Department of
Computer Science
CS 420/520: Object-Oriented Programming
Term Projects
Set: Friday 26th April 2019
Proposals due: Monday 6th May 2019 at noon
Introduction
Term projects will be "free form", that is, you first propose what you want to do, I approve it or ask for modifications, and then, once we have reached an agreement, you execute the proposal.
The reason for this "free form" project is the wide range of backgrounds and abilities of the students in the class. I don’t think that I could come up with further assignments and an exam that would be both within the capabilities of those with weaker backgrounds, and yet still challenging to the more advanced students. The project process will let you form a partnership and select a project that is a learning experience for your partnership, interesting to all of you, and yet doable before the end of the quarter.
Groups
It is best to do this project as a pair. I will also accept projects from individuals.
Project Grading
The project will be graded mostly on code quality, using criteria similar to those on the rubrics that we have been using throughout the course. The scope and ambition of the project will be taken into account; however, a modest project nicely executed will get a better grade than an ambitious project whose code I can’t read.
Project Proposals
You have ten days from today to form a team and
write a 500 to 800 word project proposal. There should be
enough information in the proposal for me to accept or
reject it; specifically, you should tell me what you
propose to deliver. It’s a good idea to have several
phases, so if, for example, you run out of time to
complete phase 3, you will at least have phases 1 and 2
written and tested. Submit proposals earlier
if possible, so that I can give you feedback earlier.
I won’t be surprised if the scope of the project at the end of the quarter is different from the scope described in the proposal, but I expect the project to be recognizably the same. I encourage you to execute your project in Grace, JavaScript, Ruby, Python, or Smalltalk, so that I can read it, but you can propose another language if there is good reason to do so. Project proposals should list the team name, the team members, the context of the project, and some brief user stories outlining functionality offered by the project. User stories are descriptions of interactions with your imagined system from the point of view of the user.
If it’s not clear from the proposal what I will see in
the deliverable, I'll ask you to do it again. I
encourage you to adapt one of these project suggestions. I
want to be involved in helping you to decide on the
scope of your projevy: talk to me, in class, in person, or
on Piazza.
Schedule
Project Assigned Friday 26 April 2019 Proposals due Monday 6 May 2019 Feedback from Instructor on Proposals Wednesday 8 May 2019 Completed Projects Due Friday 7rd June 2019 (End of 10th Week)
Project Demonstrations Week of 10th June (Exam week).
Deliverables
The completed project should consist of code in github, a copy of your proposal, and a short report outlining:- The overall architecture of the project: the objects
you created and their responsibilities. This is
intended only as an overview; the details should be in
the code. (2 pages maximum). Include diagrams if
appropriate; diagrams don't count against the page
limit.
- The challenges that you faced and how you overcame them. (1 page maximum)
- Anything that you are especially proud of (or embarrassed about). (1 page maximum)
- If you did the project as part of a team, 1–4 above
are team deliverables.
- I also want an additional item from each
individual: a summary of what you contributed to
the team effort and a description of how well the team
worked together (1 page maximum).
I encourage you to make your github repositories public; at the least, they need to be readable by me (apblack)!
Demonstrations
I will ask each team to schedule a 1-on-1 session with me during exam week to demonstrate their project and answer questions.