BILKENT UNIVERSITY
Dept. of Computer Engineering & Information Sciences
1 - Introduction
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Prepared by Dr. David Davenport, 21 Sept.
1993
(revised 8th Sept. 1998, 28th Sept. 1992, 16th Oct. 1991, 22nd Oct. 1990,
15th Feb. 1990)
CS492 - SENIOR PROJECTS
The Senior Project is intended to give the student an opportunity to develop and demonstrate powers of initiative and independent thought. It provides for a unique test of a student's ability to solve realistic practical, and theoretical problems, and to communicate the results in both written and oral form.
All senior students are required to undertake a project during their final year. The project presents a special challenge since in many cases it is the first occasion on which a student will have to work on a project of any size or complexity, in circumstances similar to those encountered in a commercial or industrial setting.
Projects will be directed towards the solution of a "real" problem. While many projects will aim at the production of a piece of software, this need not be the case. Projects which are wholly theoretical or survey-based in nature, those which measure system performance, those which terminate with a design proposal, or those which implement only a portion of a larger system, are all equally acceptable. Group projects are definitely encouraged.
Students will select a project, and a supervisor, at the beginning of the fall semester; the supervisor will then be able to offer advice and guidance as necessary. Students are expected to meet their supervisors on a regular basis, however, it is the students' responsibility to take the initiative and to ensure that progress is made. Two formal written reports must be submitted, a progress report at the end of the fall semester and the final report towards the end of the spring semester. Students are also required to give an oral presentation of their work and, if appropriate, a demonstration. A detailed list of these requirements is presented in the next section which should be retained for reference throughout the project.
A plaque for "Best Senior Project" is awarded annually, in memory of Sibel Özelci, to the student who in the opinion of the faculty has undertaken the best project work.
Lists of projects will be available to students during the first week of the fall semester. Students may select from these lists, or may propose a topic of their own; however, in either case it is the students' responsibility to select a topic and obtain the agreement of a faculty member to supervise it.
The proposal gives a title to and brief description of the proposed project. It represents a formal agreement between the student and the supervisor to undertake the said project. It must be typewritten in accordance with the sample on the CS492 webpage and be a maximum of 2 pages in extent. A copy signed by both the student and the supervisor must be handed to the department secretary by Friday 5pm of the second week of the fall semester.
The progress report consists of a detailed specification of the project objectives, an outline of the methods to be employed, the progress to date, and a time schedule indicating the expected progress of the work. Before submission of the report, the student is expected to have done a reasonable amount of background reading and survey work, references to which should also be included.
The following report layout is suggested:
- Cover page
- Project description
- Background material
- Proposed method of approach/solution/system spec.
- Schedule of work
- References
The preliminary report, which will count for 20% of the overall grade, must be a maximum of 20 pages in length and prepared in accordance with section 3 below. The deadline for submission is 5pm on the Friday of the twelfth week of the fall semester. It will be graded by the student's supervisor. Those working on a group project may submit a joint report, however, each member of the group is expected to contribute to it (including a short section clearly explaining their personal role in the project).
The final report is the culmination of the project. It is a written account describing in detail the project's objectives, background, and solution. Discussion of how any problems encountered were overcome, together with a critical review of results and the approach adopted, should also be included. The completed report, typed in accordance with section 3 below, should be a maximum of 60 pages. Two copies must be submitted before the deadline which is 5pm on the Friday one week prior to the end of the spring semester (usually week twelve). Marks for this report will account for 40% of the overall grade. Those working on a group project may submit a joint report, however, each member of the group is expected to contribute to it (including a short section clearly explaining their personal role in the project).
The following layout is suggested:
- Cover page
- Abstract
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Problem description
- Solution, design decisions
- Evaluation/critique, testing
- Conclusion, critical review of results and approach future work/enhancements
- References
- Appendices, to include sample program listings, etc.
Students are required to give an oral presentation of their work to include a brief outline of the project and its objectives, particular difficulties encountered and how they were resolved. Talks will be of 15 minutes duration with approximately 5 minutes for questions. All presentations will take place during the last week of the spring semester (a schedule will be posted beforehand). They will be attended and graded by a jury. Marks for the presentation will account for 20% of the final grade.
If the project involved implementing a piece of software this may be demonstrated to jury members in the scheduled period following completion of the presentations.
Students are required to return all materials which they may have borrowed from their supervisor, including books, research papers, notes, programs etc., by 5pm on the last day of the spring semester. Additionally the supervisor may require copies of any software that was developed as part of the project to be handed in at the same time. Failure to do this may mean that graduation is delayed!
The remaining 20% of the project grade will be awarded by the supervisor based on his/her judgement of the student's work record. The assessment will take into account the student's ability to best exploit the time, the ability to meet deadlines, conduct literature surveys, execute practical work, and keep adequate records, as well as a general impression of the student's approach, attitude and progress.
All reports will be written in English. They should be printed on A4 or equivalent size paper. Computer printouts are obviously acceptable; however, to ensure readability, a letter-quality dot matrix printer, with a good ribbon, (or an equivalent printer) should be employed. Fonts should be used in a consistent manner throughout. Sections and pages should be appropriately numbered and referenced in a table-of-contents. Adequate margins should be employed so that nothing is lost in binding and/or photocopying. The cover page should include the names of the university, the department and the course, the title of the project, the author's name, the name of the project supervisor and the date. Final reports must be placed in a standard plastic folder as dictated by the department.
Consideration should be given to:
- logical arrangement of material
- spelling
- grammar
- general tidiness
Reports should generally assume that the reader has no specialised knowledge of the particular topic under discussion; however, explanations should be kept concise. Marks will be deducted for excess verbosity. Long proofs, program listings, etc., which would disrupt the flow of the main text, should be placed in appendices. Reports must be spell checked (!) and adopt the department's standard cover page layout.
Students are encouraged to work together on group projects, however, there must be very clearly identifiable parts to be done by each individual. As a general guideline, students working on group projects should have roughly equal GPA's, and the project supervisor should try to ensure that the workload is evenly distributed.
Students are advised to meet their supervisors on a regular basis (e.g., once every two weeks). It is recommended that a specific time and day be agreed upon as soon as the proposal stage has been completed. It is the students' responsibility to ensure that they make the maximum use of the time their supervisor is available for consultation. Students should view their supervisors as employers/managers, and conduct themselves and the project in a corresponding manner.
Students should keep a "project file" containing a semi-official record of work done or in progress. In order to ensure that satisfactory progress is being made, supervisors will set occasional checkpoints which the student is expected to meet. Supervisors should try to ensure that the schedule proposed in the progress report is a reasonable one, and should be prepared to redirect or curtail all, or part of, the project if it appears to be impossible to complete within the time available. Since the spring semester invariably passes very rapidly, with considerable time being lost due to job hunting etc., it is particularly important that the student complete the necessary background work during the fall semester, indeed, it is recommended that as much work as possible be completed during the fall semester. Failure to do this may result in difficulties later.
Reports must be handed in to the department secretary by the specified deadlines. Failure to do so will be heavily penalised. Late submissions will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant university exam regulations.
One faculty member designated as the "Senior Projects Co-ordinator", will be responsible for the overall coordination of project work and, in conjunction with supervisors, for the final grading.
Any problems should be directed, in the first instance, to the individual student's supervisor. If no satisfactory solution is forthcoming then the Projects Co-ordinator may be contacted.
Please notify David Davenport of any errors or ommisions in this document.