1. Tips on Writing your Project Report … …and managing your project

2. Don’t Panic! It’s normal to feel that you don’t really know what you’re doing To overcome this – talk to people (your project supervisor, friends, etc.) And – most importantly …

3. Plan Try to plan/structure the time available Set both long and short-term goals (daily, weekly, monthly)

4. Keep records Your write-up will be much easier if you keep a research diary. (What I did today) Record all design decisions immediately (you’ll forget otherwise)

5. Have regular meetings See your Supervisor often. Prepare for the meetings – e.g. have a list of questions, be ready to tell them what you’ve been doing

6. Create a Glossary of Terms Do this as you go along – don’t leave it to the end It will help your understanding – every area has its own jargon/terminology and some words may also have an everyday meaning which is different

7. Research For each book/paper jot down a few lines (in your own words) outlining the main points When you photocopy or print pages from the web, write all required details on them – e.g. author, date, conference, URL, date accessed etc. And …

8. Bibliography Start it as soon as you start your research – build up an (electronic) file Always add full details – saves time hunting round later

9. Requirements With or without a real client, make sure you are clear about what the requirements are. Prioritise them (MOSCOW rules can help here)

10. Evaluation Think EARLY about how you will evaluate your project. It may alter what you do. Compare your outcomes with your aims Have you achieved what you set out to do? How, exactly, do you know? How can you demonstrate this?

11. Software Think first – don’t rush into things Comment your code Version control is important Test as you go

12. Writing your report Start writing early – e.g. write up your research Use your research diary Write a skeleton structure – i.e. chapter headings and an outline of what the chapter will cover Explain the problem, current state-of-the-art, what you’ve done, how you’ve tested and evaluated it. Comment on results. Future work.

13. Writing your report Explain clearly what you have done and why Discuss problems you’ve encountered and how you overcame them Guide your reader through the report Remember to put your work in an academic context

14. Writing your report Remember to spell check and proof read carefully – swap with a friend? The report is the most important product – don’t delay writing up to keep tweaking software. Set a deadline and stick to it.

15. Sites of Interest http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/proj /res_meth/login.html http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/proj /res_meth/login.html http://eluzions.com/Pictures/Illusions http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/ hodgson/Courses/so11/methods/metho ds.htm http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/ hodgson/Courses/so11/methods/metho ds.htm http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~van/cpsc590/lin ks.html http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~van/cpsc590/lin ks.html