NOTE: To change the image on this slide, select the picture and delete it. Then click the Pictures icon in the placeholder to insert your own image. PROJECT 1

Conducting your project (Software development)  Introduction  The software development life cycle (SDLC)  The earliest ’model’: build-and-fix  The stage-wise and classical waterfall models  The incremental model  Prototyping  Agile methods  Extreme programming (XP)  Configuration management  Which approaches should I use?  Top-down and bottom-up development  Verification, validation and testing  Quality

Introduction  Overview  The past  This survey has two main components;  literature search and a literature review.  literature search represents the mechanics of looking for, sorting, managing and digesting the available research material.  literature review represents your written understanding, critical evaluation, conceptualisation and presentation of the material you have obtained.  literature survey purposes:  It justifies your project  It sets your project within context by discussing and critically evaluating past and current research in your area.  It provides other researchers with a starting point from which they can understand how your project evolved

Introduction  The Justification  students start their projects at the ground floor;  tackling what they feel is the main content of their project.  without justifying it or identifying its context within the wider issues.  Thus lead to:  Narrow investigations  Weak conclusions  relevant issues are ignored  and you may just be repeating the work of others.

Introduction  Context  At this level  you would be required to understand how your project fits into its wider context.  have some appreciation of developments in that area.  Examiners are interested in your own ideas, interpretations, theories and concepts of the particular field of study.  not expecting a major contribution to knowledge from your project.

The literature survey process

Literature searching A literature search is a ‘systematic gathering of published information relating to a subject’.  Reading everything you come across will eventually become boring and will certainly be a waste of time.  focus your literature search on those articles, books and so on that are very relevant to your project.  published. This implies that the material which you trace should be recognized  two golden rules:  Allow plenty of time  Ensure that you make note of the full reference of any material you obtain.

Literature searching  Format of information  Books  Journals  Conference proceedings  CDs and DVDs  Company reports  Theses  Manuals  Software  The Internet (purpose of the site, site updated, site type, copyright issues, author for the material, site recognized).  Tracing the information ( ( ( ( (

Literature searching  Some tips for performing a literature search:  Note interesting quotes and their full reference as you go along.  Use review articles and books to help your search.  Reference correctly from the start.  Know when to stop – or at least when to move on to the next stage of your project.  Have a system to organise and catalogue the material you read.  Read recognised leaders and original theorists in your field.  Start with a broad search before you focus; don’t jump straight into the most complicated recent article on your subject.  Managing information:  The best way to begin managing your research is by using the conceptual model you have created of your subject area.  set up an index system of some sort that includes information on every article and book that you read.  highlight key phrases, sentences and paragraphs by underlining or using a highlighter pen.

Critical evaluation  What kind of article is it – a review paper, an evaluative paper, a theory paper, a practical paper, a case study, etc.  What can you gain from the article – ideas, techniques, useful quotes?  Is the author well recognised in his/her field?  What contribution is the article making?  How does the article fit within its context?  Do conclusions follow logically from the work that has been presented?  What do you feel about what has been written?  What references does it use?  Are there limits to what the author is suggesting?  Can you use the results from the article in your own work?

Writing literature reviews  identify the purpose of a literature review as:  to refine your research question and objectives  to highlight research possibilities  to avoid repeating the work of others;  to identify research methods and strategies  illustrate how you present your literature review:  Summerize each related information,  Put each resource information in paragraph.  view the field as a series of inter-related subtopics  Use your own words to describe other people works. Examples:  Book A: Covers...,  Book B: Discusses...,  Paper A: Introduces...,

Writing literature reviews  literature review forms the foundation of your project.  literature reviews evolve over a period of time.  your review should implicitly cover the following four points: 1. Arrange relevant literature in the field. 2. Critically evaluate past and current research in the field. 3. Identify your project within a wider context. 4. Justify the existence of your project by identifying a gap in the field and showing how your project will fill that gap