The Foundation Degree Project

Geoff Leese September 2008

What's it about?

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

administrative guidance specialist support assessment

How is it assessed?

Four milestones 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 You will be allocated a specific supervisor who will

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

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. 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? 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

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 Weighting Hand in

Project Identification

Title and brief outline (1 paragraph only)

Week 1 or 2

Milestone 1 Project Proposal (Approx 1000 words)

10% Week 4

Milestone 2 Research, Analysis and Design (Approx 5000-7500 words)

40% Week 13

Milestone 3 Implementation, Testing and Evaluation (Approx 5000-7500 words)

20% Week 24

Milestone 4 Demonstration and Presentation 30% Within 2 weeks of Milestone 3

Project identification

Identify title and brief outline for your project Must be submitted to your project supervisor

Should be discussed at first review No marks – formative only

Milestone 1 – Project proposal 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

Title Ethical statement Background

Milestone 1

Aims and objectives What is the purpose of your project? In order to deliver your aims what are your objectives?

(bulleted points) Academic objectives, personal objectives, system and business

objectives, functionality Test objectives

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

Justification How will project meet requirements of the course? Why topic interests you? What you hope to gain?

Scope What are you going to carry out Functional, academic boundaries List what you are NOT going to do

Deliverables What you intend to produce i.e. project report, prototype

system, requirements specification, time plans, test plans, supporting documentation

Milestone 1

Constraints Time Existing skills Resources Data availability

Resources People Technical

Risks 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 Two types of research

Project specific Subject matter, content , interface

Implementation specific Technologies, OS, methodologies, development

languages/tools, hardware/software

Project Gantt chart

Milestone 2

Analysis 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

Analysis should follow chosen methodology Appropriate tools should be chosen

Design Logical models should be mapped to produce a

detailed design specification Should include where appropriate:

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 Description of how the solution is realised Selection of implementation method should be

described and justified Should include:

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

Testing should address the evaluation of the solution against its objectives and success criteria 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

Evaluation deals with success of project in academic terms, compared to the success criteria for the solution 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

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 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

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 Use specialist support –

Your supervisor will not be expert in all subjects Checklist for project

Work-related Non trivial i.e. no predefined solution

Choice of solutions that must be evaluated Importance of design documentation - DIAGRAMS!

Project handbook Project review document