Initial 23

Lecture on
Project Specification and Planning Document
Jens Blanck
5 October 2023
Jens Blanck Lecture onProject Specification and Planning Document 5 October 2023 1 / 35
Why are we doing a project?
Overview
1 Why are we doing a project?
2 Projects
3 Project Specification and Planning document

A general rule
Marking Scheme
Project Definition
Understanding of the Topic
Project management
Quality of presentation
Marking
4 The End
The ability to plan and accomplish a

substantial project.1
1
One of the Educational Aims in the Departmental Handbook.
Subject Benchmark Statement: Computing (QAA)
Computing courses often conclude with a capstone activity, which brings together
knowledge and practical and analytical skills that learners have developed throughout the
course. This may take the form of a traditional project [our emphasis] or end-point as-
sessment, but other formats can be appropriate, whether research or practice-led.2
2
Subject Benchmark Statement: Computing, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA),
March 2022.
Subject Benchmark Statement: Computing (QAA)
On graduating with an honours degree in computing at typical level, students should be

able to:
[…]
Demonstrate the ability to work in a proactive and effective manner, including as a
member of a team, making good use of tools and techniques to successfully communicate,
manage tasks and plan projects with minimum guidance3 [our emphasis]
[…]
This is your project, you should be driving it.
3
Subject Benchmark Statement: Computing, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA),
March 2022.
Projects
Overview
2 Projects

A general rule
Marking Scheme
Project Definition
Project management
Marking
4 The End
Projects
Project modules
3 types of projects
Development module Dissertation module
Software Engineering CSP301 CSP300
Computer Science CSP354 CSP344
Non-technical (CS) CSP354 CSP302
All projects share the same number of credits (15 + 15) and have the same
deliverables and deadlines.
Projects differ in
global aims
style, documentation and management.
Projects
Supervision policy
At a minimum we will hold 2 compulsory academic mentoring sessions each semester:

One must be a half-hour individual meeting per student where Academic Mentoring
takes place and also discussion of the project.
The other can be a group meeting.
In addition supervisors will allow students to book meetings to discuss their projects:
Each student can have up to 3 hours each semester for such meetings. Students must
contact supervisors to organise these.
It is up to supervisors to decide how this works. E.g., they could be group meetings
or individual meetings.
Projects
Timeline
Today You should have met with your supervisor.

30 October Project Specification and Planning Document.
26 November – 2 December Gregynog Presentation.
8 December Career Development.
January 2024 Winter exams.
26 April 2024 Project Dissertation.
May 2024 Project Fair.
May/June 2024 Summer exams.
Projects
Information
Project Handbook on Canvas
Marking Scheme on CS Project Manager
Projects
Some Tips
Don’t know who your supervisor is????

Look at your emails and CS Project Manager first.
Ask me.
Contacts with supervisor

It is your job to chase her/him up and attend meetings!
Be ambitious in your project

It is your best chance to show your abilities!
Project Specification and Planning document
Overview
2 Projects

A general rule
Marking Scheme
Project Definition
Project management
Marking
4 The End
Project Specification and Planning document A general rule
Suggestions
All information here are suggestions

See them as starting points.
Feel free to do otherwise.
Come to an agreement with your supervisor on the format of your document.
Content counts – not the number of words or pages.
It is all about quality and depth of discussion.
Project Specification and Planning document A general rule
Length of document
Length of document
There is an upper bound on the length of the core text (introduction to summary).
The core text should not exceed 7500 words (about 15 pages).
Project Specification and Planning document Marking Scheme
Marking Scheme
Marking Scheme
The four main categories are roughly equally weighted.
Project Definition
Understanding the Topic
Project Management (CS/SE versions)
Quality of the Presentation
Formative feedback
There is no set formula for computing grades from marks indicated by the boxes.
These are indicative only as formative feedback to students.
The summative feedback is the score. It is not detailed any further.
Project Specification and Planning document Project Definition
Project Definition
Motivation behind the project This should explain why the project is worthwhile. The
project should be placed into context so that it is clear
what the project will achieve.
Project aims and objectives Aims and objectives should be clearly stated. They should
be measurable.
Suggested amounts
About 2 pages:
1–1.5 pages on motivation.
0.5–1 page of detailed project aims and objectives.
Motivation and Context
Example (D Garner, 2010)

“Software written today differs from that written in the past in two main ways: it is more
complex, and handles more data than ever before. When Windows 95 was released it con-
tained 11 million lines of code, in contrast six years later Windows XP had 40 million
lines [1]. This gives rise to a greater need for systematic testing.”
Note the facts supported by a reference that lead to the conclusion made.
Project Aims

“More concretely, the aims of the project are as follows:
To develop a method of generating test data with trends using genetic algorithms.
To demonstrate our approach on a case study of credit card fraud detection.
To integrate our method in Grid-Tool’s DataMaker.”
These are precise statements that may be checked for completion at the end.
The distinction in aims and objectives varies with topic area and personal preferences.
Please check with your supervisor how they would like to see them presented.
Project Specification and Planning document Understanding of the Topic
Background research Has a good selection of material been found and understood?
Related work Have similar things been attempted before? What are the
differences? What has been learnt from these other attempts?
Suggested amounts
Substantial part of the Project Specification and Planning Document.
About 3-4 pages.
Background research
There is a clear trajectory in the sections showing that they have an overall grasp.
2 Testing 4 Genetic algorithms 5 Genetic algorithms applied to testing
Related work

“In 1999 Chan et al wrote a paper applying genetic algorithms to fraud detection, which
will be the subject of our case study. In this work they stated that their scalable black-box
approach for building efficient fraud detectors can significantly reduce loss due to illegiti-
mate behaviour. In many cases, the authors methods outperform a well-known, state of the
art commercial fraud-detection system [11].”
They have found support for their approach as it has been found successful in
previous attempts.
Project Specification and Planning document Project management
Methodology
The methodology is the general strategy that outlines the way in which the project is to be
undertaken and, among other things, identifies the methods to be used in it. It’s the
difference in methodology that divide projects into three categories.
Computer Science (Non-technical)
Computer Science (Technical)
Software Engineering
Choosing methodology
Non-technical CS:
e.g., “Scientific Methods for the Humanities.”
Not BCS Accredited!
Technical CS:
e.g., “About Computing Science Research Methodology.”
Software Develpment Life Cycle (SDLC) elements should be in.
Software Engineering:
SDLC must be chosen, student chooses how it applies.
Project management (CS)
Planning of the project Clearly described tasks with deliverables

Risk analysis Identifying risks and mitigating them
Suggested amounts
About 2-3 pages:
1-2 pages on the applied methodology & work schedule.
1 page on risk analysis.
Project management (SE)
Planning of the project Clearly described tasks with deliverables

Risk analysis Identifying risks and mitigating them
SDLC Software development model
Requirements and deliverables Requirements on the generated product
Suggested amounts
About 2-3 pages:
1 page on how the chosen SDLC applies & work schedule
1 page on risk analysis
1 page on client requirements. Be formal.
Applied SDLC model

“We have chosen a Test-Driven development model for this project. This is also known
as agile programming and like most models has a sequence of iterations. In contrast to
the more usual spiral model which places emphasis on a thorough design being complete
before the first implementation, test-driven development has [a] principle of always having
a working, albeit basic version of the software. This is supported by iterations of test-then-
code cycles, in which each cycle implements another user feature or piece of functionality
[4].”
Work schedule
The example shows the work schedule using a Gantt chart.

Naturally, such a chart is accompanied by a textual explanation.
The tasks and the milestones should have detailed descriptions.
Linking methodology and work plan
SDLC describes some development phases.
Question
Are these phases visible in the project plan?
At the end of each phase of a SDLC, a number of deliverables are due:

programs,
specifications,
documents.
Question
Are these reflected in the milestones & deliverables of the project plan?
Risk analysis
Example (Excerpt, D Garner, 2010)

“It may be found that a genetic algorithm cannot solve a more complex data generation
problem. We have avoided this by thoroughly researching the algorithms needed and any
previous success had by other scientists, but if an insurmountable difficulty does occur we
will research deeper into other available methods.”
Elements for each identified risk:

What is the bad thing that might happen?
How likely is it?
How much would it endanger the project?
What plan is in place in order to avoid it? (Mitigation)
Can you sort out a global score for each risk and rank them?
Project Specification and Planning document Quality of presentation
Organisation and structure Presentation is clear and easy to navigate and follow.
Referencing Citations and references follow good practice. Claims are
supported by references.
Use of tables and figures Tables and figures support the written text.
Organisation of the document
An abstract.
A title page.
A table of contents.
An introduction.
Several sections for the main body of your work, including a background one.
A summary or conclusion.
References.
Spelling and grammar
Spellcheckers and grammar checkers

These catch many embarrassing errors. Use them!
Proofreading
These tools do not prevent the need to proofread.
References
External material come in different flavours, e.g.

book,
article in journal,
article in conference,
etc.
For each flavour a different set of data is needed in the references, e.g.,
author,
title,
publisher,
year.
Compilation of what is needed: see Project Handbook.
Project Specification and Planning document Marking
Marking
Markers
Two markers in general.
Second marker will check that first marker’s mark and comments are accurate.
Components of Development module:
Project Specification and Planning Document: 35%
Career Development: 10%
Gregynog Presentation: 25%
Project Fair: 30%
The End
Good Luck!
Good luck with your

Project Specification and Planning
Documents!

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Lecture on

Project Specification and Planning Document

1 Why are we doing a project?

3 Project Specification and Planning document

The ability to plan and accomplish a

Subject Benchmark Statement: Computing (QAA)

Subject Benchmark Statement: Computing (QAA)

On graduating with an honours degree in computing at typical level, students should be

This is your project, you should be driving it.

1 Why are we doing a project?

3 Project Specification and Planning document

At a minimum we will hold 2 compulsory academic mentoring sessions each semester:

Today You should have met with your supervisor.

Project Handbook on Canvas

Marking Scheme on CS Project Manager

Don’t know who your supervisor is????

Contacts with supervisor

Be ambitious in your project

1 Why are we doing a project?

3 Project Specification and Planning document

All information here are suggestions

The summative feedback is the score. It is not detailed any further.

Motivation and Context

Example (D Garner, 2010)

Example (D Garner, 2010)

Understanding of the Topic

Example (D Garner, 2010)

Example (D Garner, 2010)

Project management (CS)

Planning of the project Clearly described tasks with deliverables

Project management (SE)

Planning of the project Clearly described tasks with deliverables

Applied SDLC model

Example (D Garner, 2010)

Example (D Garner, 2010)

The example shows the work schedule using a Gantt chart.

Linking methodology and work plan

SDLC describes some development phases.

At the end of each phase of a SDLC, a number of deliverables are due:

Example (Excerpt, D Garner, 2010)

Elements for each identified risk:

Organisation of the document

Spelling and grammar

Spellcheckers and grammar checkers

External material come in different flavours, e.g.

Good luck with your

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