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Practice Makes Perfect: Success in Undergraduate Projects

Seminar in HIT, Harbin, 12.01.2005. Practice Makes Perfect: Success in Undergraduate Projects. Dr Bing Wu BSc MSc PhD Head, Department of Computer Science School of Computing Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland. Outline of Today’s Seminar. 1. Discussions on Undergraduate Projects

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Practice Makes Perfect: Success in Undergraduate Projects

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  1. Seminar in HIT, Harbin, 12.01.2005 Practice Makes Perfect:Success in Undergraduate Projects Dr Bing Wu BSc MSc PhD Head, Department of Computer Science School of Computing Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

  2. Outline of Today’s Seminar 1. Discussions on Undergraduate Projects 2. Information Technology Needs Hands-on : building-up abilities by doing minor projects 3. Getting Ready for Employment/Industries : the first ever major project -- final year project 4. Summary and Discussions Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  3. Outline of Today’s Seminar 1. Discussions on Undergraduate Projects 1.1 Objectives of Undergraduate Projects 1.2Minor and Major Projects 1.3Life Cycle of a Project -- software engineering disciplines 1.4 An Approach for a Undergraduate Project 1.5 Student’s RoleS in Conducting a Project 1.6Qualities of Good Projects -- student, supervising system (static, dynamic), supervisor, etc. Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  4. Outline of Today’s Seminar 2. Information Technology Needs Hands-on : building-up abilities by doing minor projects 2.1 Design a Set of Assignments for a Subject 2.2 Case Studies of Minor Projects: UNIX System Programming 2.3 A Polo System as a UNIX assignment Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  5. Outline of Today’s Seminar 3. Getting Ready for Employment/Industries : the first ever major project -- final year project 3.1Objectives of the Final Year Projects 3.2Stages of Final Year Projects 3.3 Playing Proper RoleS 3.4Responsibilities of Supervisors and Students 3.5 Meeting Project Deadlines 3.6 Writing Up Project Documentation 3.7 Aiming at the Real World 3.8 Case Studies Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  6. Outline of Today’s Seminar 4. Summary and Discussions 4.1 Summary 4.2 Discussions Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  7. 1. Discussions on Undergraduate Projects 1.1 Objectives of Undergraduate Projects 1.2Minor and Major Projects 1.3Life Cycle of a Project -- software engineering disciplines 1.4 An Approach for a Undergraduate Project 1.5 Student’s RoleS in Conducting a Project 1.6Qualities of Good Projects Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  8. 1.1 Objectives of Undergraduate Projects • To allow each undergraduate to conduct an (substantial) piece of technologic, academic, scientific or engineering work as an individualinitiative, and to write it up and present it in a scholarly/professional fashion. This will further the students' analytical skills and their abilities in oral and written communication. Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  9. 1.1 Objectives of Undergraduate Projects • To train and enhance the creativity and to test the student’s ability to apply the knowledge learned from the relevant subject(s) and/or the course as a whole Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  10. 1.2Minor and Major Projects Minor Project • may be known also as assignment of a subject • may be conducted as a group project • normally run for one or few weeks • the tasks are normally specified clearly by lecturer(s) • the main aim of such an assignment is to let students learn and practice some specific techniques and/or methodologies and so on. Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  11. 1.2Minor and Major Projects Major Project • final year project • normally runs for one academic year • normally is conducted by an individualstudent Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  12. 1.3Life Cycle of a Project -- software engineering disciplines Water Fall Model ( software engineering, Ian Sommerville, 5th Ed, page 9) Requirements Analysis System and Software Design Implementation and unit testing Integration and System testing Operation and maintenance Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  13. 1.4An Approach for a Undergraduate Project • Identify a project topic and main objectives of the project (mainly by students themselves if major) • Submit a proposal articulating clearly the aims and objectives of the project • Research and/or analyse the project area to gain an understanding of the work involved • Design, implement and test a solution if appropriate • Write a manual/report which clearly documents the project and how each of the above stages were carried out • Present the project Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  14. 1.5 Student’s RoleS in Conducting a Project 1. Technic Aspects • requirements analyst, • architects designer, • system developer (programmer), • system tester, etc. 2. Management and Administration Aspect: • a project manager 3. Learning and Teaching Aspect: • a student -- regularly meeting your supervisor is vital! Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  15. 1.6 Qualities of Good Projects 1. Qualities of Supervising System: • Static -- project guidelines, second supervisor, etc. • Dynamic -- things can go wrong! 2. Qualities of Supervisors : • Caring, Responsive, etc. 3. Qualities of students: • open minded • determined • organised • imaginative • curious • critical • careful • good communicator • creative • positive Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  16. 2. Information Technology Needs Hands-on : building-up abilities by doing minor projects 2.1 Design a Set of Assignments for a Subject 2.2 Case Studies of Minor Projects: UNIX System Programming 2.3 A Polo System as a UNIX assignment Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  17. 2.1 Design a Set of Assignments for a Subject • Software are produced through programming, not just thinking! • Hands-on skills can only be gained by practising • It is up to the lecturer to design a set of assignments for a subject • However, it would always be good if students want to practise more Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  18. 2.2 Case Studies of Minor Projects: UNIX System Programming • Lab-1 (4 hours) getting familiar with the Unix/Linux environment (.bashrc, .bash_profile and .bash_logout, etc.) • Lab-2 (4 hours) Unix Quoting mechanism. Y2K problem • Lab-3(4 hours) developing Unix utilities on its own (cat, cp and ls) • Lab-4(6 hour) developing a mini Shell for Unix Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  19. 2.3 A Polo System as a UNIX assignments The Personal Links Book • The main aim of the Personal Links Book (polo) program is to maintain a DATABASE/File (mybook), which holds records of your personal links. The Features : • The main features of the polo program is to add, search, display, change and remove your personal links against your database file mybook. The Usage : • polo can be executed without any arguments, which then asks inputs interactively • polo can also be executed with string of words, which are used for search for records Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  20. 2.3 A Polo System as a UNIX assignments The Record Output Protocol/Format : __________________________ | Name : string | | Address1 : string | | Address2 : string | | Address3 : string | | Telephone : string | | Fax : string | | Email : string | | WebSite : string | | | | o o | |________________________ | _____________________________________ | Name : Dr Bing Wu | | Add : Computer Science Department | | D. I. T | | Kevin Street, Dublin 8 | | Tel : 01 402 4819 | | Fax : 01 402 4985 | | Email : bing.wu@dit.ie | | Web : http://www.comp.dit.ie/bwu | | | | o o | |____________________________________| Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  21. 3. Getting Ready for Employment/Industries : the first ever major project -- final year project 3.1Objectives of the Final Year Projects 3.2Stages of Final Year Projects 3.3 Playing Proper RoleS 3.4Responsibilities of Supervisors and Students 3.5 Meeting Project Deadlines 3.6 Writing Up Project Documentation: progress reports, final manual 3.7 Aiming at the Real World: list of projects 3.8 Case Studies : Failed, successful and award-winning Projects Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  22. 3.1 Objectives of the Final Year Projects • A final year project will be a major piece of individual work, bringing together several strands of student’s study. • Students should consider it as a preparation for work in industry, or (in some cases) preparation for a higher degree. • The main aim is to draw together knowledge, skills and techniques learnt in the previous 3 years plus new material from the final year. Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  23. 3.2 Stages of Final Year Projects 1. Investigating ideas 2. Selecting and Proposing a direction & topics 3. Analysing requirements 4. Determining specifications 5. Designing architecture and components 6. Carrying out implementation 7. Reviewing and Adjusting the progress 8. Testing and Maintaining the system 9. Demonstrating the system 10. Writing the project manual and 11. Presenting the final results Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  24. 3.3 Playing Proper RoleS 1. Technic Aspects • requirements analyst, • architects designer, • system developer, • system tester, etc. 2. Management and Administration Aspect: • a project manager 3. Learning and Teaching Aspect: • a student -- regularly meeting your supervisor is vital! Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  25. 3.4 Responsibilities of Supervisors and Students Responsibilities of the Supervisor • to give guidance about the nature of the project and the standard expected, about the planning of the project, about literature and sources, about techniques and methods and about any problems of plagiarism; • to maintain contact via regular tutorial meetings; • to be accessible within reason at other times for giving advice to the student; • to give detailed advice on milestones; Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  26. 3.4 Responsibilities of Supervisors and Students Responsibilities of the Supervisor • to request written work as appropriate, and return such work with constructive criticism within a reasonable time; • to ensure that a student is made aware of any inadequacy of progress, or of standards of work below those expected; • to encourage the student to produce early draft chapters, to comment on them critically and return the comments promptly. If the student does not do so, this is the student's responsibility. Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  27. 3.4 Responsibilities of Supervisors and Students Responsibilities of the Student • to agree on a schedule of meetings with the supervisor, and to attend such meetings; • to take the initiative in raising problems, however elementary they may seem; • to maintain the progress of the work in accordance with the milestones and objectives agreed with the supervisor; • to contribute to planning the project, and monitoring progress against the plan; Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  28. 3.4 Responsibilities of Supervisors and Students Responsibilities of the Student • to keep a project log for recording results, ideas, references etc. acquired as the project progresses; • to determine the contents of the report and of oral presentations; • to present draft chapters to the supervisor before the Easter vacation. There is no obligation on supervisors to read drafts during the vacation. • In summary, the management of the project, and the course that it takes, are ultimately the responsibility of the student. Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  29. 3.5 Meeting Project Deadlines • Project schedule must be planned at the beginning of the project • Milestones must be clearly identified • Deliverables of each stage must be specified • Deadlines must be met! • However, project schedule is subject to adjustment Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  30. 3.6 Writing Up Project Documentation • Project proposal • Research reports • Design report(s) • Coding & Commenting • Final project manual Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  31. 3.6 Writing Up Project Documentation Report Format -- A typical report will require the following: 1. a title page, containing the title, author's name and date 2. the second page must contain an abstract of 150-300 words, summarising the project objectives, approach and achievement; 3. subsequent pages should show a list of contents (chapter headings plus major section headings with page numbers; also titles of Appendices and a list of figures, each of which must be numbered); 4.the body of the report. Each chapter should start on a new page. Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  32. 3.6 Writing Up Project Documentation Final Project Format : The following is an attempt to illustrate the "typical" structure: 1.Chapter 1 Introduction 2.Chapter 2 My Theory, Solution, Program, Problem, etc. 3.Chapter 3 Description of Design, Formalism etc. 4.Chapter 4 Implementation 5.Chapter 5 Results and Evaluation 6.Chapter 6 Conclusions 7.References 8.Appendices Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  33. 4. Summary and Discussions 4.1 Summary 4.2 Discussions Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  34. 4.1 Summary 1. Discussions on Undergraduate Projects 2. Information Technology Needs Hands-on : building-up abilities by doing minor projects 3. Getting Ready for Employment/Industries : the first ever major project -- final year project 4. Some Case Studies Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  35. 4.2 Discussions • The project is the one area where the student must work completely independently • Student has considerable flexibility in the choice of project topic • Student gets the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge gained across the whole course • A successful project calls for considerable creativity and independent thought • The project has value beyond the marks awarded – employers view it as an important measure of ability • The project process is vital in creating and maintaining links with industry Seminar in HIT, Harbin

  36. Any Questions? Practice Makes Perfect:Success in Undergraduate Projects Seminar in HIT, Harbin 12.01.2005

  37. Practice Makes Perfect Success in Undergraduate Projects Thanks for Your Attention 谢 谢 Go Raibh Maith Agat Dr Bing Wu BSc MSc PhD Head, Department of Computer Science School of Computing Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland Seminar in HIT, Harbin

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