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- | ====== Initial Project Plan ====== | ||
- | |||
- | The final year project is a substantial part of your degree. It can | ||
- | have a major effect on the degree class you are awarded and even | ||
- | whether or not you pass the degree. The initial project plan is to | ||
- | make sure you understand what your project requires you to do and how | ||
- | you are going to finish it successfully. You must submit an initial | ||
- | project plan at the beginning of the first semester of your project | ||
- | (the deadline for this is listed in your PATS account under the | ||
- | project description). | ||
- | |||
- | The initial project plan for a short individual project must be approved by your supervisor and | ||
- | moderator. Therefore, you should discuss the plan with your supervisor | ||
- | before you submit it to make sure both of you agree on what your | ||
- | project entails. You should further check the project plan with your | ||
- | moderator and also seek his approval in person before you submit. | ||
- | However, the first person to talk about your initial plan is | ||
- | usually your supervisor. | ||
- | |||
- | We suggest that you write an initial version of your project plan and | ||
- | arrange meetings with your supervisor and moderator to discuss it and | ||
- | revise the plan. If you are not sure what to write in the plan, please | ||
- | discuss this with your supervisor before you write a draft. Once your | ||
- | supervisor and moderator are happy with your plan, submit it on PATS | ||
- | where they can officially approve it. As you can resubmit the plan | ||
- | via PATS multiple times, you can also submit a draft and your | ||
- | supervisor and moderator can look at it there and also leave comments. | ||
- | However, unless there are exceptional circumstances (e.g. supervisor | ||
- | or moderator may be away), we highly recommend to discuss the plan in | ||
- | person and not just on PATS or by e-mail. | ||
- | |||
- | Finally, note that this is an initial plan, and you can, and most | ||
- | likely should, adjust the plan as you progress. Note, however, that | ||
- | with the initial plan you are prescribing what you intend to deliver | ||
- | at the various stages of the project (in particular for the final and, | ||
- | if applicable, interim report). | ||
- | |||
- | For information about how to submit your initial plan via PATS please | ||
- | see the [[Submission Guide]]. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== Structure and Contents ===== | ||
- | |||
- | For your initial plan one to two pages of text are sufficient. It | ||
- | should contain the following information: | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Project Title ==== | ||
- | |||
- | The title of the initial plan document should be " | ||
- | followed by the title of your project. List yourself as author and | ||
- | also say who your supervisor and moderator is. Please also list the | ||
- | module number you are taking and credits due for this module (see | ||
- | [[Initial Plan# | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Project Description ==== | ||
- | |||
- | The first section of the document should be a brief description of | ||
- | your project outlining its context and what it is overall about. You | ||
- | can adapt the proposal used to select your project. There is no | ||
- | need to describe a lot of detail and this would usually not more than | ||
- | half a page. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Project Aims and Objectives ==== | ||
- | |||
- | The second section of the document should be a list of aims and | ||
- | objectives for your project. These are statements of what you set out | ||
- | to achieve with your project. Try to be as specific as possible at | ||
- | this stage, but avoid getting into too many details that may change | ||
- | later. It's the main results and components of your project you should | ||
- | list. A bullet point list with at most one level of sub-points is | ||
- | usually sufficient. | ||
- | |||
- | For modules CM0300, CM0333 or CM0400 (the short individual project) your aims and | ||
- | objectives are what you expect to have at the end of the module for | ||
- | your final report. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Work Plan ==== | ||
- | |||
- | The last section of your plan should consist of a time plan stating | ||
- | what you are working on when. This should include clear milestones of | ||
- | what you expect to achieve by which date and also show how you intent | ||
- | to achieve these milestones. Make sure the deliverables for the | ||
- | reports (especially the interim report, if applicable) clearly link | ||
- | with your time plan, such that you can actually deliver them when they | ||
- | are due. | ||
- | |||
- | You are free to choose the work plan format that you think is best | ||
- | suited for your project and working style. This //may// be a [[wp> | ||
- | but sometimes it may also be sufficient to simply list in sequence | ||
- | what you are working on with a time-scale and milestones/ | ||
- | Usually a weekly scale for the work plan is a good choice. Take note | ||
- | of the deadlines for the deliverables as listed in your PATS project | ||
- | description when you develop the work plan and also consider any other | ||
- | commitments and busy times such as the exam periods. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== Approval Procedure ===== | ||
- | |||
- | Once you have discussed your project plan with your supervisor and | ||
- | moderator and have submitted it on PATS, both, your supervisor and | ||
- | moderator, must approve your plan on PATS. They can choose to leave | ||
- | any comments with your plan. You will see the comments and the | ||
- | approval as soon as they have done this. | ||
- | |||
- | You can resubmit your plan at any time until the deadline. Should you | ||
- | resubmit a plan that has already been approved, the approval will be | ||
- | removed and the new plan must be approved again. | ||
- | |||
- | After the submission deadline your supervisor and moderator can still | ||
- | approve the plan, edit their comments, etc. and in very special cases | ||
- | even remove approval (they should get in contact with you to discuss | ||
- | if they choose to do this). They can do this until about one week | ||
- | after the plan submission deadline (the relevant approval deadline for | ||
- | them in shown in PATS to them). After this approval deadline they | ||
- | cannot undo any approval (but still approve your plan in case there is | ||
- | any delay, just that approval will then be final). | ||
- | |||
- | In case you fail to submit your plan by deadline or wish to resubmit a | ||
- | plan after the submission deadline, please get in contact with the | ||
- | project coordinator to discuss this. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== Approval Criteria ===== | ||
- | |||
- | Your supervisor and moderator will approve your plan according to the | ||
- | following criteria: | ||
- | * Title and project description accurately represent the project and are suitable for the module you are are taking | ||
- | * Aims and objectives are clear, sufficiently detailed and provide a suitable challenge for your project | ||
- | * For modules CM0300, CM0333, CM0400 the deliverables for the final report are clearly specified | ||
- | * For module CM0343 the deliverables for the interim and final report are clearly specified and split the total amount of work into 25% / 75% between the two reports | ||
- | * Time plan is feasible, sufficiently specific to the project, and has a clear timeline and milestones | ||
- | * The amount of work is suitable for the credits and level of the module: | ||
- | * 30 credits (300 hours of work) for CM0333 | ||
- | * 20 credits (200 hours of work) for CM0300 | ||
- | * 20 credits (200 hours of work) for CM0400 | ||