30 Credit Projects Computer Science, Business Computing and Information Technology

A Rough Guide

This guide covers the essential information for CP3343, CP3331 and CP3017 for 2008/9 and should be read in conjunction with the supporting documentation referenced within

Matthew Green May 2008

Contents
Before we begin..............................................................................................................................3 Which module? (Top-Up Degrees)..................................................................................................3 Which module? (All other courses)................................................................................................4 Project Communication..................................................................................................................5 What this handbook is NOT?.......................................................................................................6 What is a 30 credit project?............................................................................................................6 How do I decide what kind of project to do?.................................................................................7 PR01................................................................................................................................................9 PR02..............................................................................................................................................11 Ethical Considerations..................................................................................................................13 External Involvement....................................................................................................................13 PR02 Complete What's Next?....................................................................................................13 Deadlines.......................................................................................................................................14 How is a project marked?.............................................................................................................15 The role of a Supervisor...............................................................................................................16 The role of the Reader..................................................................................................................16 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)..............................................................................................16

Referenced Support Documentation available via Project Management System

See BCS and Projects for more details.......................................................................................3 See PMS Handbook for more details..........................................................................................5 See Ethical Approval Form for more details.............................................................................13 See External Involvement Agreement Form for more details ................................................13 See Literature Review Handbook for more details..................................................................13 See Project Poster Handbook for more details.........................................................................14 See Inter-Semester Meeting Handbook for more details........................................................14 See Final Report Handbook for more details...........................................................................14 See Viva/Presentation/Demonstration Handbook for more details.........................................14
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Before we begin...
What module am I studying?
Primarily this depends on your course. For most students, this is straightforward and the table on the next page should help. possible. Read the following notes first. If in any doubt, ASK as soon as

NOTE: Combined Awards Students

You should discuss your project ideas with your personal tutor at the earliest opportunity, as you have a choice of different project modules you can take.

NOTE: BSc. Information Technology

You should take the project module listed for the course you originally started on.

NOTE: Exemption from British Computer Society (BCS) Entry Requirements you must pass at first attempt
If you intend to apply to join the British Computer Society (BCS), you can gain exemption from certain entry requirements ONLY IF you take a 30 credit project, with a practical problem solving topic, AND YOU MUST PASS AT FIRST ATTEMPT.

See BCS and Projects for more details.

NOTE: If your course started before 2002/3, you must contact the module leader before you start.

Which module? (Top-Up Degrees)

Computer Studies (top-up) Business Information Technology (top-up) Choose: CP3343 or CP3348 or CP3331 or CP3333 Choose: CP3074 Business Information Systems Project (15 credit) or CP3037 Business Information Systems Project (30 credit) Computing (top-up) International IT Management (top-up) Choose: CP3070 Computing Project (15 credit) or CP3072 Computing Project (30 credit) Choose: CP3035 International IT Management Dissertation (15 credit) or CP3078 International IT Management Dissertation (30 credit) Information Technology (top-up) Choose: CP3061 IT Project (15 credit) or CP3055 IT Project (30 credit)
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Which module? (All other courses)

KEY:

CP3343 Computer Science Project (30 credit) CP3331 Business Computing Project (30 credit) CP3017 Information Technology Project (30 credit) CP3348 Computer Science Project (15 credit) CP3333 Business Computing Project (15 credit) CP3016 Information Technology Project (15 credit)

Course
Computer Science Computing Computer Science (Games Development) Computer Science (Software Engineering) Computing (Multimedia) Computing (Information Systems) Web Computing Business Information Systems (BIS) Computing Information Systems for Business (CISB) Computing for Business (CfB) Combined Awards (Joint in Computing) (all joint courses EXCEPT joint with Business) Combined Awards (Computing and Business) BSc Information Technology (IT) Mathematical Business Analysis

Project Module
Choose: CP3343 or CP3348 Choose: CP3343 or CP3348 and project must be based in specialist area.

Choose: CP3331 or CP3333

Choose: CP3017 or CP3016 Choose: CP3331 or CP3333 The project module listed in the documentation for your previous award. MM3334 Mathematical Sciences Project (30 credit) or MM3333 Mathematical Sciences Project (15 credit)

Mathematical Sciences (Specialist) Combined Awards (Joint in Mathematical Sciences or Statistical Sciences) BSc (Hons) IT Management

MM3333 Mathematical Sciences Project (15 credit)

Choose: CP3331 or CP3333

This handbook is ONLY for CP3343, CP3331 and CP3017 (30 credit Computer Science, Business Computing, Information Technology) If you are not taking one of these 3 project modules, STOP reading now and find the right handbook for your module.
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Project Communication
This handbook is designed as a reference guide for you. It contains information on all the important tasks, deadlines, deliverables, processes and all other critical information you need to be successful in your project. This handbook is ONLY for the modules CP3331, CP3343 and CP3017. If you are studying another project module (for example, a 15 credit project module) this document IS NOT FOR YOU. leader for details. Please consult your project co-ordinator/module

Project Management System PMS https://mi-linux.wlv.ac.uk/pms

One of the new additions to 30 credit projects in 2008/9 is the Project Management System (PMS) this website will serve as one of the primary communication and management tools for the module. Here you will register your project interests, request a project supervisor, submit your project specification, track your project progress, and many, many more interesting things.

See PMS Handbook for more details

WOLF SCIT 30cr Projects 2008/9 (CP3331, CP3343, CP3017)

You must subscribe to this topic AS SOON AS POSSIBLE for 2 critical reasons. Firstly, the topic contains many additional sources of information, reference and help, and secondly, the mailing list in WOLF is used to stay in contact with you, sending you reminders and notifications. You will miss critical information and help if you do not register on this topic ASAP.

Text Messaging (SMS)

A new version of WOLF (2.0) will be used from 2008/9. One of the new features is the ability to receive text messages as well as emails this is your choice. You are able to specify YOUR choice of how you want to be contacted your university email address is compulsory, but you can add additional email addresses, and also, if you want to, you can register your mobile phone number. Staff and other students can not view your number when a member of staff sends a message to a topic you are subscribed to, you will receive this message at any email address you specify, and also, if you have registered your number, you'll receive an SMS of the message. I would recommend you add your mobile phone number to your
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preferences in WOLF to stay up-to-the-minute.

What this handbook is NOT?

This is not a one handbook fits all solution. Your project is as unique as you are. As such, one handbook could never help every student cover every single aspect of their unique project. In order to help you overcome all the issues you will face in your unique project we you will be assigned a project supervisor. Your project supervisor will help answer all the questions you have regarding your unique project. Before you can be assigned a project supervisor, you need to tell us about your ideas. The first task you have is to decide what your project is, what you are going to study, what and how you are going to test/evaluate/analyse/build/discuss/etc.

What is a 30 credit project?

This is not an easy question to answer. Each student will do something unique and different for their project. It is much easier to start by saying what a project is NOT. A project is:

NOT just another assessment NOT something that can be done quickly or just before the deadline NOT just writing a long essay NOT just building some software NOT a module you attend each week NOT easy!

Your project is the crown of your degree. It will likely be the most difficult and rewarding thing you do at University. Your future employers will want to know what you did for your project they may even want to see your project as part of the interview process. It may become the basis for future courses you might take, like a Masters or PhD, or a professional qualification. important to you. Projects typically fall into one of the following categories: It is usually a source of Your project is information for staff when writing references for students.

Theoretical/Investigative
Investigation into a new approach/technique or methodology. Involves reading a substantial number of journals/papers/etc. Computer Science deliverable could be a prototype system.

Comparison/Investigative
Investigation into a number of approaches/techniques or methodologies. Less reading than above. Deliverable could be a number of prototypes or models to compare and contrast. Eg. Detecting plagiarism in software: Research the topic, design and develop a number of techniques (prototypes), analysis of results, evaluate techniques/algorithms and results

Practical/Commercial
The main aim is a solution to a real and specific problem. Deliverable should be of commercial quality (fully tested, validation, error traps, etc.) Personal measurements recorded and best fit uniform allocated full statistics & management info provided, full stock control implemented, etc. Produce a specification, design and implement and test a solution. Evaluate the process and final solution

Problem Solving
Emphasis is on using techniques to solve a specific problem. The problem may be open ended. Deliverable will be more than a prototype but unlikely be of commercial quality. Eg. Timetabling allocation problem: Allocating staff to classes, constraints musts, desirables. Analysis of results. Evaluate techniques, algorithms, and final results.

Hybrid Practical and Theory (not usually suitable for Computer Science)
Investigation of subject area. Detailed examination of application/impact in a Case Study organisation/application. Eg. Application of XP techniques. Investigation of adoption and issues from literature. Analysis of application within a case study organisation. Conclusions.

How do I decide what kind of project to do?

1. What course are you studying?
First and foremost, your award title/the course you are on helps to define the project. For example, if you are studying a Web Computing degree, your project must be about Web Computing, if you are studying Games Development, your project must be about Games Development, if you are studying Information Systems, your project must be Information Systems based. The module guide for each project module will have more details.
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2. What are you interested in?

It is critically important that you are undertaking a project in a subject you are interested in this project will last for two semesters, so following a topic that interests you will motivate you to succeed more than a topic that you are not interested in.

3. What are you good at?

This seems an odd question, but I always advise students to undertake a project in a field in which they are experienced and successful. This does not mean you cannot study something new point 2 says choose something you interested in - this is important, but you must try and choose ACHIEVABLE subjects. Projects require a great deal of research, study, analysis, investigation, and so on. For example, if you want to do a project which has a large quantity of website construction, yet you have never built a website before, your project will be extremely difficult. Not only would you have to undertake all your research, you would also have to learn new languages, tools, methods, platforms, and so on. The amount of time and effort required to learn the new things you'll be using in your project will not count towards your grade, but will add significantly to the workload, and if you are not successful in being able to learn these new things to a very high standard, the output you produce for your project might not be of a high enough quality to obtain high grades. Try to undertake a project topic that uses tools/languages/methods in which you are already well practised and successful.

4. How much time do you have?

You can expect to put many more hours into your project than any other module you have taken so far. We expect that as a MINIMUM you will be working 10 hours per week for approximately 24 weeks. approximately 240 hours. Do not think this is a year-long If you were working in project as it is a full first semester, and part of the second, which equates to That is not a lot of time. industry, this would be a full-time job for only 6 weeks. That's 6 weeks to come up with a project, research your sources, undertake some analysis/evaluate, perhaps construct software, test, evaluate the project/product and do a full write-up. Do not underestimate the time this project will take, and do not set

unrealistic/unachievable goals in the time-frame.

OK, I understand what a project is what's next?

You have a number of choices.
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One thing you can do, if you have taken a placement year or have a part/full time employer, consider asking your placement organisation/employer if there is a particular project that they might be interested in you looking at. There are a number of advantages involved in undertaking a project in conjunction with an external organisation: the organisation can keep you on target they may want regular updates and milestones that they want you to meet, and they will help provide a specification for your project which is based on real world objectives.

Are there any examples of project ideas I can look at?

Most supervisors write project proposals for students to look at these are available for you via the Project Management System (PMS.) serve two purposes. These proposals The first is that these proposals are real projects that

supervisors hope students will take if you want to undertake a staff project proposal, you can, subject to availability and supervisor commitment. Proposals also serve to give you an idea of what projects are. They describe projects (quite briefly) so that if you want to do a project idea of your own, you know the way that you should write your proposal.

My own idea?
If you have your own idea for a project, and it fits with your course title, and you are interested in it, and you think you have the skills needed to undertake it, it is likely to be a successful project.

Staff Interests
One of the things you can do with PMS is look at a list of staff who supervise projects and see what their subject interests are. For example, if you know you want to do a project involving Mobile Computing technologies, you can look through the list of staff, find the people who have interests in Mobile Computing and go and have a chat with them.

PR01
You have your project idea ready, or you want to follow a staff proposal, and you want a supervisor so you can get started. You need to turn to the Project Management System (PMS) to tell us about your idea, or to pick a staff proposal the electronic document you are producing using PMS is called a PR01.

Stage 1 Your own idea or a staff proposal?

Within PMS you start your project by clicking on the My Project link, and following the step-by-step wizard, where you pick a proposal or tell us about your own.
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Stage 2 What topic areas does your project cover?

The next step is to tell me which topic areas your project involves. Some examples of project topic areas are software development, web computing, artificial intelligence, information systems in business, and so on. Once you've selected the project areas your project most closely resembles, you move on to the project supervisor selection step.

Step 3 Finding the best supervisor for your project

A list of available project supervisors is presented at this stage. The order that they are shown is VERY SPECIFIC. Each member of staff has entered into PMS their interests and expertise. Each member of staff is then compared to your project topic areas, and the members of staff whose interests and expertise most closely match your project are shown at the top of the list.

Step 4 Submit PR01

YOU HAVE NOT SELECTED A SUPERVISOR. When you select a member of staff in PMS, you will be sending that member of staff a REQUEST asking if they WOULD LIKE to supervise your project. Members of staff have an allocation of projects per year. supervise projects. many more. Some members of staff do not Some may supervise Some may only supervise 1 student.

Your request is sent, and the member of staff will process your

request in one of the following 4 ways. 1. The member of staff will agree to supervise your project if your supervisor makes any comments about your PR01, these will be sent to you via email and will be available in your Project Blog 2. The member of staff will agree to supervise your project, IF you make revisions that they advise you to make to your PR01 your supervisor will make comments about your PR01, these will be sent to you via email and will be available in your Project Blog 3. The member of staff will reject your request, and will recommend another member of staff your PR01 will be automatically sent to the recommended alternative supervisor, who will again select one of these 4 options. You'll be notified via email that the PR01 has been redirected, and any comments made will be included in the email and your Project Blog. 4. The member of staff will reject your request and refer you to the projects co-ordinator for advice. If your PR01 has been passed on by a number of staff, or a member of staff is not sure how to best advise you, your PR01 will be sent to me. I'll make some comments about what to do next, and again,
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email and Blog these.

What is the "Project Blog"?

Every time something happens in PMS to do with your project, an entry will be made in your Project Blog usually you'll receive an email as well. You can review your Blog via "My Project."

OK - I have a supervisor what's next?

You have submitted your PR01 and a member of staff has agreed to supervise your project. You can now start your project! You are entitled to up to 30 minutes every 2 weeks of one-to-one time with your supervisor. You and your supervisor might decide that you do not need the full 30 minutes every meeting, as sometimes you'll make more progress and have more questions than at other meetings. You must take the initiative to contact your supervisor (email is usually best) to schedule meetings. Your supervisor will not chase you you need to make sure you are attending regular meetings it is your responsibility to keep yourself on track, not your supervisor's responsibility. The first thing you and your supervisor need to do is to discuss your PR02. By week 1 of semester 1 you MUST have submitted a PR02 it is an ASSESSED PART OF YOUR PROJECT, so making sure you meet the deadline is critical. PR02's are submitted via PMS. By week 4 of semester 1, you must have an approved PR02 to continue.

PR02
Up to this point, your project has been discussed between you and your supervisor in order for you to proceed, the projects co-ordinator (me) together with a team of staff across the school assess ALL projects to make sure they meet the learning outcomes, that they are suitable, not too challenging but challenging enough, that you have considered ethical aspects of your project and so on. In order for this team to assess your project, you have to submit a PR02 using PMS.

PR02 Stage 1 Project Title and Product

If your project title has changed from your initial ideas, now is the time to make changes. Also, this is the first time you will be asked to define the product of your project. What is the thing you are producing? Is it software? A design? A report? An interactive CD-ROM? etc.

Stage 2 Aims and Objectives

What are the aims and objectives of the project? The aims should be general ideas
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of what it is you want to accomplish (example: I want a job) and the objectives are what you are going to do to achieve your aim (example: 1. write a CV, 2. send out CVs, 3. apply to adverts, etc.) The team will check that your aims and objectives are achievable and realistic.

Stage 3 Hardware/Software Requirements

Here you list all the separate hardware and software requirements (if any) for you to be able to succeed in your project. It is not necessary for you to specify a computer to undertake word processing and similar tasks. You need only include hardware/software that is not available as standard on University student computers. For example, if you need access to a physical or virtual server, or need a specific software tool that is not normally available. The team will check that access to any resources listed is feasible.

Stage 4 Modules
Here you list your level 2 modules that you have studied and your level 3 modules you are intending to study. The team will check that your module selections and experience fit the project you are undertaking.

Stage 5 Ethical and External Issues

Here you will answer a series of questions that determine whether your project requires additional consideration before you can continue. will be part of the project. Questions include whether or not external involvement (i.e. a placement organisation or employer) If external parties are involved in your project, additional documentation needs to be completed by the external parties. Also, a number of questions regarding Ethical Considerations will be asked.

Stage 6 Supervisor Approval

Once you submit your PR02, a copy is send to your supervisor for them to approve your PR02 or reject it with comments. If it rejected, it comes back to you, so that you can revise it and submit again.

Stage 7 Validation by Projects Team

Once your supervisor has approved your PR02, it passes to the Projects team for their approval, or rejection with comments. As per stage 6, it passes back to you if it's not approved, for you to amend and resubmit. If ethical approval is required, you'll be contacted via email and advised on how to proceed.

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Ethical Considerations
If you wish to involve any person other than yourself and your supervisor, you need to have the permission of the ethical committee within SCIT in order for your project to continue. YOU CANNOT INTERVIEW/QUESTIONNAIRE etc. anyone without permission from the Ethics committee. Your supervisor cannot give your permission to do this.

See Ethical Approval Form for more details

External Involvement
External projects are encouraged but they must be carried out according to academic requirements. It must be entirely your own work. It must be carried out to our time scale, and not the preferred time-scale of the external client. If your project has any external involvement, a form outlining the extent of support and collaboration the external organisation are prepared to make, must be filled-in by the external contact and your project supervisor.

See External Involvement Agreement Form for more details

PR02 Complete What's Next?

Planning
First of all, take a look at the diagram on page 2 for a rough view of the process. This diagram represents a rough guide to some of the major tasks involved in most, but not all projects, and is a good starting point for initial discussions with your supervisor. Create a project plan to map out the major milestones and activities for your project Deadlines on the next page is another good reference and can form the major structure of any project plans you create.

Research
Once you've completed the PR02, you and your supervisor continue to meet every 2 weeks (or by other arranged schedule). Don't forget to take along your diary so your supervisor can sign it at each meeting. You should be working on your literature review/research, with guidance from your supervisor.

See Literature Review Handbook for more details

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The next deliverable (assessed) is the Project Poster, due to be submitted by week 8.

See Project Poster Handbook for more details

Progress
Your progress will be assessed at an inter-semester meeting (between the end of semester 1 and the start of semester 2) attended by you, your supervisor, and your reader.

See Inter-Semester Meeting Handbook for more details

Draft
A draft version of your final report, as complete as possible, is required by your supervisor in Week 7 of Semester 2. This draft report is not assessed, but your supervisor will provide feedback to you to allow you to make minor modifications before submitting the final version.

Final
Your final report is due in Week 11 of Semester 2.

See Final Report Handbook for more details

Present
You are required to attend a viva/demonstration/presentation of your project at any date in Weeks 13, 14 or 15 of semester 2. At this viva (etc.) you are required to present your project to your reader and supervisor, demonstrate any relevant software, and answer questions that they have about your project.

See Viva/Presentation/Demonstration Handbook for more details

Deadlines
Full details of assessment components can be found in the relevant module guides, but in summary the assessment components for all projects are: Semester Teaching Week (by end of:) 1 Welcome Week (Wk 0) 1 Week 1 Complete project proposal (PRO2)
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Task

done?

Submit PR01

Semester

Teaching Week (by end of:)

Task

done?

Meet with supervisor 1 1 1 between 1&2 Weeks 1 - 5 Week 4 Week 8 InterSemester Week 2 2 Week 1 Week 7 Lecture on Report Writing Submit Draft Report to Supervisor for final feedback 2 2 Week 11 Week 14-15 Submit Final Report (70%) and Diary (10%) Attend demonstration / viva Attend Project Lectures Must have approved PR02 (Pass/Fail) Project Poster (20%) Progress Meeting with Supervisor & Reader

How is a project marked?

Project Poster Marking (20% of project)
Marked by both supervisor and reader

Project Management Marking (10% of project)

The grade for Project Management will be awarded jointly by supervisor and reader. Your supervisor is able to assess your project management through observation of how well you have been meeting deadlines, attending weekly meetings, planning your time so you work at an even pace, adjusting schedule appropriately when necessary, and the quality and detailed account given in the project diary. Your reader will only have the diary upon which to assess your project management, and may ask you questions at your viva/demonstration. You MUST take your diary to each meeting with your supervisor, and your supervisor will read and sign your diary.

Final Report Marking (70% of project)

50% of the grade is from the supervisor, 50% from the reader. In exceptional circumstances, where the supervisor and reader have widely differing opinions on
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the grade for the project, a second reader is assigned to mark the project also.

The role of a Supervisor

1. To be a mentor and provide guidance on your project 2. To direct you towards other members of staff for advice on concepts of your project (statistics, or a particular language, for example) they are unfamiliar with 3. To assess your Project Poster 4. To attend the progress meeting and confirm the project can continue 5. To attend and assess your demonstration/viva 6. To assess your final report and project management

The role of the Reader

1. To mark the Project Poster 2. To attend the progress meeting and confirm the project can continue 3. To attend/assess the viva/demonstration 4. To assess the final report 5. To assess the project management (using the project diary as evidence)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do I have to write software?
No, but... For a CP3343 project the final deliverable must be a testable software development product. This is usually a software system but could be a design or solution which can be tested/evaluated. The key is that it must be something that can be tested. Usually this is software you write yourself, however it is possible to produce a design, or a solution which is constructed of available applications, but if you don't write the software, it is usually more difficult to attain high grades. For Business Computing and Information Technology Projects, your project can be entirely theoretical, and need not include software.

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Can I use questionnaires?

Only if you have received ethical approval to do so.

Can I interview people?

Only if you have received ethical approval to do so.

Can I get friends to test my software?

Only if you have received ethical approval to do so.

What do I do if all the supervisors that have interests in my project subject(s) are fully committed?
Don't panic. If you don't have a supervisor by the end of week 1, you will be assigned a supervisor in a clearing process. You will still be able to access the members of staff who do have an interest in your project, via your project supervisor.

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