CMSI 401 Documentation: Project Proposal

Proposal Guidelines

The proposal consists of two parts, the first being a description of the project, and the second being a justification of the project. The total length for both sections combined should be about 500 words at most.

The description should provide a high-level overview of the project, compare it to any software programs already in existence (if applicable), list its most important features, and discuss the hardware and software it requires. The description should also indicate who the end user of your system would be, and, if relevant, how it would be maintained. A more detailed description of what you plan to accomplish will be included in Section 5 of the SDF, the Requirements Specification section, so only the top-level overview of the project should be included here.

The justification should explain why your team's choice of project is appropriate for this class. The following criteria will be used to judge the appropriateness of the project, and should be considered in writing the justification:

1. The project applies and demonstrates what team members have learned in other classes
2. The project gives each team member the opportunity to extend what s/he has learned in other classes
3. The technical difficulty of the project is appropriate (not too easy, not too difficult)
4. One semester is a reasonable amount of time to develop the project
5. The team as a whole possesses the tools required to complete the project
6. The project is interesting to each teammate, classmates, and the instructor

It is in your best interest to obtain approval for the project before the team gets too far underway, and before the team presents its proposal to the class.

Proposal Presentation

You, as a team, will make a ten-minute presentation of the proposal to the class. You will need powerpoint or prezi or some such for this presentation. You must be able to clearly describe what your project will do, and you should be prepared to sketch diagrams on the white/blackboard as needed. We will allow five minutes after each presentation for class discussion of the project, and for Q&A. All team members should participate in the proposal preparation in some way, and each member's role in developing the proposal should be made clear in the concluding part of your presentation.

The proposal presentation is intended to help you "get your feet wet" with standing in front of a group and presenting technical data, since this process is part of the ultimate goal of the course, and is something you will need to be able to do in the workplace.

There is no formal presentation slide template for this presentation. Feel free to be creative and imaginative, as long as we, the audience, get some idea of what YOUR idea is, and that you present some preliminary notions of some of the technologies you'll be using. It IS preliminary at this point, right? So no Great Expectations at this time.

Proposal Suggestions

Here are some suggestions for good presentations:

• Know your subject
  • Know it thoroughly
  • Write it out... from your head
  • Use a logical, flowing order
  • Make an outline
  • Limit the talk to two or three key ideas
• Know your audience
  • Learn as much as you can about the audience ahead of time.
  • Note special characteristics - tailor jokes; complement or flatter them
  • Map your terms to theirs
  • Aim below their level slightly (vocabulary and concepts)
• Formulas for persuasive arguments
  • P.R.E.P. => Point, Reason, Example, Point
  • Start by making a single point
  • State a reason for making that point
  • Give an example that supports your point
  • Conclude with a restatement of your original point
  • O.R.E.O. => Opinion, Reason, Example, Opinion
• Organize your presentation carefully
  • Introduction: Tell them what you are going to tell them
  • Body of talk: Tell them
  • Conclusion: Tell them what you just told them
  • The objective is to communicate!
• Prepare
  • Know your material so you can talk from your knowledge
  • Note cards are OK, but don't just read those, either
  • Practice your talk, alone, in the mirror, or with someone
  • Time your talk so that you can talk slowly (be understood!)
  • Have someone else advance slides, or use a remote mouse

(Presentation notes stolen verbatim from the PowerPoint presentation
"Effective Technical Presentations", 31-Jan-2006 --- Thanks Dr. August!)

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