Topic outline

  • Course Information

    The Senior Project requires each group to develop (or research) a computer software/hardware system. The project duration is two semesters, starting in August and completing in May the following year. This web site is for the first semester of the Senior Project, called Project Development (ITS400 and CSS400).

    In Semester 1 you will complete the start-up phase of the project, including: forming a group, selecting a topic, learning the background information, studying the existing work, and planning the implementation phase. This culminates in a Project Proposal to be delivered at the end of the semester.

    Although you are only assessed on the Proposal in Semester 1, it is in your own interest to get started on design and even implementation in Semester 1. Then you will have a better chance of getting a high grade in Semester 2.

    The Project Coordinator is Steven Gordon.

    • Schedule Page

      Seminar and presentation schedule, as well as deadlines.

    • Assessment Criteria Page
      How you will be assessed and graded
    • Budget and Equipment Page

      Some projects may require specific equipment or resources. This page lists some example resources already available to ICT students, as well as a budget available for purchasing new equipment.

    • News forum
      Course announcement and news. Also distributed by email.

  • Topics

    Faculty members offer a range of topics. Students form a group and select their preferred topics. Groups are allocated a topic based on their (and others preferences) and their GPA.

  • Proposal

    The primary output of Semester 1 is a Project Proposal and accompanying presentation.
    • Guidelines for Preparing Proposal Page

      Hints on what goes in the proposal

    • Proposal Template (Word) File

      Template for project proposal for Microsoft Word. Be careful that you delete unnecessary information from the template and modify the appropriate parts.

    • Proposal Template (LaTeX) File

      Proposal template if using LaTeX. There are five files: a class file (senior.cls), an example proposal (proposal.tex), an example figure, an example bibliography (project.bib) and the output PDF (proposal.pdf). Also look at the Word template, as it explain what should be in each section (whereas this is just an example take from an old project).

    • Submission Instructions Page

      Instructions for submitting reports and code

    • Guidelines for Presentations Page
      Instructions for presentation preparation.
    • Contributions Form File
      This form must be printed, filled in, signed by students AND advisor, and delivered to the project coordinator before final presentations.
    • Draft Proposal Scores File

      Scores for group are calculated from: scores on draft proposal from at least 3 faculty members (90%); score on effort from your advisor (10%); bonus/penalties (e.g. penalty for late submission). Scores from faculty members are normalised to be fair to all groups, e.g. if Steve gives, on average, high scores when compared to other faculty members, then the scores Steve gives will be decreased.

  • Seminars

    A weekly seminar class will be held, with attendance by all students required. Some sessions will involve faculty members presenting key topics to students, while others will allow students to practice their presentations.

  • Presentations

    Students must present their proposal at the end of the semester. During the semester you will have opportunities to gain practice in presentation skills.