1Copyright © 2005 Christian W Dawson

Projects in Computingand Information SystemsA Student’s Guide

Christian W. Dawson

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The Meliorist Model

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The landscape of computing

(adapted from Dawson, 2004)

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Contributions to Knowledge

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The real research process

Source: Adapted and reproduced with kind permission from Orna and Stevens (1995)

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A high-level RTM for the field of software engineering

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An example relevance tree for the field of artificial intelligence

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An example spider diagram for the field of software engineering

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A generic overview of the project process

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Project Stages

1. Definition

2. Planning

3. Initiation

4. Control

5. Closure

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SMART Objectives

SpecificMeasurableAppropriateRealisticTime-Related

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Project Planning

1. Work breakdown;

2. Time estimates;

3. Milestone identification;

4. Activity sequencing;

5. Scheduling;

6. Re-planning.

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An example of a work breakdown structure

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Milestones leading to the project’s ultimate aim

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An example of a simple activity-on-the-node diagram

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An example of an activity network

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An example Gantt chart

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Risk Management

1. Identify risks

2.Assess impact of risks

3.Alleviate critical risks

4.Control risks

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The importance of the literature survey

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Projects within their wider context

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A taught degree project in context within two subject areas

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A research degree that draws together three previously unrelated

subject areas

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The literature survey process

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The software development life cycle

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The conventional stages of requirements capture

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The build-and-fix 'model'

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The classical waterfall model

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The incremental model

Source: Adapted and reproduced from Ould (1999). © John Wiley and Sons Limited. Reproduced with permission

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The evolutionary prototyping model

Adapted and reproduced from Ould (1999). © John Wiley and Sons Limited. Reproduced with permission

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Example comparison table evaluating overall suitability of programming

languages for a project

Criteria Weighting Visual C++® C Delphi Pascal

Maintainability 2 3 4 3 4

Support 4 4 5 4 4

HCI capability 5 5 3 5 3

Database

connectivity

4 4 3 3 3

Simplicity 4 3 4 3 5

Learning 1 4 5 2 2

Score - 79 76 73 73

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An example program breakdown structure

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Order of development for different approaches for example program

Order Vertical top-down Horizontal top-down Bottom-up

1 Main Menu Main Menu Long-Term Analysis

2 Data Entry Data Entry Short-Term Analysis

3 Data Analysis Data Analysis Plot Graphs

4 Long-Term Analysis Results Output Save Results to File

5 Short-Term Analysis Long-Term Analysis Data Entry

6 Results Output Short-Term Analysis Data Analysis

7 Plot Graphs Plot Graphs Results Output

8 Save Results to File Save Results to File Main Menu

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Balancing five project elements against one another

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The time management process

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A daily work performance chart

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The relationship between chapters

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An audience’s attention level during a presentation