Microsoft Word - MITS6500-Assessments.docx
MITS6500 Capstone Project
Assessment Document
Please Read Carefully
MITS6500 Assessments
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Important Note:
This Unit does not have a Final Exam but is based on your semester work and a final presentation/
demonstration of your working prototype to be a
anged at the end of the semester. Students will
work in groups to build a working prototype of a small to medium system. The system will initially
e described by a small project description, and the groups will need determine the requirements
y discussion with a project sponsor, and by studying the descriptions of other similar systems
using search tools. Because of the nature of the subject there will be a number of check points
throughout the semester, and each one of these will form a deliverable related to the project and
contribute towards your final grade. The deliverables (assignments) are outlined in Table 1 below.
While this may seem a lot, please remember there is no exam, and this is a double unit. Thus, you
are allocated 6 hours of designated time per week. Since you should also be putting in
approximately 2 or more hours for each hour of designated class time, this would constitute
approximately 18 hours work per week. So a group 4 students should be able to put in about 72
hours a week of effort. The assessments are designed to keep you working consistently throughout
the semester and this is necessary given the nature of the Unit of Study.
The overall marks are to be allocated as follows (as per the Unit Descriptor)
Assessment Component Weighting Hurdle
Project Reports and Prototype 80% Yes
Presentation 20% Yes
The
eakdown of the above components into deliverables and weeks are given in Table 1:
Table 1 Unit of Study Deliverables
Component Deliverable Deliverable
Weight
Week
Documentation and Prototype
Proposal Full Project Proposal 10 2
Plan Project Plan 10 4
Specification Specification and Design document 15 6
Prototype Design Design of the initial Prototype 10 7
Status Report 5 8
Status Report 5 10
Test Plan Test Plan Documentation 10 11
Status Report 5 12
Source Code Submission of source code and instructions 10 13
Presentation Presentation and Demonstration of Prototype 20 14
MITS6500 Assessments
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INSTRUCTIONS
As this is the final capstone subject for the master’s qualification, students will be required to work
in project groups and draw on the skills and knowledge acquired throughout their studies in the
other foundation, core and elective subjects. Each group will be required to choose from a number
of projects, each offering a similar level of complexity. Each project will be described by a short
informational paragraph, and the project groups will be required to determine the requirements
from the information given and by questioning the project sponsor. Students will be given access
to the sponsor as needed. The projects groups are required to meet once per week throughout the
semester and discuss their progress with their project sponso
or supervisor. Frequent non-
attendance at these meetings may affect an individual’s grade. It is envisaged that each member of
the group will receive the same grade, unless an individual’s grade is affected by other
circumstances. As part of the capstone project experience, the groups are expected to self-manage
and devise their own solution to their particular problem, including determining the database
equirements, the language and platform to be used, and to overcome technical difficulties
encountered. During the weekly meetings, the groups are encouraged to discuss any difficulties
with their supervisor, and while the supervisor will not solve the problems for the group, they will
offer advice. Brief records of the meetings will be kept.
Deliverables
Below is a
ief explanation of each of the deliverables including submission guidelines and
deadlines, though the deadlines have already been given in the Table 1 above.
Proposal XXXXXXXXXXMarks Due session 2)
The first submission represents the project proposal. This would be the proposal put forward for
approval by an evaluation committee or IT Manager before a proposed software project could
proceed to the next level. You should be drawing on your project management experience to put
together this proposal. A Proposal Template will be provided with suggested sections to be
included. However, you are free to add other sections to enhance your project proposal. You can
also delete some of the included template sections, but you should think carefully before deciding
to do this and have valid reasons for doing so.
The format of the project proposal can be found in the example document (Project Proposal
template.doc). Use this document as a starting point to develop your plan and submit by the due
date and time to the assignment drop-box.
Project Plan XXXXXXXXXXMarks Due session 4)
MITS6500 Assessments
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The project plan also draws on your IT Project Management skills to develop the Project Plan that
follows on from a successful Proposal. You should refer to your notes and subject material from
the Core IT Project Management subject you would have studied. Again, a Project Plan template
will be provided with suggested sections to be included. However, you are free to add other
sections to enhance your project plan. You can also delete some of the included template sections,
ut you should think carefully before deciding to do this and have valid reasons for doing so. The
project plan will highlight your groups ability to develop guidelines by which you can manage the
conduct of the project throughout the semester.
The format of the project plan can be found in the example document (Project Plan template.doc).
Use this document as a starting point to develop your plan and submit by the due date and time to
the assignment drop-box.
Specification and Design Document XXXXXXXXXXMarks Due session 6)
The Specification and design documentation will require your knowledge from Software
Engineering, the core unit you would have studied in your first or second semester. Your group
will need to produce the documentation required in order to prepare for the implementation of the
project. The specification documentation will make sure you understand the requirements, and the
design documentation will lay-out the plan for building the project. The types of things needed to
e included here will be similar to the major assignment in Software Engineering. Additionally,
students should analyze any security needs of project and using techniques learned from IT
Security, incorporate these into the design for later implementation. A Specification and Design
Plan template will be provided with suggested sections to be included. However, as with the
previous templates, you are free to add other sections to enhance your documentation. You can
also delete some of the included template sections, but you should think carefully before deciding
to do this and have valid reasons for doing so.
This documentation is to prepare the group for the implementation phase of the project, and to
einforce the need for following a well-defined System Development Life-Cycle model.
Submit by the due date and time to the appropriate assignment drop-box.
Project Implementation.
The remainder of the project is the implementation phase of what you have previously planned
and designed. To aid you in your implementation there are a number of deliverable milestones,
including status reports at various points to help you and your supervisor in reflecting on what has
een achieved to date and what is yet to be achieved. The group should be monitoring their
MITS6500 Assessments
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progress and be taking steps to ensure they are on track by utilizing project management skills
learned in previous units. During the implementation, the students should be coding to a high
standard, utilizing skills developed in previous units. You need to implement the security model
you have designed in the specification and design phase, and test this against business needs and
concerns. You should utilize the knowledge and skills from IT Security. If there is a mobile app
component of the project, you should utilize the latest tools and techniques to implement this part
of the project.
Prototype Design XXXXXXXXXXMarks Due session 7)
The purpose of the prototype Design submission is to assist you in developing the prototype by
thinking about how requirements and assumptions are combined into tasks to be implemented.
This can be done by creating task flows, dependency diagrams and Task Layer maps. Please
consult Chapter 4 of the book, “Effective Prototyping for Software Makers” by Arnowitz, J.,
Arent, A., and Berger, N. Pages 50-61
This is meant to be a 1-2 page submission showing a
ief prototype, to solidify your groups ideas
for the design of the prototype into something a little more concrete for implementation.
Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.
Status Reports ( 5 x 3 Marks XXXXXXXXXXDue sessions 8, 10, 12)
There are three status reports due throughout the project. These are in sessions 8, 10 and 12. The
purpose of the status reports is help your supervisor keep track of the progress being made, and for
the group to reflect on its own progress, difficulties being encountered and the deliverables
completed and begun since the last submission. A Status report template is provided and each
group is to complete the report as a group collaboration and submit by the due date and time.