Project Proposal Page

Proposal SDF Guidelines

There are actually two sections for your Project Proposal in the SDF, in section 2 and section 3. Section 2 is a copy of the proposed project from the first day of class. Section 3 is a copy of the "official" Project Proposal Document.

Proposal Document

The Project Proposal document which goes in section 3.0 of the SDF will itself consist of two parts or subsections, the first being a verbal description of the project, and the second being a justification of the project. The total length should be about 500 words.

The verbal description must 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 mention the hardware and software it requires. The description must also indicate who the end user of your application would be, and, if relevant, how it would be maintained.

The justification section should explain why your choice of project is appropriate for this class. The following criteria will be used as a guide for evaluating the appropriateness of the project, and should be considered when writing the justification section: Applies and demonstrates what you have learned in your other classes Gives you the opportunity to extend what you have learned in other classes Technical difficulty is appropriate (not too easy, but not too hard either) One semester is a reasonable amount of time to develop the project You possess the tools and skills required to complete the project Project is interesting to you, your classmates, and the instructor

In addition to the Proposal Document in section 3.0, a copy of your Proposal Presentation Slides must be included in Section 3. In fact, as the semester progresses, a copy of the slides from all of your presentations should be inserted in this section. (Note that only the proposal document needs to be section-page numbered; presentation slides should be numbered for the presentation, NOT numbered for the SDF section. Assuming an online repository, soft copies of everything, or links to them, must be included in the proper SDF location.

Proposal Presentation

You will each make a five-minute presentation of your project proposal to the class. You will need transparencies, Microsoft Powerpoint, Open Office Impress, a computer-ready PDF, a Prezi, or a web page wiki page 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 whiteboard as needed. We will allow five minutes for the presentation, and two minutes for class discussion and for Q&A.

REMEMBER: YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PROPOSAL SLIDES IN YOUR GIT REPOSITORY PRIOR TO THE START OF CLASS TO GET CREDIT FOR THE DELIVERABLE!

The Proposal Presentation should contain the following slides in this order [note – revamped for 2018 and later due to class size]:

• Title slide with the project name, your name, and the date, and maybe a cool graphic
• Project Description, containing a top-level explanation of your application, along with the target audience for the application; focus on what it does, what it's like, and who will use it.
• User's point of view; this slide should present some idea of HOW the user will use your appliction, such as application operations (buttons, menus, etc.). If doing a game, be sure to clearly state the way the game ends — what is the outcome?
• Why you are interested: what makes this project interesting and challenging for you to end your college career with it?
• "Questions" slide

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. This shouldn't be too difficult for you to do at this point, since you have done presentations many times in the previous semester's class.

Presentation 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 (same ideas)
• 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!)

Outline of the Deliverable

It's pretty simple for the first couple of sections: see the SDF Outline section on the Project Overview page for details. Basically, Section 1 is for all your status sheets which will be turned in throughout the semester, Section 2 is for your Preliminary Project Proposal document from the first class, and Section 3 is for your actual Proposal document and all presentation slides for the entire semester.

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