Teamwork tips Working in teams
8.1 Introduction
Chapter 2 identified the dissemination of your ideas and results as an important part of the research process. Quite often the report is the only evidence of your project when it is finished, unless you have developed a substantial piece of software and even then, 182 Chapter 8 n Presenting your project in written form people may only get to read your report rather than use the software. As the report represents your project, remember that the good work you have performed can be ruined by a poor report. There is no point in performing a tremendous amount of valuable and important computing work, research and development, if you cannot present your findings to other people. However, a bad project cannot be turned into a good one by producing a good report. Although you can improve a poor project with a good report, you must remember that your report is a reflection of your project and you cannot disguise sloppy investigation, development, implementation, analyses and method with a few carefully chosen words. This chapter focuses on the presentation of written material for your project: struc- turing reports, writing abstracts, referencing material and presenting data. It also covers topics such as documenting software, commenting programs and writing user guides. How you present your project in oral form, through presentations and vivas, is the subject of the next chapter. •8.2 Writing and structuring reports
8.2.1 Considerations
As you begin work on your project’s report, bear in mind two main considerations: n What is the purpose of the report? Is it to obtain the best mark you can achieve for your project? Is it to present your work in the best light? Is it to disseminate your ideas and results to others? Is it to provide a thorough literature review of the field? Is it to inspire others and to persuade them to get involved with your research? Is it to fulfil the requirements of your course? n Who is going to read it? What do they already know? What do you want them to learn? What do you want them to gain from your report? How do you want to influ- ence them? Will it be read by people other than your examiners future employers, other students, academics and experts, for example? These considerations will influence what you decide to include in your final report and also the style of writing and presentation that you adopt for example, technically- oriented text for experts or more explanations and examples for the more novice reader. You should not include material merely for the sake of it as this might irritate the reader and appear like ‘padding’. Similarly, you should not leave material out of your report if you think it is important for the targeted readership. Try to get the balance right – understand what it is you are trying to say, be aware of what the reader already knows, and include material appropriately. Your institution may well have guidelines on how reports should be presented – for example, layout of the title page, word counts upper and lower limits, font size and type, line spacing, binding, the number of copies of your dissertationreport to submit and so on. It is important that you follow these regulations; failure to do so may mean that your report is rejected. One of the most difficult regulations to adhere to in many cases is the word count. When the regulations stipulate a word limit, students are often asked to put a wordParts
» Projects in Computing and Information Systems A Student's Guide 0273721313 Pearson 2009
» Introduction What are computing projects?
» Computing project types What are computing projects?
» Programming in computing projects
» Degree structures Degree requirements
» Degree requirements for projects
» Overview Your supervisor Stakeholders
» Clients and users Stakeholders
» Evaluators and testers Stakeholders
» Overview How this book is arranged
» Taught degree projects versus research degrees
» Summary Projects in Computing and Information Systems A Student's Guide 0273721313 Pearson 2009
» A definition What is research?
» Originality What is research?
» Gaincontribution What is research?
» Knowledge and understanding What is research?
» Identify the broad area of study.
» Plan how you will perform the research.
» Gather data and information.
» Analyse and interpret these data.
» Present the results and findings.
» Review the field – i.e., perform a literature survey.
» Build a theory – based on your understanding and interpretations of the field.
» Test the theory – does it work?
» Reflect and integrate – i.e., update your ideas based on your ‘tests’ and contribute
» Intellectual discovery The research process
» Research methods Research methods
» List or multiple choice. Provides the respondent with a number of options to
» Scale. Used to rate the respondent’s feelings towards something.
» Ranking. Used to order a series of options. You should not provide too many
» Complex grid or table. Used to gather similar responses on a range of questions.
» Open-ended. Used to obtain extended, qualitative answers.
» Summary Further reading Action points
» Techniques and Information Sources
» Additional considerations Choosing a project
» Follow any guidelines precisely. Most institutions require specific information; for
» Proofread thoroughly and get someone else to check it. Any errors or omissions
» Introduction to the subject area. This will provide the reader with an under-
» Current research in the field. This will emphasise that your project is not based in
» Identify a gap. You should be able to identify some aspect of the field that requires
» Identify how your work fills the gap. Having identified a gap in the field, your
» Identify risks and solutions. It is also useful in a project proposal to highlight any
» Explicit sections Preparing a project proposal
» Reviewing your proposal Preparing a project proposal
» Exercise Projects in Computing and Information Systems A Student's Guide 0273721313 Pearson 2009
» The project process Introduction
» Definition The project’s stages
» Planning The project’s stages
» Initiation The project’s stages
» Control The project’s stages
» Closure. The project’s stages
» Complete a literature search and literature review of existing stock market prediction
» Develop a suitable artificial neural network model.
» Identify and collect suitable data for analyses and evaluation.
» Evaluate the model using appropriate statistical techniques.
» Complete final report. Setting objectives
» Step 1 – Work Breakdown Project planning
» Step 2 – Time estimates Project planning
» Step 3 – Identify milestones Project planning
» Step 4 – Activity sequencing Project planning
» Step 5 – Scheduling Project planning
» Step 6 – Re-planning Project planning
» Rolling wave planning Project planning
» Risks. Include a list of critical risk factors and means of dealing with these risks
» Organisation. If you are undertaking a group project it would be worthwhile
» Alleviate critical risks Introduction
» Identify risks Risk management
» Alleviate critical risks Risk management
» Controlling risks Risk management
» Research degrees versus taught degree projects
» A starting point Introduction
» The literature survey process
» Format of information Literature searching
» Tracing the information Literature searching
» Inter-library loans Literature searching
» Some tips for performing a literature search
» Critical evaluation Writing literature reviews
» Overview The past Introduction
» Introduction The software development life cycle SDLC
» Requirements definition Requirements capture
» Requirements specification Requirements capture
» Functional specification Requirements capture
» Design The software development life cycle SDLC
» Build The software development life cycle SDLC
» Test The software development life cycle SDLC
» Implementation The software development life cycle SDLC
» The earliest ’model’: build-and-fix
» The stage-wise and classical waterfall models conventional models
» explore the requirements of the system with the user – requirements capture, andor
» explore the technical feasibility of a system – experimental prototyping.
» Which development approach should I use?
» Which programming language should I use?
» Introduction Top-down and bottom-up development
» Top-down development Top-down and bottom-up development
» Bottom-up development Top-down and bottom-up development
» Verification Verification, validation and testing
» Validation Verification, validation and testing
» Testing Verification, validation and testing
» Who is involved with testing and evaluation?
» Test plans Miscellaneous testing types
» Quality assurance and quality control
» Exercises Projects in Computing and Information Systems A Student's Guide 0273721313 Pearson 2009
» Getting started – project initiation
» Managing the five project elements
» Introduction Dealing with problems
» Weakening Dealing with problems
» Personal problems Dealing with problems
» Hardware failure Dealing with problems
» Data availability Dealing with problems
» Discovering your workresearch has been done before
» Analyse what you are currently doing.
» Change what you are doing to achieve your aims.
» eliminate activities you don’t need to do; and
» be more efficient doing the things you have to do.
» Time management tips Procrastination
» Using your supervisor effectively
» Introduction Working in teams
» Team development Working in teams
» Managing the team Working in teams
» Teamwork tips Working in teams
» Considerations Writing and structuring reports
» Approaches to writing Writing and structuring reports
» When should I start writing?
» Identify structure. This relates to the content of your report, using a report break-
» Identify presentational style. You should also try to set standards at this stage on
» Draft the introduction. The introduction gives the reader an idea of the
» Develop the main body. The main body of your report is the next part you
» Articulate conclusions and make recommendations. Quite clearly, your conclu-
» Complete the introduction. As part of the evolutionary approach to writing,
» Write the abstract. You cannot really write a clear abstract for your report until
» Add references and appendices. Although you will be collating references and
» Arrange contents list, index. Leave the completion of an index if one is required
» Proofread, check and correct. It is vitally important to proofread your report after
» Introductionliterature review – the first chapter of your report should always be
» Main body – the content of which depends on the type of project you are un-
» Conclusionsrecommendations – summarises the contribution of the work and
» Style Writing and structuring reports
» Word processing Writing and structuring reports
» Tips Writing and structuring reports
» Presenting charts and graphs
» Common mistakes Data presentation
» Miscellaneous charts Data presentation
» Other data presentation Data presentation
» Introduction Referencing material and avoiding plagiarism
» Citing references Referencing material and avoiding plagiarism
» Listing references Referencing material and avoiding plagiarism
» Commenting program code Documenting software
» Writing user guides Documenting software
» The presentation content Visual aids
» Introduction. One or two slides that introduce you and your talk.
» Main body. The slides that constitute the bulk of your presentation and cover the
» Summaryconclusion. A few slides that summarise your presentation and perhaps
» Dealing with questions Oral presentations
» Poster preparation tips Poster presentations
» Introduction Preparation Demonstrating software
» Demonstration tips Demonstrating software
» Introduction Viva voce examinations
» Introduction Examiners and the marking of your project
» General. Examiners will look at the relevance and appropriateness of the topic
» Report. Examiners will look for clarity, consistency, an appropriate use of
» Defence. Examiners will assess the types of arguments you have made to support
» Other. Examiners will review the administrative issues of your project. For example,
» What was the research question?
» Is it a ‘good’ question? This involves a comprehensive literature review to ensure
» Has the student answered the question adequately?
» Has the student made an adequate contribution to knowledge?
» The project approach from a technical perspective i.e., not a project management
» General project considerations subject independent
» Literature reviewproject foundation Assessment criteria
» Project approachmethods Assessment criteria
» Results and contributions Assessment criteria
» Introduction Taking your project further
» Seeking funding Developing commercial software packages
» Copyright and patents Taking your project further
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