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General

A major component of the course is a software development project. The objective is to develop a software product for an actual client who intends to use it in regular production.

For this purpose, during the first two weeks of the course, you will form project teams with 5 to 7 members. During the semester, the project team will work together through the full development cycle, from understanding the requirements to delivering a functioning product, and making a series of presentation of the work to the client.

Projects

A client can be any person or organization except yourself (e.g., a member of faculty or staff, a Cornell department, a local company or other external organization, a student body, etc.). Some potential projects and clients will be suggested but you are encouraged to identify your own.  There should be a firm intention by the client to use the software in production. Aim for a minimum of a three-year production life with at least 100 users, preferably many more.

In selecting a project, think broadly. Your project can be an application, system software, or even a toolkit. Software engineering covers everything from Palm Pilots to supercomputers. The only conditions are that there must be a real client and real users.

Because of the need for the client to attend presentations, we discourage clients that are not based in the Ithaca area.  In the past, there have been successful projects with clients from Syracuse, but projects for more distant clients have rarely worked well.

Deliverables

Since every software project is different, there is no set list of deliverables that every project must provide. Part of your task is to decide what is needed for this specific project. Typical deliverables include working code, documentation, training materials, etc.

Four assignments during the course are based on the project.  These are group projects, but you will be given individual grades for parts of some assignments.  

1. Feasibility study and plan (report)
2. Requirements (presentation and documentation)
3. Design (presentation and documentation)
4. Final delivery (presentation and documentation)

The three primary criteria for a successful project are: satisfying the client's needs, usability of the product, and maintainability over the life of the product.

Technical environment

Most projects will use C++, Java or Perl for Unix or Windows.  Permission is required to use other environments, but you are encouraged to use whatever is right for your particular product.

Expectations from the client

The client can expect the following from the students:

• A careful study of the requirements and a design that meets those requirements.
• A tested and well documented system that performs as specified. 

In return, the student can expect the following from the client:

• Regular meetings, about weekly.
• Feedback on draft documentation.
• Attendance at the three project presentations.

The client must understand that one semester is a very short period of time to complete a substantial system.  In previous years, about half of all CS 501 projects have resulted in systems that have gone into production,.  However, usually the client has found it necessary to continue work after the semester to add extra functionality.  Sometimes, members of the project team have continued work the following semester, as an independent project.

Business considerations

A number of business considerations surround any practical software product.  As part of the Feasibility Study and Plan, every project must describe how it will handle these considerations.  

• For your software to interface with other programs, the client may provide access to trade secret or other proprietary information.  In this case you may be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
  
• As Cornell students you own the copyright in the software that you create.  However, the client clearly needs to be able to use your software and to use it as a basis for future work.  You must either agree to transfer the copyright to the client or to provide the client with an unrestricted license to use it.
  
• It is just possible that a project may develop concepts that could be patented.  This is a complex area, with implications for the project team, the university, the client, and possibly others.  The client may require a statement that covers this possibility.
  
• Some projects may be for companies in which members of the Cornell faculty or staff are principals.  In such situations, the university's policy on conflicts of interest must be observed.

Project suggestions

Here are some suggested projects.  They will be discussed during class on Thursday, January 27.  Additional project suggestions may be posted here during the first week of class.

• Institutional Repository Submission System
• Library of Congress Classifications
• Legal Information Institute
• Reference and Instruction Automated Statistics Gathering and Reporting
• Revision Control System
• Ringtones
• Automatic TeX System
• Johnson Graduate School of Management Library

If you wish to propose another project or would like to advertise for colleagues to join you on a project, you can post a message on the course newsgroup, cornell.class.cs501. (You can access this newsgroup through newsstand.cit.cornell.edu.)