 10: Excel: formulas and references

Theory
  • Operators and the order of calculation
  • SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, ROUND
  • Relative, absolute and mixed references
Lab
Build a sales commission sheet with a rate cell fixed using $ and a GST invoice with 18% GST computed on every line.
Homework
Create a multiplication table using a mixed reference.
Deliverable
Commission sheet and GST invoice workbook.
Weekly checkpoint
Predict what happens when a formula is copied right and down; verify in Excel.
You will be able to
Build Excel worksheets with formulas, absolute references and text, date and logical functions.

Week 11: Excel: text and date functions

Theory
  • LEFT, RIGHT, MID, LEN, TRIM, CONCAT/TEXTJOIN
  • DATE, TODAY, DATEDIF, EDATE, WEEKDAY
  • Text to columns and flash fill
Lab
Clean a messy customer list (extra spaces, name in one column, phone numbers with +91) and compute loan or fee due dates.
Homework
Compute ages and service years from dates of birth and joining.
Deliverable
Cleaned customer list and due-date sheet.
Weekly checkpoint
Clean ten messy rows and show the formula used.
You will be able to
Build Excel worksheets with formulas, absolute references and text, date and logical functions.

Week 12: Excel: logic and conditional totals

Theory
  • IF, nested IF, AND, OR
  • COUNTIF(S), SUMIF(S), AVERAGEIF
  • IFERROR and defensive formulas
Lab
Build a salary sheet with attendance-based deduction and a branch-wise summary using SUMIFS; add IFERROR for blank rows.
Homework
Create a result analysis for 40 students: pass count, class average, distinctions.
Deliverable
Salary sheet and result analysis workbook.
Weekly checkpoint
Debug a nested IF that returns the wrong grade for 75 marks.
You will be able to
Build Excel worksheets with formulas, absolute references and text, date and logical functions. Analyse data with lookups, sorting, filtering, conditional formatting, charts and pivot tables.

Week 13: Excel: lookup functions

Theory
  • VLOOKUP and its limits
  • XLOOKUP / INDEX-MATCH
  • Approximate vs exact match, lookup tables
Lab
Build an invoice that pulls item name, HSN-style code and rate from a price list by item code; use approximate match for a discount slab table.
Homework
Create an employee directory search by ID.
Deliverable
Invoice with lookup and a slab-based discount.
Weekly checkpoint
Explain why a lookup returns #N/A and fix it three ways.
You will be able to
Analyse data with lookups, sorting, filtering, conditional formatting, charts and pivot tables.

Week 14: Excel: sorting, filtering and validation

Theory
  • Sort and multi-level sort, filters, Excel tables
  • Data validation lists and rules
  • Conditional formatting, duplicates, remove duplicates
Lab
Take a 200-row enquiry list; add dropdown validation for course and status; highlight follow-ups overdue by 7 days; remove duplicate phone numbers.
Homework
Design a data-entry form sheet that rejects invalid dates.
Deliverable
Enquiry tracker with validation and highlights.
Weekly checkpoint
Show five records that break the validation rule and how Excel reacts.
You will be able to
Analyse data with lookups, sorting, filtering, conditional formatting, charts and pivot tables.

Week 15: Excel: charts and pivot tables

Theory
  • Choosing charts: column, line, pie, combo
  • PivotTable, grouping dates, slicers
  • Dashboard layout for one page
Lab
From 300 rows of monthly sales build a pivot by branch and month, two charts and slicers on one dashboard sheet.
Homework
Write three business questions a pivot can answer.
Deliverable
One-page sales dashboard workbook.
Weekly checkpoint
Module test: answer five questions from a dataset using filters and a pivot, in 45 minutes.
You will be able to
Analyse data with lookups, sorting, filtering, conditional formatting, charts and pivot tables.
PowerPoint presentations Weeks 16–18

Week 16: PowerPoint: structure and design

Theory
  • Message first: title, agenda, one idea per slide
  • Slide master, layouts, fonts and colour contrast
  • Text-light slides, bullets and SmartArt
Lab
Build an 8-slide deck introducing a small business using a custom slide master and a consistent palette.
Homework
Redesign an overcrowded sample slide.
Deliverable
Eight-slide business introduction deck.
Weekly checkpoint
Peer review with a design checklist (contrast, font size, alignment).
You will be able to
Design a clear PowerPoint presentation and deliver it with notes and a handout.

Week 17: PowerPoint: charts, media and motion

Theory
  • Linking Excel charts and tables
  • Images, icons, screen recording and audio
  • Animation, transitions and when to avoid them
Lab
Add a linked sales chart, a product photo grid and a 30-second narrated slide; use animation only to reveal a process.
Homework
Replace three decorative animations with one purposeful one.
Deliverable
Updated deck with data, media and one process animation.
Weekly checkpoint
Open the deck on another computer and check nothing breaks (fonts, media, links).
You will be able to
Design a clear PowerPoint presentation and deliver it with notes and a handout.

Week 18: PowerPoint: delivery, notes and handouts

Theory
  • Speaker notes, rehearse timings, presenter view
  • Handouts, PDF export, packaging for sharing
  • Accessibility: alt text, reading order, subtitles
Lab
Rehearse a five-minute presentation, add speaker notes, export a handout PDF and add alt text to every image.
Homework
Practise the presentation twice and note questions you were asked.
Deliverable
Final deck, speaker notes and handout PDF.
Weekly checkpoint
Deliver a 3-minute talk with a peer scoring clarity and pace.
You will be able to
Design a clear PowerPoint presentation and deliver it with notes and a handout.
Google Workspace Weeks 19–20

Week 19: Google Workspace: Drive and Docs

Theory
  • Google account, Drive folders and shared drives
  • Docs: styles, comments, suggestions, version history
  • Sharing roles: viewer, commenter, editor; link vs named access
Lab
Move a Word report to Docs, share it as commenter with the trainer, review suggestions and restore an older version.
Homework
Create a shared folder for a mock office team with different roles.
Deliverable
A shared Doc with resolved comments and a permissions table.
Weekly checkpoint
Explain who can see a file for three different link settings.
You will be able to
Collaborate in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms with correct sharing permissions.

Week 20: Google Sheets, Slides and Forms

Theory
  • Sheets formulas shared with Excel, IMPORTRANGE, filter views
  • Forms: questions, validation, response sheet
  • Slides: collaborative decks and publishing
Lab
Create an admission enquiry Google Form, collect 10 responses, analyse them in Sheets and summarise in a 3-slide Slides deck with the team.
Homework
Compare Excel and Sheets for one task.
Deliverable
Form, response sheet and summary deck.
Weekly checkpoint
Spot a permission mistake that exposes the response sheet.
You will be able to
Collaborate in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms with correct sharing permissions. Analyse data with lookups, sorting, filtering, conditional formatting, charts and pivot tables.
Reports and AI productivity Weeks 21–22

Week 21: Office reports: planning and structure

Theory
  • Report purpose, audience, structure and summary first
  • Data tables and charts with captions
  • Cross-checking totals, version names, approvals and confidentiality
Lab
Write a two-page monthly branch report from the Excel dashboard data (summary, key numbers table, chart, issues, actions), then cross-check every number against the workbook and fix three planted mismatches.
Homework
Rewrite a long wordy report summary in five lines.
Deliverable
Verified two-page monthly report in DOCX and PDF with a review checklist.
Weekly checkpoint
Review a sample report and list five improvements.
You will be able to
Write an office report that combines text, data tables and charts with a clear conclusion. Manage files and folders, use the internet safely and write professional email.

Week 22: Checked AI-assisted productivity

Theory
  • What AI can and cannot do: drafting, summarising, formula help
  • Verification: facts, numbers, tone and bias
  • Privacy and data handling for office documents
Lab
Use an AI assistant to summarise a long document, draft an email and explain a lookup formula; record each error found and how you corrected it.
Homework
Write a one-page 'AI use rules' for your office.
Deliverable
AI-assisted work log with corrections and a short policy.
Weekly checkpoint
Given an AI-written summary with three factual errors, find and fix them.
You will be able to
Use AI tools to draft and summarise, then verify facts, numbers and privacy before using the result.
Office project Weeks 23–24

Week 23: Office project: build

Theory
  • Scoping a mini office system (enquiry, billing or HR)
  • Choosing tools for each task
  • Version checkpoints and peer feedback
Lab
Build your project: input workbook, calculations, a report in Word, a presentation deck and a shared Google Form or Doc where suitable.
Homework
Complete the data and calculation parts.
Deliverable
Working project files with a folder structure and a README note.
Weekly checkpoint
Mid-project review: show the working calculation sheet and the report outline.
You will be able to
Build Excel worksheets with formulas, absolute references and text, date and logical functions. Analyse data with lookups, sorting, filtering, conditional formatting, charts and pivot tables. Write an office report that combines text, data tables and charts with a clear conclusion.

Week 24: Office project: presentation and portfolio

Theory
  • Final testing and corrections
  • Presenting a project and answering questions
  • Building a portfolio folder and PDF pack
Lab
Finish the project, present it in 7 minutes to the panel and prepare a portfolio folder with all files and a one-page summary.
Homework
Prepare answers to five likely questions.
Deliverable
Final project files, deck and portfolio pack.
Weekly checkpoint
Panel viva and file check against the rubric.
You will be able to
Design a clear PowerPoint presentation and deliver it with notes and a handout. Write an office report that combines text, data tables and charts with a clear conclusion. Use AI tools to draft and summarise, then verify facts, numbers and privacy before using the result.

Sample lessons

Week 12

Conditional totals with SUMIFS and COUNTIFS

A normal SUM adds everything. SUMIFS adds only the rows that meet the conditions you give, such as sales of one branch in one month. COUNTIFS counts rows in the same way. These functions turn a long list into answers for a manager: how many enquiries are pending, how much did Anna Nagar sell in March. The criteria range and the sum range must have the same size.

BranchMonthAmount
MaduraiApr12000
MaduraiMar9500
TrichyApr8000
MaduraiApr4500
SUMIFS adds only rows that meet both conditions.

Step by step

  1. Convert the data to an Excel table with clear headers: Date, Branch, Item, Amount.
  2. Write =SUMIFS(Amount, Branch, "Anna Nagar") to total one branch.
  3. Add a second condition with another range pair, for example Month = "Mar".
  4. Use COUNTIFS to count the rows for the same conditions.
  5. Put the branch name in a cell and refer to it instead of typing it in the formula.

In real life

A coaching centre's front desk logs every enquiry. At month end the manager asks how many are pending per course, and how many converted. COUNTIFS gives both in seconds from the same list.

Worked example

Problem. Amounts are in D2:D101, branches in B2:B101 and months in C2:C101. Find the total for the Madurai branch in April.

Solution. =SUMIFS(D2:D101,B2:B101,"Madurai",C2:C101,"Apr"). The sum range comes first, then each range with its condition.

Common mistakes

  • Using ranges of different lengths for the sum and criteria.
  • Typing names with extra spaces, so no row matches.
  • Writing the sum range last (as in SUMIF) instead of first.

Try it yourself

  • Count enquiries per course where status is Pending.
  • Find the average sale in a branch using AVERAGEIFS.

Week 21

Writing a one-page office report that gets read

A busy reader decides in ten seconds whether to read a report. Start with a summary that states the result and the decision needed. Follow it with a small table of key numbers, a chart that shows the trend, the issues found and recommended actions. Keep each section short, caption the table and chart, and make sure every number in the report matches the workbook it came from.

  1. 1Summary first
  2. 2Key numbers table
  3. 3Chart of the trend
  4. 4Issues and actions
  5. 5Check and send

Step by step

  1. Write the two-line summary: result and the decision required.
  2. Insert a key-numbers table of five rows copied from the workbook.
  3. Add one chart with a title that states the finding.
  4. List issues and recommended actions with an owner and date.
  5. Cross-check each number against Excel and save as PDF with a version name.

In real life

A branch manager sends a monthly report to the head office. The director reads the summary and the chart and only opens the details when something looks wrong.

Worked example

Problem. Your report says total sales are ₹4,85,000 but the workbook shows ₹4,58,000. What do you do?

Solution. Treat it as a transposition error. Check the formula range, correct the report to the workbook figure after confirming the sum, re-read all other numbers and update the version name (v2).

Common mistakes

  • Hiding the main result in the last paragraph.
  • Pasting numbers by hand and letting them drift from the source.
  • Charts without a title or label on the axis.

Try it yourself

  • Rewrite a half-page report as a five-line summary.
  • Create a version history table for three drafts of the same report.

Try the questions

The same skills are asked at three levels: School (Classes 6–12), College and Professional. Switch the level and the language (English or Tamil), and say how sure you are before you check: knowing what you are unsure about is part of learning.

Classes 6–12: everyday examples, no prior knowledge. Practice only. Nothing here is graded or saved.

Question 1 / 4 · Organise files

Which file name will you find easiest to search for after six months?

Which file name will you find easiest to search for after six months?
How sure are you?

Projects

Branch Operations Pack

A training institute branch needs a small office pack to run its month: an enquiry tracker, a fee invoice with GST, a monthly report and a team presentation. Build all four from the sample data and share the right files through Google Workspace.

Tasks

  1. Build the enquiry tracker in Excel with data validation and overdue highlighting.
  2. Create the invoice with a lookup for course fees and 18% GST on a rate cell.
  3. Write the two-page monthly report in Word using data from a pivot and a chart.
  4. Prepare a six-slide review deck from the report and rehearse a five-minute talk.
  5. Upload the report and deck to Google Drive with sensible roles and record who can see what.
  6. Write an AI-use log listing every place AI was used and what you corrected.

Sample input

60 enquiries over 3 months for 5 courses, with source, status and follow-up date; fee list: Office course 7,500; Tally 9,500; Python 12,000.

Expected output

Working workbook, invoice for three students with correct GST totals, a verified report PDF, a presentable deck, a sharing table and an AI-use log.

How it is assessed

CriterionWeight
Correct calculations and data handling30%
Report clarity and accuracy checks20%
Presentation design and delivery15%
Sharing, folders and file naming15%
AI verification log and privacy20%

Stretch challenge: Add a Google Form for new enquiries and link its responses sheet to the tracker.

How you are assessed

Weekly lab task on the computer (a file, document or spreadsheet saved with a proper name), five checkpoint questions with one diagram or screenshot item and a short note on one improvement.

Practical work. Four assessed practicals: a Word document set, an Excel workbook with lookups and a pivot, a presentation and an integrated report with a Google Workspace sharing check. The trainer opens the learner's actual files and verifies numbers and formatting.

What trainers look forWeight
Correct, working files35%
Formula and data accuracy20%
Document, slide and report quality20%
File organisation and sharing10%
Checking, privacy and AI use15%

Where this can lead

  • Prepares you for office assistant, data entry, front-office and documentation roles.
  • Prepares you for office management and accounting software courses.

These describe skills you will build. ADIVAS does not guarantee jobs, placement or salary.