1. 1 introduction to projects general information

2. 2 people lectures information systems/bit - Phil Clipsham computing programmes – Kevin Parrott multimedia technology – Tony Ackroyd project administrator Laura Macleodroom M345

3. 3 times and places information systems/bit Tuesday 2.00-3.00pm room QA065 computing programmes Wednesday 6.00-7.00pm room QA280 Friday 9.00-10.00am room KW315 multimedia technology Tuesday 5.00-6.00pm room SL101

4. 4 what is a final year project? a sustained piece of individual work of between 150 and 200 hours Planned by you with guidance from your supervisor and the project lectures Written up by you as a Project report of around 12,000 words Assessed on your Report and a Demonstration by your supervisor and a second-marker

5. 5 why is your project is important! your main opportunity to carry out a important, individual piece of work counts for ¼ of your final year must be included in the calculation of your final degree classification will be used when writing references for you – for work or for further study

6. 6 Have you registered for projects? If you haven’t, go to the project website and register there Do this by the end of this week Not registering for projects means that you have not been allocated a supervisor! You can’t do a project without one ….

7. 7 introduction to projects assessment of your project

8. 8 What is assessed? three final deliverables project report development logbook (+ any web based uploads) A demonstration of your product, ideas and knowledge to your supervisor and second marker

9. 9 How are they marked? marked by two academics your supervisor a second marker The final mark combines three individual items: your written report your development logbook (online) your demonstration of your product and knowledge Document all your activity on your project either in the report or the logbook so that you gain marks for it all.

10. 10 development logbook must include (by upload through the project website) : project proposal (i.e. your plan - see later!) (this plan must be agreed by supervisor before you can continue) initial report - literature study/data collection interim report your electronic diary (make sure you add to it regularly!) a summary of how the development took place, what you have learnt, problems you have encountered and so on. Anything else uploaded into your area on project website

11. 11 Deliverables ActivityDate due Project Proposal30/10/2006 Initial Report4/12/2006 Interim Report22/1/2007 Completed Project (Report + Implementation) 19/3/2007 Demonstration20/3/2007-23/3/2007

12. 12 introduction to projects planning your project

13. 13 The importance of a plan What does a 3 rd Year Project look like? 1. The idea 2. The research 3. The implementation 4. The evaluation You cannot and should not attempt a Project without a plan Why not - what do you think would happen?

14. 14 a project plan for you to follow Collect data and research Evaluate and conclude implement something specific Come up with a good idea

15. 15 deciding on a project topic Come up with a good idea Produce a project topic checklist Generate ideas for project topic Investigate and short- list ideas Make final selection document project topic

16. 16 types of projects Build something involving the design and implementation of a system. Evaluate something an evaluation of a particular system in terms of its function, performance or human-computer interaction. Analyse something an analysis of particular policies or strategies with respect to the implementation of computing techniques or methods in organisations. Investigate something practical experiments or investigations into particular systems or comparisons of alternatives Come up with a good idea

17. 17 what should an IS project be about? an IS project should be concerned with: understanding aspects about information systems applying principles from other courses (or elsewhere) understanding and modelling problems reflecting and appraising how to build information systems Come up with a good idea Topic Checklist

18. 18 what should a Computing project be about? Come up with a good idea a Computing project should be concerned with: Understanding important aspects of software systems Applying principles from other courses (or elsewhere) Understanding and modelling quasi-realistic problems Reflecting and appraising how to build software systems Topic Checklist

19. 19 what should a MM project be about? a Multimedia project should be concerned with: understanding aspects about multimedia systems applying principles from other courses (or elsewhere) understanding and modelling problems reflecting and appraising how to build multimedia systems Come up with a good idea Topic Checklist

20. 20 What would the final details look like? Requirements Capture/Analysis user / client / peer / supervisor / employer Research – theory /concepts Review – existing products Evaluate idea Design, Develop, Build Test – based on req. analysis Evaluate – product and process

21. 21 What should you do now? Set objectives/tasks for your project Three general tasks: 1. Research 2. Build 3. Evaluate Collect as much information as you can about your project Write a draft project proposal based on your plan so far and what you know Arrange a meeting with your supervisor Meet with your supervisor and discuss your project proposal!

22. 22 What will your supervisor ask you about? What are you going to research? (using textbooks, journals, Google …) What is your product? How are you going to evaluate it? The more you read about your chosen project topic the better you can answer these questions. But your answers should already be written down in your …. PLAN!

23. 23 Exercise (part 1) Write down a title that summarises your project idea write down What areas you will READ AND RESEARCH What you will DESIGN AND BUILD What you will EVALUATE

24. 24 Exercise (part 2) Work with the student alongside you Explain your project and the outlines that you have written Be critical with each other’s ideas Grade each other! Well prepared Some preparation Poorly prepared

25. 25 Some advice do not concentrate on your project work to the extent that work on your other courses suffers as a result! …but do not work on the other courses at the expense of your project Keep realistic – you may not be able to achieve all you want to do but a PLAN will help you sort this out.

26. 26 how to fail your project 1. don’t plan 2. don’t produce specifications or designs 3. avoid your supervisor 4. start as late as possible 5. don’t prepare for any meeting or presentation 6. make sure anything you hand in is unreadable 7. pick something trivial/impossible to do 8. put all your eggs in one basket