Comp 1181-writing a project proposal

School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences

The Project Proposal

Aims

The aim of this lecture is to present an approach to defining a project and to creating a formal project proposal document.

Objectives and Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lecture, students should:

• Be able to list the contents required in a formal project proposal.• Be able to distinguish between an aim and an objective.• Be able to state the difference between high-level and low-level project objectives.• Be able to specify for each high-level project objective, a set of activities needed

to achieve that objective, together with a set of resulting deliverables.• Be able to link the production of a well-defined project proposal with clear

objectives as a contributory factor to eventual project success.

Introduction

In order to ensure that an academic project may commence with every chance of being brought to a successful conclusion, a number of activities should be considered critical. These include:

Undertake initial investigation of the problem areaFormulate a project proposalCarry out a literature reviewSelect and apply appropriate methods in a rigorous or semi-rigorous mannerApply project management and risk assessment methodsApply validation checks at appropriate points in the project

The first of these has already been dealt with in earlier lectures. This lecture will describe the project proposal and its contents. We will discuss each of the other activities in later lectures.

The Project Proposal

By now, you should have a firm idea of the computing project that you wish to undertake. Even if you haven’t, you should now know how to go about creating a short-list of project ideas, and how to evaluate the appropriateness and associated risk of each candidate project before finally choosing one to carry out. Once this is done, and the supervisor accepts the project idea, it is advisable to plan and set out the details of the specific project that will be undertaken. This will include the activities

COMP1161 and COMP1169 1 PNM/2002


required and their associated deliverables. These and other project details are set out in a formalised project proposal. The purpose of the project proposal is to specify the project that will actually be carried out by stating a clearly understood set of objectives and a specific method or approach that will be adopted to achieve them.

As Cornford and Smithson point out, “There is only a limited time to work on a project, and it is important that, as far as possible, a direct path is taken that will result in a completed and coherent body of work within the time available” [Cornford and Smithson, 1996]. It is particularly important that you are able to specify completely, a body of work that can be carried out and completed in the time available to you. Too often, student projects fail to achieve their stated objectives, and implementations are left incomplete, either because the student has failed to define the scope of the project, or because they have not made any serious attempt to match the project scope to the time they will actually have available to spend on their project. Projects must be clearly scoped in terms of their size and complexity, and the project topic must be well defined. We choose to adopt the following format for a project proposal [Cornford and Smithson, 1996].

Format for a Project Proposal

A project proposal is a formal definition of the specific project to be undertaken. It includes the following sections:

TitleA good project title should attract a reader’s interest as well as encapsulating the essence of the work carried out in the project.

IntroductionDescribe in half a page the area of study and the scope of the project e.g. what the project will be concerned with (and what it won’t include).

Key phrasesGive five to eight key words or key phrases that you could use to initiate a literature search using a library subject catalogue and the internet.

ObjectivesThese are the specific project objectives that together form the overall project. Expand these objectives in terms of the activities that you need to undertake in order to complete each objective, and the expected deliverables.

Required resourcesList the required computing resources: hardware, software packages etc. List also, the people or organisations that you will need to gain information or help from.

Initial referencesInclude bibliographic references to some books, academic papers and journal articles that will act as a starting point for your literature search.

The project proposal is a required deliverable and should be submitted formally by the deadline given in the project calendar set by the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences). When you have completed a draft project proposal containing the information outlined above, you should present it to your supervisor for their comments. Your supervisor can assess your project proposal before it is finalised, to determine whether your proposed project is achievable in the time



available, whether it is coherent and complete, and whether it fits within the guidelines for acceptable projects for your degree programme.

The content required in each section of the project proposal is in most cases, fairly self-explanatory. There is one section however that can cause some confusion for students who have no previous experience in completing an academic project – the section that requires the project objectives to be defined. For this reason, we will take the precaution now, of explaining what we mean by the objectives for an academic project (as distinct from those normally associated with the phases of a systems development project for example).

Setting Aims and Objectives for an Academic Project

One source of confusion for students is the difference between an aim and an objective. The two are different although they are in fact linked. Unfortunately, the two terms are often used interchangeably. We start by defining the two terms as they are applied within an academic context.

Aim: A purpose. A plan. Something towards which one’s efforts are directed.

Objective: A goal or target. The object of a course of action.

In both definitions, there is the sense of working towards something. So where does the difference lie? An aim is usually broader in scope than an objective. Furthermore, the time-scale involved for achieving an aim may not be defined, whereas an objective must be achievable within a specified period of time. Our definition of an objective also carries with it a course of action or set of activities that will be carried out in order to achieve the objective. So how do we apply aims and objectives within the context of an academic project, and how will doing so, help us when we are carrying out the project?

A statement of the overall aim for a project will help you in several respects:

1. You will know what your project is intended to accomplish, rather than just having some idea of what you want to do. Knowing what your project sets out to achieve enables you to plan your project effectively, and puts you in the position of being able to make a good, early start.

2. It will help you to remain focused on what you should be doing. Whenever you are uncertain as to how to proceed or whether something should be included in the project, refer back to the project aim. Ask yourself whether a proposed activity supports the project’s aim. If it doesn’t then think carefully about what it does contribute to the project.

3. The project aim can be expanded into a set of high-level project objectives that are usually set out in the Project Proposal. The high-level objectives can, for the purposes of planning and carrying out the project, be expanded into sets of lower-level objectives.



4. The project title should endeavour to express the project aim. A working title is given in the Project Proposal.

5. When the time comes to write the Abstract for the completed project, the aim should be clearly identifiable.

We can see therefore, that it is possible and even desirable, to formulate objectives at more than one level. The objectives set out for an academic computing project i.e. the objectives given in the project proposal, should be high-level objectives. These will be concerned with carrying out of a scholarly piece of work and writing-up the project. They should not for example, deal with obtaining particular system requirements or constructing analysis and design models. These are low-level objectives that refer to particular stages of the system development life cycle. Try to state your objectives in terms of what the academic project sets out to achieve. Make sure that the associated activities support the achievement of the objectives and result in deliverables that will contribute to the project write-up.

Now that we have a clearer idea of what we mean by project aims and objectives, we will give an example to illustrate how a project proposal might be written up. Let us assume that the student concerned has taken one or more courses in database design and computer security and has come up with the following proposal for a project.


Example Project Proposal

Title

A Database System to Record Compliance with Software Licence Agreements.

Introduction

The area of software licensing has become one that companies are under increasing pressure to address. One significant factor concerns cost. Software has become an increasingly expensive resource for companies. Software vendors have come up with a variety of pricing methods for their software products, particularly in cases where companies deploy software over Local Area Networks, and where the same software is used at different sites. Knowing exactly what software is installed on its computers, and who actually makes use of it, will improve an organisation’s decision-making capability when it comes to calculating the number of licences for the minimum cost.

Another pressing issue facing companies today, is that of software piracy and illegal copies of software being installed on their computer systems. The increasing loss of revenue faced by software manufacturers as a result of non-registered copies of software in use, has prompted the formation of organisations such as the Business software Alliance, and the Federation Against Software Theft. These organisations are now supported by legislation that enables them to audit a company’s computer systems and to instigate legal action against companies who are found to have illegal software installed. Most leading companies now have policies and procedures, or are in the process of developing them, to ensure compliance with software licensing agreements and with the guidelines laid down by organisations such as the BSA and the FAST.



This project is concerned with the design and implementation of a database system that will enable a company to record the results of a computer systems audit of its installed software and to demonstrate their compliance with statutory and other requirements relating to proper deployment and use of software.

Key phrases

Software Licence, Software Publisher, Copyright Law, Business Software Alliance (BSA), Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), Software Piracy, Computer Audit

Objectives

1. To review computer auditing software packages and to establish the distinct features that are, or can be, applied in the case of software compliance.

Activities: Read literature on the use of software for computer auditing. Survey business and business computing journals and magazines for relevant articles. Obtain trial copies of relevant software packages. Informal interviews with consultants and practitioners working in the area of computer auditing and software compliance.

Deliverables: Section for report. 1000 – 1500 words.

2. To understand the characteristics of software licence agreements and the legislation pertaining to software copyright.

Activities: Read literature on vendor’s licensing policies and software licence agreements. Obtain examples of software licence agreements. Review legislation concerning software copyright.

Deliverables: Section for report. 1000 – 1500 words.

3. To collect material relevant to prosecutions taken out by the BSA and FAST and to derive a set of requirements to establish compliance with BSA and FAST guidelines.

Activities: Obtain relevant documentation from BSA and FAST. Survey business and business computing journals and magazines, the computing press and the national press for relevant articles.

Deliverables: Section for report. Max. 2000 words.

4. To design and implement a database that will hold information relating to an organisation’s compliance with the laws and guidelines governing software compliance.

Activities: Analyse the information collected and draw up a requirements specification. Select appropriate methods and design and implement a database and database application to meet the requirements.

Deliverables: Requirements specification. Justification for methods selected. Analysis and design documentation. Database schema. Implementation code. Test strategy. Details and results of testing carried out. Evaluation of product.Write up a full account of each step of the design with justifications for design decisions made. Include an evaluation of the design following testing and implementation.


Study this example carefully. It shows clearly, the relationship between an objective, the activities that will be carried out in order to achieve the objective, and the physical items that will be delivered on completion of these activities. Although an objective is strictly speaking, a noun in the English grammar, it is usual to express an objective starting with “To …” followed by a ‘doing’ type of phrase. The description of an activity starts with a verb to convey the sense of an action being carried out. Deliverables are objects and therefore are described with nouns and/or noun phrases.

Notice that the objectives are set at a high-level, and reflect achievements for the project itself rather than for any individual product that might be built during the project. In fact, objective 4 incorporates in one single objective, the whole design and implementation of the proposed software product. For the purpose of project planning, this high-level objective could be decomposed into a set of lower-level objectives relating to the software development life cycle and its phase's e.g. “To analyse the system requirements and create one or more designs for the proposed system”.

We also note that the Initial References section is poor. Although two relevant books are given, there are no academic papers or journal articles given, and the list of programming books and manuals should not be included. Only books that will be cited in the dissertation should be given. It would be unusual to cite an instructional text or training manual.


Required resources

Access to libraries. Access to the Internet. Standard Pentium PC, Windows 95, Microsoft Access and Visual Basic. College computing facilities will be used for developing the database and for preparing the report.

Initial references

1. Bainbridge, D. (1996), “Introduction to Computer Law (3rd Edition)”, Pitman Publishing.

2. Chambers, A. D. & Court, J. M. (1991), “Computer Auditing (3rd Edition)”, Pitman Publishing.

3. Microsoft Corporation (1991), “Microsoft Visual Basic: Programmer’s Guide”, MS Press.

4. Microsoft Corporation (1991), “Microsoft Visual Basic: Language Reference”, MS Press.

5. Jennings, R. (1994), “Access 2: Developer’s Guide (2nd Edition)”, SAMS Publishing.

6. Jennings, R. (1994), “Using Access 2 for Windows (Special Edition)”, QUE Corporation.

7. Cassel, P. (1994), “Teach Yourself Access 2 in 14 Days”, SAMS Publishing.


Importance of the Project Proposal

The importance of producing a well-defined project proposal cannot be overstated. The activity of preparing a full project proposal provides you with an opportunity to think through the project that you will be undertaking and to consider the many aspects of the project. For a project to have a high probability of a successful completion, it is essential to specify a project with:

• a clearly understood set of objectives, and• a specific method or approach to satisfy them.

Not preparing a project proposal can give rise to problems relating to projects that are:

• too large;• too complex;• ill-defined;• under-resourced.

By preparing a project proposal, you and your supervisor are ensuring that:

• you are defining a real problem or studying a real issue;• it is possible to learn enough about it;• it is possible to make a proper analysis;• you will be able to write it up in the time allowed.

Summary

In general, the student and the supervisor will have agreed a suitable project topic area or project topic. The next step is to define a specific project (if this has not already been done) with a clearly understood set of objectives and a specific method or approach to satisfy them. This is done using a standard template for a project proposal. Objectives for an academic project should be stated in terms of what the project sets out to achieve. It should be clear what the achievement of each objective would contribute to the overall project and consequently, the project write-up. The objectives


It is important to note that an academic project usually has two levels associated with it: the higher level which concerns the carrying out of a scholarly piece of work and the resulting project write-up, and the lower level which concerns the actual work carried out during the project.


should be high-level ones rather than low-level objectives that can often be confused with activities rather than objectives.


Education

Comp 1181-writing a project proposal