COMP390/3/4/5 Final Year Project Introduction & Specification Irina Biktasheva http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~comp39x/2017-18

Final Year Project Coordinator: Dr Irina Biktasheva Technical Support/E-system Support/Advice: Mr Dave Shield Rm 3.04 Ashton Building ivb@liverpool.ac.uk Rm 3.02 Ashton Building also: CS Help Desk (Holt Bld) D.T.Shield@liverpool.ac.uk

Module Aims To give an opportunity to explore a substantial computing problem in depth To give experience of carrying out a large piece of individual work and in producing a dissertation To enhance communication skills, both oral and written

Have you already arranged the first meeting? This is Your Project An opportunity to develop initiative and control of your learning You are responsible for finding what you need to know & developing ideas planning the project progressing the project delivering products on time meeting the BCS professional requirements, including ethical use of data and (if applicable) human participants You are encouraged to meet supervisor regularly for guidance/advice but don’t expect s/he can do the project for you Have you already arranged the first meeting?

Project Framework Types of projects In common: implement a solution, test & experiment Development: understand solutions Problem solving: design a solution Research: define a problem, design a solution Various stages with intermediate deliverables to be available at appropriate check points to provide a feedback on your progress to form the basis for your project assessment Check points: specification, design, implementation, testing & experiments, dissertation

Project Stages Four phases Phase 1: Specification (3.5 weeks) You should by now have a project allocated; otherwise, talk to me after the lecture Four phases Phase 1: Specification (3.5 weeks) Phase 2: Design (4.5 weeks) Phase 3: Implementation & Testing (11 weeks) Phase 4: Demonstration & Dissertation (3 weeks) design presentation specification document design document w1 w2 w3 w4 w5 w6 w7 w8 w9 w10 w11 w12 Sem 1 Sem 2 demonstration to be assessed not to be assessed interim report dissertation

Assessments Assessors include supervisor and marker Each stage is assessed by 2 assessors Supervisor marker Specification Design Demonstration Dissertation

Submission Deadlines Specification (5%): Thu 16.11.17 noon Design documentation: Thu 16.11.17 noon Design presentation: Mon 20.11.17 - (whole design stage 15%) Fri 1.12.17 Interim Report: Fri 16.02.18 Demonstration slides: Thu 12.04.18 noon Demonstration (15%): Mon 16.04.18 – Fri 20.04.18 Dissertation (65%): Thu 10.05.18 noon You should make yourself available during the weeks for design presentation & demonstration

Late Submission According to University standard penalties 5 marks deducted for each working day of lateness Note: For assignments that are required to be submitted electronically a working day is defined as the 24 hour period immediately following the submission date and time. Up to a maximum of 5 working days Work received after 5 working days will receive a mark of 0 For any mitigating circumstances, should contact supervisor first

Other Penalties Please consult the project web site http://cgi.csc.liv.ac.uk/~comp39x/2017-18/guides/calendar_390.html for complete list of penalties

Lectures 4 general lectures in total Introduction & Specification week 1, Tuesday 26 September 2017 Design Week 5, Tuesday 24 October 2017 just after specification completion Design & Implementation (by Phil Jimmieson) Week 6, Tuesday 31 October 2017 Demonstration & Dissertation semester 2, week 1: TBA

Resources Lecture Notes Project webpage Your project supervisor http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~comp39x/2017-18 especially guidelines for each assessment Your project supervisor Library Research papers Books Christian W. Dawson, Projects in Computing and Information Systems: A Student's Guide, 3rd Edition, Pearson Education Ltd, 2015. (previous editions can also be used) Lecture Notes COMP208/214/215/216, COMP201, COMP207, etc. The Web

Technical Support For technical problems, the first point of contact should be: Mr Dave Shield (Ashton 3.02) Lecture by Phil Jimmieson: design & implementation issues Date: Tue 31st October 2017 Q&A at the lecture – prepare your questions! COMP39X == CS helpdesk (Holt Bld) D.T.Shield@liverpool.ac.uk

Professional Issues Awareness of professional issues is a must for software developers The British Computing Society issue a code of conduct & code of practice You should be aware of what these say, and follow them as applicable available at the Professional Issues link from the module homepage

Professional Issues: Ethical Use of Data Ethical use of data, Human Data & Human Participants in particular, is of utmost importance in Computing and Information Systems projects The University has Policy on Use of Human Data and Human Participants in research projects. You should be aware of what the Policy says, and make sure to follow it as applicable available at the Ethical Use of Human Data and Human Participants link from the Comp39x homepage http://cgi.csc.liv.ac.uk/~comp39x/2017-18/guides/Ethics_process_flowchart.pdf See also CS Departmental Policy http://intranet.csc.liv.ac.uk/department/ltas/ethics.html

Specification (5% of total mark) Purpose A clear idea of what the project comprises A well defined plan showing how the project will be carried out Specification Documentation A report of NO more than 3 sides of A4 (12 point) paper Gantt Chart can be on the 4th side Digital pdf file of your specification document must be submitted through E-project by Thursday 16 November, 2017 (noon).

Specification Structure Project Description Statement of Deliverables Conduct of Project and Plan Bibliography Detail guidelines available on comp39x webpage http://cgi.csc.liv.ac.uk/~comp39x/2017-18/guides/specification.html

Project Description Who is the project being done for? What is the project aim? What is intended to achieve? What is the proposed solution? How to achieve the aim? Data to be used: explicitly specify either Synthetic data, or Real Non human data State ethical source of the data Real Human data and/or Human Participants: State ethical source of the data and/or State ethical use of human participants State the University Policy on ethical use of human data & human participants to be followed

Statement of Deliverables Description of anticipated documentation e.g., document for assessment, user manual, installation guide, online help, etc. Description of anticipated software e.g., functionalities, storyboard, user interface, etc. Description of any anticipated experiments especially important for research projects Description of methods of evaluation how to measure whether project is successful? e.g., comparison with existing products/methods, user feedback if 3rd party evaluation – follow CS Dept Policy on ethical use of 3rd party evaluators: link from Comp39x web page http://cgi.csc.liv.ac.uk/~comp39x/2017-18/guides/specification.html

Conduct of Project Preparation Design Implementation Gantt Chart background research, data required, possible ethical issues Design design methods, what will be in design document? Implementation hardware / software to be used, testing Gantt Chart timetable schedule, internal/external milestones Risk assessment major challenges, new skills required

Bibliography What reference material has been and will be used? Should be cited appropriately Example see recommended Bibliography style on comp39x webpage http://cgi.csc.liv.ac.uk/~comp39x/2017-18/guides/specification.html Citation in document Reference list It was stated in [1] that … Information about XX will be obtained from [3] …

Assessment Form Snapshot of the form, available at webpage http://cgi.csc.liv.ac.uk/~comp39x/2017-18/forms/comp39xSpecAssessForm.pdf

Submission Deadlines Specification (5%): Thu 16.11.17 noon Design documentation: Thu 16.11.17 noon Design presentation: Mon 20.11.17 - (whole design stage 15%) Fri 1.12.17 Interim Report: Fri 16.02.18 Demonstration slides: Thu 12.04.18 noon Demonstration (15%): Mon 16.04.18 – Fri 20.04.18 Dissertation (65%): Thu 10.05.18 noon You should make yourself available during the weeks for design presentation & demonstration