Transcript HND Project - Gold Beach

The Foundation Degree
Project
Geoff Leese September 2008
What's it about?
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It unifies everything you have covered
throughout the modules on the FD program
Think of it more as a portfolio to show to an
employer
It is student led
Tutors provide
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administrative guidance
specialist support
assessment
How is it assessed?
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Four milestones
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Milestone
You must achieve 40% overall to pass, NOT
40% in each milestone!
Do not think of each milestone as a separate
entity. They are each part of the whole
Project coordinator/supervisors
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You will be allocated a specific supervisor who will
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Meet with you every two weeks to check your progress
 Some may be face to face, some may be by exchange
of email
 All are scheduled at mutual convenience
Mark your work depending upon what field your project is
based upon
Yarnfield students – Geoff Leese (Semester 1 2008)
Cauldon students – Richard Hancock (ditto)
All tutors can assist you depending on your specific
problem
The review process
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Reviews take place every two weeks, face to
face or by exchange of email
YOU produce and send a project review
sheet to your supervisor, completing the
header and sections one and two.
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Electronic please!
Sections three, four and five completed
during discussion
Keep copies, include them as an index in
Milestone three.
What kind of project can I do?
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Your project must be professionally conducted and
be at a higher level of computing
Foundation Degree – must be workplace based
FD BIT - must have a business focus
Your proposal must be approved by your supervisor
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Yarnfield – during week one
Cauldon – during week two
It is your responsibility to find a project
You must be capable of completing the project
Deadlines
FOUNDATION DEGREE IT PROJECT CE00780-2
Milestone
Name
Project
Identification
Milestone 1
Title and brief outline
(1 paragraph only)
Project Proposal
(Approx 1000 words)
Research, Analysis and Design
(Approx 5000-7500 words)
Implementation, Testing and Evaluation
(Approx 5000-7500 words)
Demonstration and Presentation
Milestone 2
Milestone 3
Milestone 4
Weighting
Hand in
Week 1 or 2
10%
Week 4
40%
Week 13
20%
Week 24
30%
Within 2 weeks of
Milestone 3
Project identification
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Identify title and brief outline for your project
Must be submitted to your project supervisor
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Should be discussed at first review
No marks – formative only
Milestone 1 – Project proposal
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Identify any ethical issues
Signed statement in proposal stating you
have taken into consideration any ethical
issues that may be involved
Projects must be unique
Components
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Title
Ethical statement
Background
Milestone 1
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Aims and objectives
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What is the purpose of your project?
In order to deliver your aims what are your objectives?
(bulleted points)
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Academic objectives, personal objectives, system and business
objectives, functionality
Test objectives
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Too ambiguous, misinterpreted
Too big, can you meet them?
Too trivial
Too many
Too broad, vague?
Skills to meet them
Resources?
Can success or failure be measured?
Milestone 1
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Justification
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Scope
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How will project meet requirements of the course?
Why topic interests you?
What you hope to gain?
What are you going to carry out
Functional, academic boundaries
List what you are NOT going to do
Deliverables
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What you intend to produce i.e. project report, prototype
system, requirements specification, time plans, test
plans, supporting documentation
Milestone 1
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Constraints
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Resources
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Time
Existing skills
Resources
Data availability
People
Technical
Risks
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Are you aware of anything that might have an affect on
your project. Do you have a fall back strategy?
Milestone 2 – Research, analysis and
design
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Two types of research
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Project specific
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Implementation specific
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Subject matter, content , interface
Technologies, OS, methodologies, development
languages/tools, hardware/software
Project Gantt chart
Milestone 2
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Analysis
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A description of the choice of problem solving method.
Describe process used to choose method to show it is
appropriate.
Description of the application of the chosen analysis
method, indicating problems arising and how they were
overcome
BIT students only should include a business case or
marketing plan
Process and data models including supporting text,
descriptions etc. Can be included in separate chapter or
appendix
Milestone 2
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Analysis should follow chosen methodology
Appropriate tools should be chosen
Design
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Logical models should be mapped to produce a
detailed design specification
Should include where appropriate:
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Tables, forms, queries, user interface designs
Algorithms, STD’s file systems etc.
Storyboards, webpage designs, site structures etc
Network diagrams, process charts, organigrammes etc
Milestone 3 – Implementation, testing and
evaluation
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Description of how the solution is realised
Selection of implementation method should be
described and justified
Should include:
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Discussion of technology used and how this was applied
How design was converted to a working system, any
differences from design should be described
Discussion of what was successfully implemented and
what was not and any key features of a challenging nature
that involved more work than originally anticipated
System documentation including user manual,
administrator information and technical support
Annotated page shots
Milestone 3
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Testing should address the evaluation of the
solution against its objectives and success
criteria
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Describe testing strategy and choice of testing
method
Include planning and application of the tests
Draw conclusions from the results and any
modifications to the design and implementation
that may be recommended
Milestone 3
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Evaluation deals with success of project in academic
terms, compared to the success criteria for the
solution
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Evaluate the degree of success in carrying out the project
What you have learned by doing the project
Things you would do differently if project were to be
repeated and any extra features you would recommend
Value of the learning process to you and the extent to
which the project has added to the students professional
and academic expertise
Gantt chart reflection - the actual time plan compared to
the original time plan
Milestone 3
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Code should be handed in on disk or
CDROM.
It need not be printed out and added to the
report
Can include snippets in your report to
illustrate points
Can include code listing as an appendix
Milestone 4 – Presentation and
demonstration
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30 minute presentation
PowerPoint
Explain why you chose project, what you
researched, how you went about project,
conclusion and appraisal
Demonstrate prototype
Answer questions
Report style
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Appendices should contain information that
would disrupt the flow of the report
Reports written in formal style, in third person
form
Use of grammar and spelling
Harvard referencing
Consequences of plagiarism
Times New Roman, 10-12
Final thoughts
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Use specialist support –
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Your supervisor will not be expert in all subjects
Checklist for project
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Work-related
Non trivial i.e. no predefined solution
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Choice of solutions that must be evaluated
Importance of design documentation - DIAGRAMS!
Project handbook
Project review document