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Assignment 1. Project Feasibility Study and Plan

Report due: Friday, February 18, 5:00 p.m. 
Questionnaire due: Friday, February 18, 5:00 p.m. 

Write a short feasibility report that describes the project that you have selected. The exact form of the report is up to you, but it should be well written and suitable to present to an external client. The length is likely to be between five and ten pages. 

The report should include the following:

• The client for whom the work will be done.

• Visibility plan.  How will you keep in contact with the client and report progress?  How will you communicate among your team?

• A statement of the task to be undertaken.

• A preliminary requirements analysis.

• Suggested deliverables.

• Process to be followed, e.g., modified waterfall model, iterative refinement, prototype, phased development, etc.

• Outline plan, showing principal activities and milestones.

• Discussion of business considerations (see Projects page on the Web site). 

• Risk analysis. What can go wrong? What is your fallback plan?

• Probable technical requirements

Lecture 3 discussed what constitutes a feasibility study. Lecture 4 is an introduction to project planning. 

This report is a group assignment. All members of the project team should share in the production of the report. When you have completed your report, (a) deliver it to the client, (b) enter it into GForge or another software project system, (c) send an email message to the Course Team stating how to access the report (cs501-l@lists.cs.cornell.edu).

Questionnaire due: Friday, February 20, at 5:00 p.m. 

The file Quest1.html is a questionnaire about how the team divided up the work for Assignment 1. Every student must answer this questionnaire individually. Please follow the submission instructions with the questionnaire exactly.

Assignment 2. Progress Report and Presentation (First Milestone)

Progress report due: Friday, March 11,  at 5:00 p.m. 
Presentations: Wednesday, March 9 to Friday, March 10.
Questionnaire due: Friday, March 11,  at 5:00 p.m. 

During the semester each team will give three presentations with associated reports on the work completed. You will make a 45 minute presentation to the client, the Instructor and the Teaching Assistant assigned to your project.  Everybody is expected to be a presenter at least once. 

The first progress report and presentation should complete one third of the total work from the feasibility study. 

If you are following an iterative process the first progress report should mark a major milestone when you can report visible progress to your client.  Typically, this will include a first set of requirements, a provisional design and a prototype that can be used to demonstrate the functionality of the system, including user interface design.

If you are following a modified waterfall development process, this progress report should include completion of the requirements phase.  Carry out the requirements analysis, definition and specification for your project. Write a requirements document.  The exact form of the document is up to you, but it should be well written and suitable to present to your client.  In writing a requirements report, pay particular attention to the following:

• The report must be understandable by the client.
• The requirements must be specified in sufficient detail to test against the implementation.
• The requirements must be the client's, not your own concepts.
• Design concepts must be clearly separated from requirements.
• Requirements should be partitioned into those that must be met by the first release and those that are optional.

Available time slots for the presentation are posted on the Home page. Please contact Anat Nidar-Levi (anat@cs.cornell.edu) to schedule a time slot for your presentation. It is your responsibility to ensure that the client and the Teaching Assistant are available at the time you schedule. The room will be provided with (a) a computer projector with Internet connection, (b) a projector for overhead foils. 

This is both an individual assignment and a group assignment. Separate grades will be given to the team as a whole and to the individuals for their contributions.

When you have completed your report, (a) deliver it to the client, (b) enter it with any slides that you use for your presentation into GForge or another software project system, (c) send an email message to the Course Team stating how to access the report (cs501-l@lists.cs.cornell.edu). 

Questionnaire.  Due: Friday, March 11, at 5:00 p.m.

The file Quest2.html is a questionnaire about how the team divided up the work for Assignment 2. Every student must answer this questionnaire individually. Please follow the submission instructions with the questionnaire exactly.  Mail your answer to the Course Team (cs501-l@lists.cs.cornell.edu).

Assignment 3.  Progress Report and Presentation (Second Milestone)

Progress report due: Friday, April 8,  at 5:00 p.m. 
Second presentations: Tuesday April 5 to Thursday, April 7.
Questionnaire due: Friday, April 8,  at 5:00 p.m. 

The second presentation and report will follow the same format as the first.   You will make a 45 minute presentation to the client, the Instructor and the Teaching Assistant assigned to your project.  Remember that everybody is expected to be a presenter at least once during the semester. 

The second progress report and presentation should complete two thirds of the total work from the feasibility study.    

If you are following an iterative process this progress report should mark a major milestone when you can report visible progress to your client. 

If you are following a modified waterfall process, this progress report will be the completion of the design phase.  You should probably have already begun implementation.

The exact form of the report is up to you, but it should be well written and suitable to present to your client. In writing a design report, pay particular attention to the following:

• The report must be understandable by the client.
• The design should include both system  and program design.
• Design concepts must be clearly separated from requirements and the implementation.
• Update your schedule to confirm that you will have an operational system by the end of the semester.

Available time slots for the presentation are posted on the Home page. Please contact Anat Nidar-Levi (anat@cs.cornell.edu) to schedule a time slot for your presentation. It is your responsibility to ensure that the client and the Teaching Assistant are available at the time you schedule. The room will be provided with (a) a computer projector with Internet connection, (b) a projector for overhead foils. 

When you have completed your report, (a) deliver it to the client, (b) enter it with any slides that you use for your presentation into GForge or another software project system, (c) send an email message to the Course Team stating how to access the report (cs501-l@lists.cs.cornell.edu). 

Questionnaire.  Due: Friday, April 8, at 5:00 p.m.

The file Quest3.html is a questionnaire about how the team divided up the work for Assignment 3. Every student must answer this questionnaire individually. Please follow the submission instructions with the questionnaire exactly.  Mail your answer to the Course Team (cs501-l@lists.cs.cornell.edu).

Assignment 4. Final Presentation

Documentation and programs due: Thursday, May 12 at 5 p.m. 
Presentations: Wednesday, May 4 to Thursday, May 5 
Individual questionnaires due: Thursday, May 12 at 5 p.m.  

The final presentation and report will follow the same format as the others.   You will make a 45 minute presentation to the client, the Instructor and the Teaching Assistant assigned to your project.  Remember that everybody is expected to be a presenter at least once during the semester. 

This presentation should describe to the client and the course team what has been accomplished during the semester and should include a demonstration of your system in operation. The documentation should be a complete hand-over package, which has been entered into your project management system, so that the client's staff can put your project into production, extend and maintain it. Ideas about the presentation and documentation were discussed during Lecture 25.

Available time slots for the presentation are posted on the Home page. Please contact Anat Nidar-Levi (anat@cs.cornell.edu) to schedule a time slot for your presentation. It is your responsibility to ensure that the client and the Teaching Assistant are available at the time you schedule. The room will be provided with (a) a computer projector with Internet connection, (b) a projector for overhead foils. 

When you have completed your report, (a) deliver it to the client, (b) enter it with any slides that you use for your presentation to GForge or another software project system, (c) send an email message to the Course Team stating how to access the report (cs501-l@lists.cs.cornell.edu). 

Questionnaire.  Due: Thursday, May 12 at 5 p.m.

The file Quest4.html is a questionnaire about how the team divided up the work for Assignment 4. Every student must answer this questionnaire individually. Please follow the submission instructions with the questionnaire exactly.  Mail your answer to the Course Team (cs501-l@lists.cs.cornell.edu).