Reference no: EM134001789

Capstone Project

INSTRUCTION

As this is the final capstone subject for the master's qualification, students will be required to work in project groups and draw on the skills and knowledge acquired throughout their studies in the other foundation, core and elective subjects. Each group will be required to choose from a number of projects, each offering a similar level of complexity. Each project will be described by a short informational paragraph, and the project groups will be required to determine the requirements from the information given and by questioning the project sponsor. Students will be given access to the sponsor as needed. The projects groups are required to meet once per week throughout the semester and discuss their progress with their project sponsor/ or supervisor. Frequent non-attendance at these meetings may affect an individual's grade. It is envisaged that each member of the group will receive the same grade, unless an individual's grade is affected by other circumstances. As part of the capstone project experience, the groups are expected to self-manage and devise their own solution to their particular problem, including determining the database requirements, the language and platform to be used, and to overcome technical difficulties encountered. During the weekly meetings, the groups are encouraged to discuss any difficulties with their supervisor, and while the supervisor will not solve the problems for the group, they will offer advice. Brief records of the meetings will be kept.

Below is a brief explanation of each of the deliverables including submission guidelines and deadlines, though the deadlines have already been given in the Table 1 above.

Proposal

The first submission represents the project proposal. This would be the proposal put forward for approval by an evaluation committee or IT Manager before a proposed software project could proceed to the next level. You should be drawing on your project management experience to put together this proposal. A Proposal Template will be provided with suggested sections to be included. However, you are free to add other sections to enhance your project proposal. You can also delete some of the included template sections, but you should think carefully before deciding to do this and have valid reasons for doing so.

The format of the project proposal can be found in the example document (Project Proposal template.doc). Use this document as a starting point to develop your plan and submit by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Project Plan

The project plan also draws on your IT Project Management skills to develop the Project Plan that follows on from a successful Proposal. You should refer to your notes and subject material from the Core IT Project Management subject you would have studied. Again, a Project Plan template will be provided with suggested sections to be included. However, you are free to add other sections to enhance your project plan. You can also delete some of the included template sections, but you should think carefully before deciding to do this and have valid reasons for doing so. The project plan will highlight your groups ability to develop guidelines by which you can manage the conduct of the project throughout the semester.

The format of the project plan can be found in the example document (Project Plan template.doc). Use this document as a starting point to develop your plan and submit by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Specification and Design Document

The Specification and design documentation will require your knowledge from Software Engineering, the core unit you would have studied in your first or second semester. Your group will need to produce the documentation required in order to prepare for the implementation of the project. The specification documentation will make sure you understand the requirements, and the design documentation will lay-out the plan for building the project. The types of things needed to be included here will be similar to the major assignment in Software Engineering. Additionally, students should analyze any security needs of project and using techniques learned from IT Security, incorporate these into the design for later implementation. A Specification and Design Plan template will be provided with suggested sections to be included. However, as with the previous templates, you are free to add other sections to enhance your documentation. You can also delete some of the included template sections, but you should think carefully before deciding to do this and have valid reasons for doing so.

This documentation is to prepare the group for the implementation phase of the project, and to reinforce the need for following a well-defined System Development Life-Cycle model.

Submit by the due date and time to the appropriate assignment drop-box.

Project Implementation.

The remainder of the project is the implementation phase of what you have previously planned and designed. To aid you in your implementation there are a number of deliverable milestones, including status reports at various points to help you and your supervisor in reflecting on what has been achieved to date and what is yet to be achieved. The group should be monitoring their progress and be taking steps to ensure they are on track by utilizing project management skills learned in previous units. During the implementation, the students should be coding to a high standard, utilizing skills developed in previous units. You need to implement the security model you have designed in the specification and design phase, and test this against business needs and concerns. You should utilize the knowledge and skills from IT Security. If there is a mobile app component of the project, you should utilize the latest tools and techniques to implement this part of the project.

Test Plan

Submit this document by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

User manual

Submit all documentation by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Reflective Journal

Submit all documentation by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Presentation and Demonstration

For this component you will be required to give a 15 - 20 minute presentation and demonstration on the functionality of your prototype, as well as answer any questions from the audience. The presentations will be conducted in a symposium type setting after the end of the semester, typically in week 14. There is no submission for this component of assessment, you will be graded on your presentation, demonstration of technical skills and ability to answer any questions put to you. As well as all students in the class, there will be a panel of three academic staff members grading the presentation and demonstration. During the demonstration, its possible you might be asked to further demonstrate certain functionality of your prototype by adding records, performing tasks and observing the results on the newly added data, or even show the code behind the functionality. You should make sure you have a suitable amount of test data loaded, and that you have tested your prototype according to the test plan you submitted in session 11.

As this component is based on your presentation, you will need to present in order to be allocated any grade for this component. Students not attending will not be given a grade even if their group demonstrates in their absence.