Project Proposal
CS491A, Summer 2009

Due:  Friday, July 17

Please upload your project proposal to CSNS. Note that file uploading will be disabled automatically after 11:59PM of the due date, so please turn in your work on time.

The project proposal should be in PDF or MS Word format, with size 12 fonts, 1.5 line spacing, and 1 in margin on each side. You may write as many pages (or as few pages) as you want, as long as the proposal provides the following information:

1. Project Title

Try to come up with a title that is both informative and unique. For example, if you want to develop a system for the students to register their classes online, call your project something like "GETRegistered: An Online System for Class Registration", instead of using a generic and vague title like "Student Record Management System".

2. Problem Description

Describe the problem that your project tries to solve. This usually means describing the situation without your proposed system, and identify the issues your system could address. For example, without an online registration system, students have to either wait in line for hours at the Registration Office, or register classes by phone using a very user-unfriendly interface. An online system would certainly make the registration process a lot easier for the students.

Note that the problem description also serves as part of the motivation for your project. By describing the problems of the current situation, you show the necessity and the significance of your project.

3. Requirement Analysis

Analyze the requirements to solve the problem. For the online registration system example, this would include the software and hardware platforms that are needed to run the system, as well as the system functionality that need to be implemented in order to bring the registration process online, i.e. the use cases and the feature list of the system.

4. Plan

Come up with a weekly plan for this quarter, including what you will deliver by the end of this quarter, and a more general plan for next quarter, including what you will deliver by the end of next quarter.

And last but not least, note that although the proposal is due at the end of the fourth week, it does not mean you should wait until the fifth week to start you project. Once you are settled on your project idea, you should start working on it as soon as possible.