Project Type: Software Engineering
Overview
A project may focus on identifying a particular software problem, designing a solution, and implementing and evaluating it. Such a project is likely to place significant emphasis both on the software artifact produced, and on the report/dissertation. Project elements will include:
- Prioritised software requirements.
- Design, implementation and testing.
- Evaluation of the software artifact relative to the requirements and to any existing approaches.
Suggested report/dissertation content
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Title page | See general guidance. |
| Abstract | Ditto |
| Declaration | Ditto |
| Contents page | Ditto |
| Introduction | Ditto |
| Background | Ditto |
| Context survey | Ditto |
| Requirements specification | Define and explain the properties that the software solution must have. You may wish to specify different types of requirements and give them priorities if applicable. |
| Project methodology | Describe the methodology adopted, including project management, software engineering process, and any ethical concerns. |
| Design | Explain the structure of the system, with particular focus on the main ideas of the design, unusual design features, novel user interface features, etc. |
| Implementation | Explain any important or novel algorithms and data structures, distinctive implementation decisions, etc. Give an overview of your testing approach. |
| Evaluation and critical appraisal | See general guidance. |
| Conclusions and further work | Ditto |
| References | Ditto |
| Appendix: testing summary | This should describe the steps taken to debug, test, verify or otherwise confirm the correctness of the various modules and their combination. |
| Appendix: user manual | Instructions on installing, executing and using the system where appropriate. |
| Appendix: ethics | See general guidance. |
| Appendix: optional further material | Ditto |
This structure can be varied with supervisor approval.
Mark descriptors
- 1-3: Little evidence of any attempt to complete the project.
- 4-6: Little evidence of any acceptable attempt to complete the project, with no substantial relevant material submitted.
- 7: Evidence of an acceptable attempt at the project, with major problems.
- 8-10: Evidence of a reasonable attempt at the project, addressing some of the requirements.
- 11-13: A reasonable presentation of the project, demonstrating understanding of the problem domain and an acceptable level of software engineering quality.
- 14-16: A good presentation of the project, demonstrating good understanding of the problem domain and a good level of software engineering quality.
- 17-18: A comprehensive and clear presentation of the project, demonstrating an excellent understanding of the problem domain and a correspondingly high level of software engineering quality.
- 19-20: An exceptional presentation of the project, demonstrating an outstanding understanding of the problem domain and a correspondingly high level of software engineering quality. The report shows elements of novel insight.