Coursework v 1.0

The submission dates are in the VLE and you should submit/upload a simple, single Word document (no zips please) by the cutoff date. The tariffs are in the module spec.

Aims

• To prepare you for your final year project

• To aid completion of the project proposal for the final year project

• To research a topic area and plan a scheme of work

• To structure a piece of academic/technical writing in the appropriate style

• To think critically about what you will produce and evaluate your ability to deliver the work

For your final year project you will be required to produce a proposal (it is not assessed). You will still have to do that. For this module you are required to prepare a document that is a much more sophisticated and detailed final year project specification/proposal. This will then help you prepare your proposal. This should enable you to start work on the project in year 3 from week 1 (if not before). This coursework does not assess the first part of the module on ethical issues.

As a guide there should be no more than 3,500 words. You might want to consult the student project website for ideas or talk informally to lecturers or any contacts you have within or outside the University.

You might want to bear in mind the way the final project specification/proposal is structured.

As a minimum you should include sections on:

• Project Title -

• Introduction - In this section you should give an introduction and background to your project. In the final proposal about 10-15 lines should be adequate but you can do more.

• Aim - In this section explain in general terms what you intend to achieve by the end of the project.

• Deliverables and Objectives - In addition to meeting the general requirements for the final year project as set out in the module guide, you should state your objectives. In this section you should identify Specific deliverables (things you intend to produce) and objectives of the project. These should include reporting. You should have 4 or 5 specific main objectives to your project, but each of these can be broken down into sub-objectives

• Suggested Starting Point - In this section give details of where you intend to start

• Estimated Costing and Resources Required - In this section you should include estimated costs for the project in terms of components and equipment and a list of resources required, for example if you are likely to use a microcontroller, the development software needed. A benchmark figure is around £50 per project. There may be no costs.

• Bibliography - In this section, give a list of books which will provide a starting point in your literature survey.

• Technical Skills – Discuss the technical skills needed for the project and indicate whether you already have these and from what module and to what level or how you will learn them

• Ethical, Societal or Profession Issues – Discuss these here.

• Project plan – This should indicate whether you will be using eg a waterfall or iterative model and what the estimates are for each stage. No project planning software is required for this. You might