Projects in Computing
and Information Systems
A Student’s Guide
Christian W. Dawson
Copyright © 2005 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
Specific
Measurable
Appropriate
Realistic
Time-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-onthe-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
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
4
4
3
3
3
Simplicity
4
3
4
3
5
Learning
1
4
5
2
2
Score
-
79
76
73
73
Criteria
connectivity
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An example program breakdown structure
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Order of development for different
approaches for example program
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
Order
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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
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