computer science project proposal sample

Study at Cambridge

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Early in Michaelmas Term you need to submit a project proposal that describes what you plan to do and how you plan to evaluate it. In order to help with this process, you are assigned two Overseers, who, together with your Supervisor and Director of Studies, will provide advice on your ideas. The deadline for project proposals is a little over one week into term, and is a hard deadline .

Choosing a project

You have a great deal of freedom in the selection of a project, and should start narrowing down the possibilities by identifying starting points or ideas that appeal to you. These initial ideas should be refined to a coherent project plan, which is then submitted as the project proposal. The proposal will be discussed informally with your Overseers, but is then submitted to the Head of the Department as a formal statement of intent.

The main sources of inspiration are commonly:

When ideas are first suggested or discussed it is good to keep an open mind about them—a topic that initially seems very interesting may prove unreasonable on further consideration, perhaps because it will be too difficult. Equally, many ideas on topics that are unfamiliar to you will need study before you can appreciate what would be involved in following them. Almost all project suggestions should also be seen as starting points rather than fully worked out proposals.

Notes on project choice

Some project ideas can be discarded very quickly as inappropriate. It is almost always best to abandon a doubtful idea early on rather than to struggle to find a slant that will allow the Overseers to accept it. Projects are expected to have a significant Computer Science content; for example, writing an application program or game-playing program, where the main intellectual effort relates to the area supported rather than to the computation, are not suitable. Projects must also be about the right size to fit into the time available. The implications of this will best be judged by looking at past years’ projects and by discussing plans with a Supervisor or Overseer. They should not allow you to waste much time considering either ideas that would prove too slight or ones that are grossly overambitious.

It is important to pick a project that has an achievable core and room for extension. You should pick a suitably challenging project, where you will likely have to learn new things in order to successfully complete it. In addition, it is expected that you will make use of existing libraries and tools (i.e. don’t reinvent the wheel) unless there is a good reason for producing your own implementation.

Re-use of projects that have been attempted in the past

Projects are intended to give you a chance to display your abilities as a computer scientist. You are not required (or indeed expected) to conduct research or produce radically new results. It is thus perfectly proper to carry out a project that has been attempted before, and it is commonplace to have two students in the same year both basing their projects on the same original idea.

In such cases it is not acceptable to run a simple action replay of a previous piece of work. Fortunately all projects of the required scale provide considerable scope for different approaches; producing a new variation on an existing theme will not be hard. Furthermore the report produced at the end of a previous attempt at a project will often identify areas that led to unexpected difficulties, or opportunities for new developments—both these provide good scope for putting a fresh slant on the ideas involved.

Supervision

In some cases the most critical problem will be finding a suitable project Supervisor, somebody whom you will see regularly to report your progress and obtain guidance about project work throughout the year. This might be one of your main course Supervisors or a separate, specialist project Supervisor, but it should not be assumed that a person suggesting a project will be willing to supervise it. Supervisors have to be appointed by your Director of Studies, but in most cases it will be left up to you to identify somebody willing and able to take on the task. The Overseers will be interested only in seeing that someone competent has agreed to supervise the project, and that your Director of Studies is content with that arrangement.

Each project will have a number of critical resources associated with its completion. If even one of these fails to materialise then it will not be possible to proceed with a project based on the idea; your Director of Studies can help you judge what might be a limiting issue.

The project proposal must contain as its last section a Resources Declaration. This must explicitly list the resources needed and give contact details for any person (apart from yourself) responsible for ensuring their availability. In particular, you should name the person responsible for you if your work requires access to the Department research area. The signatures of these people should also be present on the project cover sheet before submission.

What qualifies as a critical resource?

In some cases a project may need to use data or build on algorithms described in a technical report or other document known to exist but not immediately available in Cambridge. In this case, this must be considered critical even if work could start without the report or data.

Using any hardware or software other than that available through a normal student account on UIS equipment (e.g. MCS) is considered non-standard. This includes personal machines, other workstations (e.g. research machines in the Department), FPGA boards, or even Raspberry Pis if they belong to someone else. Likewise, use of software written or owned by someone else that is not freely available as open-source will be considered as non-standard and should be declared.

Additional MCS Resources

It is reasonable to suppose that disk space and machine time will be made available in amounts adequate for all but extreme projects. Those who consider they may need more should provide a reasoned estimate of the resources required in the project proposal in consultation with the Supervisor. Additional file space should be requested through a web form , noting that:

Note that some MATLAB toolkits are not available on the MCS but might be available on Department accounts.

Use of your own computer

If you are using your own computer, please state its specifications and also state your contingency plan in case it should fail (such as using MCS or another personal computer). Please also state your file backup plan and the revision control system you plan to use. If using your own computer please include the following text in your declaration:

I accept full responsibility for this machine and I have made contingency plans to protect myself against hardware and/or software failure.

Department Accounts

Access to Departmental computers can be granted if there is a good reason, e.g.

If you plan to use a Department account then state this and explain why it is needed in your resources declaration. If relevant, the signature of a sponsoring member of the department (e.g. the owner of the specific resource) is required as an extra signature on the project cover sheet. In addition, your Supervisor should send an email to [email protected] requesting the account with a brief justification.

Some Department resources and the people who can authorise their use:

Requests for resources involving a Department research machine should be authorised by a Lecturer, Reader or Professor who is in charge of managing the equipment.

Access to the Department can be granted if there is a good reason. If you require access to the secure part of the William Gates Building, you should state who will be responsible for you whilst you are on the premises. They should sign your Project Proposal Coversheet as a Special Resource Sponsor.

Third-Party Resources

Resources provided by your College, other University departments or industrial collaborators must be declared. The name and contact details (including email address) of the person in charge of the resource must be stated and their signature must be present on the project cover sheet. Resources from third parties can sometimes disappear unexpectedly, so please state why you believe this is not going to happen or else state your contingency plan in case it does.

In the case of projects that rely on support from outside the University it will be necessary to procure a letter from the sponsors that confirms both that their equipment will remain available right up to the end of the academic year and that they understand that the results of work done by students cannot be viewed as secret or proprietary.

You should bear in mind that the Examiners will require electronic submission of your dissertation and code. Therefore, you should not sign anything, such as a non-disclosure agreement, that would prevent you from submitting them.

Working with human participants

If your project involves collection of data via surveys, interviews or online, release of instrumented software, fieldwork, or experiments with human participants, such as usability trials or asking people to evaluate some aspect of your work, then you must seek approval by submitting a human participants request to the departmental Ethics Committee and record that you are going to do this, by ticking the appropriate box on your cover sheet. This must occur before any of these activities start. Please read the Department's ethics policy .

Your project Supervisor will help you to fill in an online form ( read-only version ) containing two questions:

Simple guidance related to the most common types of study is available on the School of Technology Research Guidance site . You may also find it useful to discuss your plans with the person supervising you for the Part II HCI course.

After submitting the ethics review form, you will receive feedback from the Ethics Committee within a few days. You must not start any study involving human participants without approval from the Ethics Committee.

Planning the project

As part of the project proposal, you should provide a detailed description of the work that needs to be performed, broken down into manageable chunks. You will need to identify the key components that will go to make up your final product. Credit is awarded specifically for showing a professional approach using any relevant management or software engineering methods at all stages of project design, development and testing. Plan an order in which you intend to implement the project components, arranging that both the list of tasks and the implementation order provide you with a sequence of points in the project where you can assess progress. Without a set of milestones it is difficult to pace your work so that the project as a whole gets completed on time.

When you have decomposed your entire project into sub-tasks you can try to identify which of these sub-tasks are going to be hard and which easy, and hence estimate the relative amounts of effort involved in each. These estimates, together with the known date when the dissertation must be submitted, should allow you to prepare a rough timetable for the work. The timetable should clearly make allowance for lecture loads, unit-of-assessment coursework, vacations, revision and writing your dissertation. Looking at the details of such a plan can give you insight into the feasibility of the project. Ideally you should plan to start writing the dissertation at least six weeks before the submission date.

Languages and tools

It will also be necessary to make decisions about operating systems, programming languages, tools and libraries. In many cases there will be nothing to decide, in that the essence of the project forces issues. However, where you do have a choice, then take care to balance out the pros and cons of each option. It is expected that students will be prepared to learn a new language or operating system if that is a natural consequence of the project they select.

Uncommon languages or ones where the implementation is of unknown reliability are not ruled out, but must be treated with care and (if at all possible) fall-back arrangements must be made in case insuperable problems are encountered.

Risk management

Projects are planned at the start of the year, and consequently it can be hard to predict the results of decisions that are made; thus any project proposal involves a degree of risk. Controlling and managing that risk is one of the skills involved in bringing a project to a successful conclusion. It is clear where to start: you should identify the main problem areas early and either allow extra margins of time for coping with them or plan the project so that there are alternative ways of solving key problems. A good example of this latter approach arises if a complete project requires a solution to a sub-problem X and a good solution to X would involve some complicated coding. Then a fall-back position where the project can be completed using a naive (possibly seriously inefficient, but nevertheless workable) solution to X can guard against the risk of you being unable to complete and debug the complicated code within the time limits.

Planning the write-up

As well as balancing your risks, you should also try to plan your work so that writing it up will be easy and will lead to a dissertation in which you can display breadth as well as depth in your understanding. This often goes hand-in-hand with a project structure which is clearly split into sub-tasks, which is, of course, also what you wanted in order that your management of your work on the project could be effective.

A good dissertation will be built around a varied portfolio of code samples, example output, tables of results and other evidence of the project’s successful completion. Planning this evidence right from the start and adjusting the project specification to make documenting it easier can save you a lot of agony later on.

Preparing the Project Proposal and consulting Overseers

You should keep in touch with both your Overseers from the briefing session until the final draft of your project proposal, making sure that they know what state your planning is in and that they have had a chance to read and comment on your ideas. Overseers will generally be reluctant to turn down a project outright, but if you feel that yours sound particularly luke-warm about some particular idea or aspect of what you propose you would do well to think hard (and discuss the issues with your Supervisor) before proceeding. If Overseers declare a project plan to be unacceptable, or suggest that they will only accept subject to certain conditions, rapid rearrangement of plans may be called for.

Dealings with your Overseers divide into three phases between the briefing session and submitting your proposal. Most of the communications will be best arranged by email and all submissions of work are on Moodle. Please be sure to take note of the various deadlines .

Phase 1 report: Selecting a topic

You start by preparing a Phase 1 report which, for 22/23 must be submitted on or before the first day of Michaelmas Full Term in October Please pay careful attention to the points raised in the briefing lectures regarding selection of an appropriate topic. You must certainly choose something that has a defined and achievable success criterion. Note also that the marking scheme explicitly mentions preparation and evaluation, so please select something that will require a corresponding initial research/study phase and a corresponding (preferably systematic) evaluation phase.

You should complete a copy of the “Phase 1 Project Selection Status Report” and upload it to Moodle .

Phase 2: Full proposal draft: Filling out details

The details will include:

Send all this to your Overseers and ask them to check the details.

Phase 3: Final proposal

In the light of your Overseers’ comments, produce a final copy in the standard format.

You do not secure signatures from your Overseers at this stage. Simply submit the proposal.

Shortly after submission the Overseers will check your proposal again and, assuming that the foregoing steps have been followed carefully, all should be well and they will sign the proposal to signify formal acceptance. If the proposal is not acceptable you will be summoned for an interview.

Submission and Content of the Project Proposal

Completed project proposals must be submitted via Moodle by noon on the relevant day.

Format of the proposal

A project proposal is expected to be about 1000 words long. It consists of the following:

When emailing drafts of your proposal to Overseers, please make sure they contain all of the information required on the final cover sheet.

The body of the proposal should incorporate:

Introduction and description

This text will expand on the title quoted for your project by giving further explanation both of the background to the work you propose to do and of the objectives you expect to achieve. Quite often a project title will do little more than identify a broad area within which you will work: the accompanying description must elaborate on this, giving details of specific goals to be achieved and precise characterisations of the methods that will be used in the process. You should identify the main sub-tasks that make up your complete project and outline the algorithms or techniques to be adopted in completing them. A project description should give criteria that can be used at the end of the year to test whether you have achieved your goals, and should back this up by explaining what form of evidence to this effect you expect to be able to include in your dissertation.

Starting point

A statement of the starting point must be present to ensure that all candidates are judged on the same basis. It should record any significant bodies of code or other material that will form a basis for your project and which exist at project proposal time. Provided a proper declaration is made here, it is in order to build your final project on work you started perhaps even a year earlier, or to create parts of your programs by modifying existing ones written by somebody else. Clearly the larger the input to your project from such sources the more precise and detailed you will have to be in reporting just what baseline you will be starting from. The Examiners will want this section to be such that they can judge all candidates on the basis of that part of work done between project proposal time and the time when dissertations are submitted. The starting point should describe the state of existing software at the point you write your proposal (so work that you may have performed over the summer vacation is counted as preparatory work).

Success criterion

Similarly, a proposal must specify what it means for the project to be a success. It is unacceptable to say “I’ll just keep writing code in this general area and what I deliver is what you get”. It is advisable to choose a reasonably modest, but verifiable, success criterion which you are as certain as possible can be met; this means that your dissertation can claim your project not only satisfies the success criterion but potentially exceeds it. Projects that do not satisfy the success criterion are, as in real life, liable to be seen as failures to some extent.

You will need to describe how your project is split up into two- or three-week chunks of work and milestones, as explained in the planning section .

Resource declaration

You should list resources required, as described in the resources section .

Failure to submit a project proposal on time

Any student who fails to submit a project proposal on time is in breach of a Regulation and will no longer be regarded as a Candidate for Part II of the Computer Science Tripos. The Chairman of Examiners will write to the appropriate Senior Tutor as follows:

Dear Senior Tutor,

XXX has failed to submit a project proposal for Part II of the Computer Science Tripos. The Head of Department was therefore unable to approve the title by the deadline specified in Regulation 17 for the Computer Science Tripos [Ordinances 2005, p268,amended by Notices (Reporter, 2010-11, pp.94 and 352, http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/2011/chapter04-section9.html#heading2-43 )]. XXX is therefore in breach of the regulation and is thus no longer eligible to be a Candidate for Part II of the Computer Science Tripos. Please could you take appropriate action. I am copying this letter to the Secretary of the Applications Committee of the Council.

Yours sincerely,

------------------------- Chair of the Examiners Department of Computer Science and Technology William Gates Building JJ Thomson Avenue Cambridge, CB3 0FD

Department of Computer Science and Technology University of Cambridge William Gates Building 15 JJ Thomson Avenue Cambridge CB3 0FD

Information provided by [email protected]

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Computer Science Project Proposal Report Sample Example Document

We understand that approaching clients with different web project requirements and delivering attractive offers can be tricky. To ensure that your potential client gets all the information needed to hire you, its crucial to have a well compiled structure for crafting that winning proposal. Downloading this Computer Science Project proposal, you can have precisely that. This web development proposal sample lets you showcase the project context with details of the clients requirements and proposed deliverables. Additionally, the software development project proposal covers the scope of work and approach to meet the clients requirement of an app for customizing nutrition plans. Further, this proposal presentation portrays the work breakdown structure with details about task name, duration, start date, and finish date. In addition, it familiarizes the client with a cost estimation to complete the computer science project. Lastly, our readily available proposal covers the terms and conditions of the contract and sign off page. Download this 100 percent customizable proposal sample to win deals and increase your business opportunities. Your achievements will be a foregone conclusion with this well crafted proposal sample.

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How to Write a Proposal for a Computer Science Topic

Kevin blankinship.

Writing a topic proposal represents a major part of computer-science projects in high school, college and graduate school. When you develop an idea for your university capstone project or master's thesis, you'll be required to submit a topic proposal to your professors. Jobs in academic and industrial fields require such proposals when pitching new projects. Learning how to write a thorough and concise topic proposal is a life skill that you will be called upon to use throughout your career.

Explore this article

things needed

Word processing software

1 Write an introduction

Write an introduction. This should include an overview of the concepts, terms and issues involved with your project. Place your project in the greater context of computer science or mathematics by starting with a more general scope, then zeroing in on more specific concerns related to your topic. For a project involving a more efficient database algorithm, for example, start off with an overview of how such algorithms work in general.

2 Clarify the specific problem or concern

Clarify the specific problem or concern that your project will address. The goal of computer science projects, as with any original research, is to identify an area of the field which has been ignored or understudied, and then contribute a solution to that problem. Include a brief literature review outlining the work which has been done previously, then show that your project will contribute an original solution by explaining how the project resolves a previously unaddressed problem. Present your solution in a concise research statement, which will guide the rest of your proposal.

3 Record your research methods

Record your research methods. Provide details of the algorithms and program logic you plan on using. Include a timeline and budget, if necessary, for your project. For short-term class projects, allow two to three months for completion. Give yourself six months to a year for longer projects, such as a capstone project or master's thesis.

4 Cite your sources in a bibliography

Cite your sources in a bibliography. Include all sources used in formulating your literature review at the beginning of the proposal. Use American Psychological Association (APA) style, which is the preferred citation format for computer science, as well as the hard sciences and engineering.

About the Author

Kevin Blankinship began writing professionally in 2010. His work is featured online, focusing on business, technology, physical fitness, education and religion. Blankinship holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in comparative literature and is pursuing a doctorate in Arabic language and literature from the University of Chicago.

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Proposal for a Project on Computer Science and Information Technology Education.docx

While almost the entire Computer and Communications industry has undergone enormous change over the last 30 years, one significant aspect of this industry has changed very little, if at all; college and university education. Teaching, Learning and Assessment are done today in almost the same way as it was done 30 years ago. Standup lectures in subjects that cover limited curriculum, with small, limited scope projects constituting the ‘practical’ aspect of many subjects. This proposal addresses all aspects of the situation: Teaching practices, Learning activities, Assessment styles and Curriculum content. E-Learning will replace stand-up lectures, emphasis will be placed on coordinated teaching teams, students will take greater responsibility for their own learning, deep learning and theory formulation based on intensive practice, and continuous assessment with an emphasis on formative assessment.

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In setting the context, this review starts by defining 'public engagement‘ and then reflects on how 'community engagement‘ sits within it. The term 'public engagement‘ denotes the myriad ways in which universities engage the public with their work. This review aims to act as a resource to support institutions and academic staff in promoting and embedding public engagement within the curriculum in the UK. It explores a number of definitions which encompass this activity, and outlines the contexts in which it takes place. The main body of the review presents key forms of public engagement in the curriculum, and reflects on challenges related to teaching and learning to be considered to ensure it can be embedded. It concludes with a summary of key points arising from the review and makes recommendations for further research. It has found a wide range of activities that fall within this designation as well as overlaps and inconsistencies of terminology. This, together with the complexities surrounding the activities, implies researching and practising in the field is a challenge, albeit a stimulating one. Community engagement and civic responsibility is a key element in the mission of many universities as they express their desire to make a difference in their constituent communities. Some pursue this mission explicitly and support academics, students and communities in their endeavours. Community engagement through the curriculum requires a measure of institutional investment in order to support, recognise and reward students and staff, and to ensure optimal benefit to the institution and the community. As of writing, increasing numbers of institutions have become signatories to the NCCPE‘s Manifesto for Public Engagement. This growing commitment within the UK is supported by international agreements and declarations whereby universities across the world have pledged to advance and increase their partnerships with, relevance to, and positive impact on, local and global communities.

Søren Wandahl

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computer science project proposal sample

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