CAPSTONE 41 OUTLINE AND REQUIRED CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
DEDICATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

- A striking statement or a general knowledge about the topic
- Describe the problem situation by considering global, national and local environments
- Justify the existence of the problem situation by citing data and authoritative sources as
bases to support the problem
- Use the deductive line of reasoning, from generic to specific
- Average of 3 pages
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
- Are clearly phrased in operational terms, specifying exactly what you are going to do, where,
and for what purpose;
- Are realistic considering local conditions;
- Use action verbs that are specific enough to be evaluated (Examples of action verbs are: to
determine, to provide, to verify, to calculate, to describe, and to establish). Avoid the use of
vague non-action verbs (Examples of non-action verbs: to appreciate, to understand, or to
study).
- Keep in mind that when the project is evaluated, the results will be compared to the
objectives. If the objectives have not been spelled out clearly, the project cannot be
evaluated.
- Start with the general objectives which is very parallel to the project title
- Explode the general objective into Specific Objectives that will help realize the proposed
study
- Objective should be smart
 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
- Think of the project scope as a box
o High level scope defines the sides of the box and separates what is relevant to your
project from what is irrelevant
o Scope – refers to the work that needs to be accomplished to deliver the product,
service or result with the specified features and functions
o Scope- explains the nature, coverage and time frame of the study
o Limitation- explains all that are not included in your project
o Scope of the project gives an overview of all the deliverables
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
- States the importance of the research study
- Justify the reason for the study
- Explain who will be the beneficiaries of the study and how they will benefit/gain from it
  FLOW OF THE STUDY
- Input, Process Output
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
- Alphabetically arranged
- Operationally defined or how terms were used in the study
- Taken from the title, main problem and specific problems

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND(FOR BSCS ONLY)

- Main theory to which the study is anchored
- Supporting theories used
- Literature on the variables of the study
- Local, national and international studies that support the theories
 RELATED LITERATURE
- Examines articles books, and other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research,
theory, providing description, summary and critical evaluation of work
- Evaluates previous and current research in regard to how relevant or useful it is and how it
relates to your research
- Coming from secondary sources
 Do not report any unpublished new or original experimental work
- Includes the following :
 An organizational pattern that combines both summary and synthesis to give
new interpretations of old material or combine new with old interpretations
 A tracing of the intellectual progression of the field including major debates
 An evaluation of the sources and an advise to the reader on which of the
materials cited are the most pertinent or relevant in the thesis or capstone
project
 RELATED STUDIES
- Contains description of existing systems that are relevant to the proposed capstone project
- Discussion of specific features of other systems that you intend to replicate and improve will
help define what is expected in your project
o COMPARATIVE MATRIX – see page 32

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

- This refers to the blueprint of the concept of the proposed research or capstone project
 ENVIRONMENT
- Describes the setting of the study
 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING METHODOLOGY
- A software development methodology or system development methodology in software
engineering is a framework that is used to structure, plan, and control the process of
developing an information system.
- These are the following methodologies:
o Agile Software Development
o Crystal Methods
o Dynamic Systems Development Model (DSDM)
 o Extreme Programming (XP)
o Feature Driven Development (FDD)
o Joint Application Development (JAD)
o Lean Development (LD)
o Rapid Application Development (RAD)
o Rational Unified Process (RUP)
o Scrum
o Spiral
o Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
o Waterfall (a.k.a. Traditional)
 PLANNING/CONCEPTION-INITIATION PHASE
o BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS – see page 31
o GANTT CHART /PERT CHART
o FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION DIAGRAM
- It mainly focusses on how the overall functionality is developed and its
interaction between various components.
- Decompose the first level components with their functions and continue to
decompose to lower levels until sufficient level of detail is achieved
- Perform an end-to-end walk-through of the business operation and check
each function to confirm that it is correct.
-
 ANALYSIS-DESIGN PHASE
o USE CASE DIAGRAMS
o STORYBOARD

- A storyboard used to represent systems will show the various interfaces (screens), present in
a system as well as the links between them. The representation of each interface should be
detailed enough for the reader to identify the purpose, contents and design elements
(http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/ipt-specifications.html)
o DATABASE DESIGN
o ENTITY RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAM
o DATA DICTIONARY
o NETWORK DESIGN
 NETWORK MODEL
 NETWORK TYPOLOGY
 DEVELOPMENT/CONSTRUCTION/BUILD PHASE
o TECHNOLOGY STACK
- A set of software that provides the infrastructure for a computer. The stacks differ whether
installed in a client or a server.
o SOFTWARE SPECIFICATION
o HARDWARE SPECIFICATION
o PROGRAM SPECIFICATION
 LIST OF MODULE

REFERENCES
- At least 30 sources
 o Books, journals, unpublished thesis and dissertations, internet sources and other
sources
- APA format (References menu->Manage Sources)

CURRICULUM VITAE
- Contains the educational attainment
- Work experience if applicable
- Personal data of the researcher
- 2x2 picture on the upper right corner (may be scanned)

APPENDICES

A. TRANSMITTAL LETTER
B. QUESTIONNAIRES
C. MAP OF RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT