The Final Year Project Process

DT228 Final Year Projects

Timeline

Timeline

Timeline

Timeline

Timeline

Timeline

Timeline

Research and background reading

Timeline

Research and background reading

SoftwareDesign

Timeline

Research and background reading

SoftwareDesign

SoftwareDevelopment

Timeline

Research and background reading

SoftwareDesign

SoftwareDevelopment

Testing andEvaluation

Timeline

Write-up

Research and background reading

SoftwareDesign

SoftwareDevelopment

Testing andEvaluation

Timeline

Research and background reading

SoftwareDesign

SoftwareDevelopment

Testing andEvaluation

Write-up

Project Proposal

• Students must put together proposal based on a project idea.

• Sources of project ideas include;– Staff suggestions (collected on a web page)– Staff Research Areas– Work placement suggestions (tricky)– Their own idea (most useful)

Staff Project Ideas

Staff Project Ideas

• Benefits– In well understood research area– Easy to find supervisor– Can build on existing work

• Drawbacks– Supervisor may have high standards– Supervisor may be unhappy that the students

vision diverges from theirs

Staff Project Research Areas

Staff Research Areas

• Benefits– In well understood research area– Easy to find supervisor– Can build on existing work

• Drawbacks– Supervisor may have high standards– Supervisor may be unhappy that the students

vision diverges from theirs

Work Placement Suggestions

• Benefits– Industry relevant– Up-to-date technologies and techniques– Creates communications with industry

• Drawbacks– Might be less emphasis on dissertation– Good industry application might not be

academically suitable

Student’s own idea

• Benefits– Self-motivated– Doing things they are good at– fun

• Drawbacks– Might be having too much fun– Hard to find supervisor– Might not be degree standard

Project Proposal

Project Proposal

• First week or two in October

• Written often with help of lecturer (project co-ordinator will suggest someone)

• Drafted and re-drafted

• Final draft signed by student and checked by lecturer other than co-ordinator

• Submitted to Project co-ordinator and finally accepted or asked for re-drafting

Allocation of supervisors

• Following complete collection of proposals, co-ordinator allocates students to supervisors, this can be complicated– Some lecturers have more free time– Some are interested in specific projects– Some will take students even if the don’t have

hours to do it

Allocation of supervisors

During Supervision

• Supervisors and students arrange to meet up once a week and discuss the project.

• Supervisors have problems with students– They come to the co-ordinator

• Students have problems with supervisors– They come to the co-ordinator

Supervisor Problems

• Students not attending meetings– Co-ordinator e-mails them

• Students not doing agreed tasks– Co-ordinator sit in on next meeting

Student Problems

• Students with medical circumstances• Students with personal circumstances• Students with issues of understanding

– Ask them to study more– Find someone else in the School to speak to– Find someone else in the DIT to speak to

Interim Report

• Last week of semester 1• The student submits 2 copies, one for second reader,

one for supervisor• 30-40 pages long• First two months of work

– Background reading– High level design– Some low level design

• Architecture (client/server, 3-tier, n-tier)• UML Diagrams

– Use Cases– Class Diagrams– Interaction Diagrams

• ERDs

Interim Demo

• Last week of semester 1• Supervisor, second reader and coordinator• Student does 10 minute PPT presentation

– Practice for final demo– Gets students reflecting on project– Creates a deadline for students– If student in trouble

• Helpful suggestions from 2nd reader and co-ordinator• Warn them to hurry up• Co-ordinator can follow-up and sit in on meetings

• Very often in February students get the blues, they get a bit depressed, a bit afraid, and want to defer or withdraw– They just need to hear “you can do it”

February blues

Deciding on the submission deadline

• The Easter holidays vary from year to year, if Easter is early, the deadline happens after the holidays, if Easter is late the deadline happens before Easter

• The deadline is never DURING Easter

Dissertation Submission

• The student submits two copies of their dissertation, one for supervisor, one for second reader. And e-mails an electronic copy to the co-ordinator, and the software.

• The deadline is FIXED, a student cannot be late unless they have very serious circumstances.– Like a read deadline in industry

Final Demo

• Supervisor, second reader and coordinator, and anyone else

• Students present PPT for 10 mins and demo software for 10 mins, a Q+A session follows in which the audience asks the students questions and clarifications– To check students wrote software– To check students understand topic clearly– To check a good approach was taken– To assess the students presentation skills– To confirm marks assigned to project

Finally

• Supervisor must keep a careful set of notes on all student-supervisor issues