now what? 1. i have short-listed projects i am interested in i know the types of projects i would...
DESCRIPTION
1. Deliverable #1: PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE DATE: 28/08/12 2. Deliverable #2: LITERATURE REVIEW DUE DATE:20/11/ Deliverable #3: INTERIM REPORT / DRAFT CHAPTER DUE DATE: to be announced 4. Deliverable #4: FINAL REPORT & SOFTWARE PRODUCT DUE DATE: to be announced 3TRANSCRIPT
Project Selection .... DONE!Now what?
1
Project Selection
I have short-listed projects I am interested in
I know the types of projects I would like to pursue
I have an idea of the resources available to me for the Case Study I intend to use
I have an idea of the timeline for deliverables
2
Timeline for deliverables1. Deliverable #1: PROJECT PROPOSAL
DUE DATE: 28/08/122. Deliverable #2: LITERATURE REVIEW
DUE DATE:20/11/2012
3. Deliverable #3: INTERIM REPORT / DRAFT CHAPTER DUE DATE: to be announced
4. Deliverable #4: FINAL REPORT & SOFTWARE PRODUCT DUE DATE: to be announced 3
What does each deliverable entail?
4
After Project Selection – Make a Plan
5
Title of ProjectChoose a good title for your project
MY PRODUCT?Is it original? Does it
adequately demonstrate my research theory?
WHO ARE THE
STAKEHOLDERS?Who will benefit from your
research?
WHY THIS PROJECT?
Why have you selected this project?
WHAT’S THE PLAN?
Objectives? Tasks? Activities?RESEARCH?
Where do you start?
DEADLINES? When are the key deliverables due?
Am I on schedule?
WHAT DOES THE PROJECT SEEK TO
DO?
An Example – Make a Plan
6
Title of Project
MY PRODUCT?
WHO ARE THE
STAKEHOLDERS?
WHY THIS PROJECT?
WHAT’S THE PLAN?
RESEARCH?
DEADLINES?
WHAT DOES THE PROJECT SEEK TO
DO?
Next I need to sell my idea to my Supervisor(s)......
I HAVE A PLAN.........
7
The Project Proposal
8
Basics A project proposal is the first important
document that you will produce for your project
Defines the specifics of a potential project to persuade your Supervisors to “buy-in” and approve research project
Concise, efficient writing Format – refer to template Outcome – convince Supervisors that your
research project is justified Wording needs to be both informative and
persuasive It includes your plan of how you will go about
your project9
project proposals
The project proposal demonstrates that: you have thought the proposed project
through it is achievable in the time available it is of at the right academic level it is has the right content for your
programme
10
What you will need in your Proposal A Title, your Name and Programme A list of Key Words or Phrases A Brief outline of the Project (the
Aim)Describe in half a page what you plan to achieve in your project; remember the basic breakdown into three tasks “What will I research”, “What will I build”, “How will I evaluate it”.
A set of ObjectivesBreak down your Project into smaller objectives
11
and … A list of lecture courses you have
taken that are directly relevantWeb Engineering …
List all needed resourceshardware, software, …
Your referencesUseful books and journal articles.
Critical success factorsWhat are the critical activities, people or resources that can make or break your project ?
12
the Title and Keywords
Your research and reading will help you identify a list of keywords that are directly relevant to your project e.g. Database integration, native XML
databases, security, access control, hotel management systems ….
Once you have a good keyword list you can easily construct a title by making use of the really important keywords 13
Brief outline or Project AimTell the story of the project in a
concise logical way – think of how you would describe it to a friend over a coffee.
Focus on the essentials of your project – those things that your project will deliver.
Check back on this once you have written down your objectives (next …) 14
Objectivesthe SMART acronym reminds you that objectives must be: Specific – An Objective can't be vague – be specific Measurable - Define a method of measuring the
objective so you know when it is achieved Agreed-To/Achievable - you and your supervisor need to
agree to the objective, and it also must be do-able Realistic/Rewarding - It must be a realistic objective, and
it must make sense to do it Time-related - without a schedule and due date, it will
just keep going, and going, and going...
Courtesy Wikipedia
15
so … All your Objectives should have clear titles e.g.
“Research current hotel management systems systems that attempt database integration”
Objectives should all have deliverables, i.e. they can be measured – (how far have I got?) you will know when the objective is achieved because
you will have the deliverable ready Objectives should be agreed with your supervisor
(but you will do all the work ) Objectives should all contribute directly to your project
and getting a good grade Objectives should all have a time schedule
16
split things upAnything complicated benefits from being
split into smaller pieces; (divide and conquer).
Your Research objective could split into background ideas, requirements analysis,
problems, technology review, data gathering (e.g. on similar products, applications, sites) …
Your Build objective could split into visual design, functional requirements, UML
diagrams, implementation issues … Your Evaluate objective could split into
testing, usability, security …17
make sure that You choose sensible objectives
use verbs like: to investigate, to study, to develop, to analyse and so on
“One objective is to read that ASP.Net book”. “Investigate use of ASP in “topic area” websites”
Each objective or task must Have a set of known activities (e.g. using electronic
databases, creating UML or code, testing …) Have a set of deliverables (e.g. the background
section of the introduction chapter, a set of Use Case, a Class Diagram …)
Once you have defined an objective, estimate how long it will take you to achieve it (i.e. have all the deliverables)
Add all your timescales together into your Project Schedule.
18
the schedule
A good proposal will include a schedule showing how all the individual objectives fit together and timescales add up
A Gantt chart is a good way to do this
If the total time is too long then you need to reduce the scope (how much you will do) of some of the time-consuming objectives 19
Aim = Sum of Objectives A project proposal should be
consistent So look carefully at all your objectives
and their deliverables When they are all complete you should
have finished your project with something researched, built and evaluated.
When you have completed all the objectives you should have achieved your Project Aim!
20
keep referring back
Whenever you are uncertain as to whether something should or should not be included in the project, refer back to the Project Aim.
Ask yourself whether a proposed activity supports the Project’s Aim. If it doesn’t then decide whether you really need it.
21
will this help me? Yes! For your project to have a high
probability of a success, you must have produced a good proposal and have
defined a good set of objectives identified how these objectives will be
met made an assessment of the resources
required to complete the project and have shown it to your supervisor
22
conclusion Work on your project proposal (outline +
objectives + schedule) Show a draft to your supervisor and get
his/her comments Submit it as a word document via the Project
web pages A plan can always be modified and improved,
but always discuss changes with your supervisor
23