CE0801A

Individual Project 1

Lecture 1 – Module overview

Module Tutor: Mary-Ann MacKinnon

 Topics
• What the module is about
• Delivery schedule
• Assessment overview
• Support
 Module aim
• To provide you with the ability to develop a
peer reviewed ‘user note’ for one or more
selected software technologies

• Definition:
– A ‘user note’ is a set of user instructions to
download, install and use a piece of software
– Example
 Learning outcomes
• By the end of this module you should be able to:
– Identify through investigation one or more appropriate
software technologies to explore
– Determine the operation, function and capabilities of
those technologies
– Produce a user note that describes the operation,
function and capabilities of those technologies
– Demonstrate the peer review of other user notes in
accordance with a structured framework and feed
back that review to peers.
What is this module is all about?
• Individual Projects 1 & 2 teach you how to create
written reports of different types:
– User note (Semester 1)
– Research report (Semester 2)
– Poster (Semester 2)
• They seek to broaden your understanding of,
and exposure to, the field of computing by
sharing what you find out with your peers
• In the past, most final year students said they
wish they had this module earlier in their course!
 What this year is all about?

Year Intellectual process

1 Orientation
2 Development
3 Consolidation
4 Exploitation
 What this year is all about?
• Developing the baseline skills that will underpin
later years of study
• Professional development theme:
– Year 1: talking and thinking, group-working and
presenting
– Year 2: reading and writing, researching and reporting
– Year 3: group-work, problem-solving, reporting &
presenting
– Year 4: higher level research, problem-solving,
reporting & presenting
 Years 3 & 4
• Year 3: Group Project (25%):
– Generalist project that is too large to undertake alone
(like in the real world)
– Consideration of intellectual property, ethics, team
working, team dynamics etc.
– Employers want this as much, if not more than
technical skills ...
• Year 4: Honours Project (50%)
– Specialist project that largely determines the degree
classification you get
– Grade awarded is based on the documentation ...
how well you have documented what you have
achieved
 Why a user note?
• Provides you with an opportunity to expand your
appreciation of the field of Computing
• Lets you get module credit for exploring
something you are interested in
• The chance to write a tutorial for something that
could be really useful (and even feed into
teaching)
• Good practice in writing something to be used
and understood by others
• Learn about two other software products through
the peer review of other user notes
 Why a user note?
• You choose what you write about
– Lab, academic and module tutors will advise
on appropriateness of choice
• Lab/tutorial sessions will provide you with
opportunities to discuss your ideas
 Constraints
• Nothing illegal
• Nothing inappropriate in content
• Sufficiently complex to write about
• You have to describe task completion ... trivial
task = trivial user note
• You can work on this module at home BUT it
must work in the labs (we need to see it and
peers need it to work)
• Very important - please make sure your idea has
been approved by the lab tutors before
proceeding
 Process monitoring
• Lab tutors will report back to me on weekly
progress and any attendance problems
• Academic tutors and I will liaise on any
problems
• For authenticity we need to know that you
have written your own user note:
– So we need to watch you develop it ...
– If we are not sure, we will viva (interview) you
 The schedule

• Lectures:
– Module overview (today)
– User notes (next week)
– Peer review process (week 10)
• 2 hour weekly labs:
– Wednesday 9-11am
– Networking & Engineering Systems Lab B, level 4
– With me this week – workshop on legal issues
– With Andy Guest from then on
– Support in searching, downloading, installing,
selecting tasks, developing user notes
 Key deadlines
• Week 4:
– Fill out a summary form in the lab outlining the
software you have chosen for your user note and why
• Week 9:
– Draft user note to be submitted
• Week 11:
– Review of another student’s user note to be submitted
• Week 17:
– Final submission
 Delivery schedule
Week Lecture (3511) Level 4 Laboratory B (Networking & Engineering Systems)
1 Module overview Legal issues
2 User notes User note tutorial
3 User note topic research & discussion
4 User note topic finalised – submit summary sheet
5 User note writing
6 User note writing
7 User note writing
8 User note writing
9 Finish user note draft – submit draft user note
10 The peer review process Peer review of user note
11 Finish peer review of user note – submit review feedback
12 Incorporating review feedback
13 Incorporating review feedback
14 Christmas holiday
15 Christmas holiday
16 Work on coursework
17 Final submission
 Assessment

• The marking scheme considers:

– Suitability of software chosen
– The final user note
– The way in which feedback has been
incorporated
– Peer review of another student’s user note

• Final submission is after Christmas break

 User note structure

• Background:
– The software name; the purpose of the software; the developer and
development time; the reason for the development
• Installation details:
– The format of the download; the size of the download; the installation
process; opportunities for configuration; additional software required
• Legal implications of the software installation and use
• Documentation details:
– Outline of the documentation provided
• Software operation:
– Overview of the software and how to use it
• Description of the two tasks to be completed using the software:
– For each task there should be a step-by-step guide on how do achieve it
• Appraisal of the software, installation and documentation:
– Critical appraisal of the three aspects explored
 Peer review process

• You will be given a framework to do this:

– Structure, questions, things to look for
• You will ‘walk through’ a user note written by a
peer in your tutor group:
– Review how well the user note enables you to
complete the proposed tasks
• Feedback the (written) review to your peer
• Reflect on and (probably) change your user note
based on the review (tracking those changes)
 Assessment documentation
• To be handed out next week
 Resources
• WebCT:
– Lecture notes
– Links to anything else we think might be
useful
• Lab supervisors are there to help you with
your user notes
• Attendance at lab sessions is important,
especially at the start
 Where next…?

• Semester 2:
– Research into a selected topic in Computing
– Use online (published) resources to write a
report with a prescribed format
– Learn the importance of and how to reference
other people’s work
– Produce a researched report and poster (of
the highlights)
– Present the poster at the viva in May
 Homework
• Start thinking about an area of computing
that you are interested in
• Is there something specific that you would
like to investigate?
• Can you find any software that you would
like to base your user note on?
Questions?