As part of the course architecture redevelopment, the 3rd year CS project is being updated to a 'capstone' project running over 12 credit points, 6 points per semester. This is part 1 of that project.

Introduced for course architecture programs. Effective semester 1, 2016

Reason for changes made on 15/06/2016: (1) Introducing into this unit a 2-hour seminar series over first six weeks to cover the core body of knowledge on Project management. (2) Collaborative teamwork is now an explicit ULO.

Fixed the verbs in the learning outcomes.

01/07/2016: Admin - updating workload requirements to specify number of personal study hours as requested by UGPC 3/16.

OCTOBER 2017: Updated to reflect the design of the unit as discussed with stakeholders and working group - Arun K (BCS director), Jojo W (lecturer), Mary L (lecturer for PM component). ULO has been revised to reflect the R&D nature of the unit and that it is part of pair programming ("collaborative teamwork" disambiguated), pair programming being a current and industry-relevant practice.

21/09/2020 Admin: Update to include new assessment and teaching approach fields as per Handbook requirements.

19/07/2021 CE: Increase mark for Progress Report (Interview) from 0% to 5% to reflect importance of assessment (and accordingly reduce mark of Project Proposal with Literature Review from 50% to 45%).

Core in the BCS degree, capstone research project (part 1).

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. recognize and execute the factors essential for successful systems development projects, including teamwork and interpersonal communication.
2. construct a project proposal;
3. evaluate and select research methods and techniques of data collection and analysis appropriate to a particular project;
4. search, access, and analyse research literature as part of the process of developing solutions to problems;
5. operate effectively both as a developer and researcher, both individually and in a collaborative pair-programming context;
6. communicate the deliverables of the project in written and oral form;
7. develop a collaborative project report explaining methodology, outlining their contributions and the contributions of other team members, and documenting the developed project from appropriate perspectives, for instance that of a user, researcher or developer.

0201

This unit provides practical experience in researching, designing, developing and testing a substantial computer science project. Projects are generally software-based, although sometimes they may involve hardware development or investigation of theory. Projects cover the whole process of software (or hardware) development, from analysis through design to implementation and testing. Comprehensive written documentation on the project is required. Students are assigned in groups to a project supervisor. Students will be expected to meet weekly with their project supervisor during formal lab sessions, and attend 2-hour project management seminars during the first six weeks. Other workshops relevant to research and development of the project will be held in the latter six weeks.

The unit is the first part of a 12-credit point project sequence; the second part and exit point for the project is FIT3162.

Learning resources, including project specifications and project reading material, will be provided by the lecturers on Moodle. In addition, any research papers pertaining to the project will be available from the Monash Library.

Technological requirements

Students must regularly check Moodle for announcements.

Software for coding and implementation of the project are freely available / downloadable in student labs.

On-campus

Both Workshops and Problem-based Learning In certain weeks, students will look at some case studies to explore project management principles concepts in a workshop setting.

In-semester assessment: 100%

1. Journal Entries: - 10% - ULO: 1 , 2, 3, 4
2. Project Management Case Studies: - 10% - ULO: 1, 3
3. Project Management Quizzes: - 10% - ULO: 1, 3
4. Project Design: - 10% - ULO: 3, 5
5. Project Progress Report Interview : - 5% - ULO: 5, 6, 7
6. Project Proposal with Literature Review: - 45% - ULO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
7. Presentation of Project Plan: - 10% - ULO: 6

Minimum total expected workload equals 144 hours over 12 weeks comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:

(b.) Additional requirements (all students):

FIT2004