COMP40321 Research Methods.

Assessment Requirements
You are required to provide an updated Literature Review, and Project Planning Document (PPD) as a word-processed document.

Assessment Scenario/Problem
The PPD outlines the plan for the MSc Major Project and should be developed in consultation with your project supervisor. Project planning is the key to completing a project successfully. Creating a project plan is the first thing you need to do when undertaking any kind of project. The Project Planning Document describes the objectives, working assumption, project phases, dependencies, deliverables, professional issues and the risk assessment for the project. It also includes an updated Literature Survey which will be further developed from that submitted for Assignment 1 following feedback from your project supervisors.

The submission is in two parts that are submitted as one document. Part one describes the project plan itself, whilst part two is the updated Literature Survey.

Part One - Project Plan

It is expected that this section will clearly identify the aims of the project and plan the activities that will be undertaken. You are required to write this up in the following format:

1. Introduction: You should explain the background and rationale for the project.

2. Aims and objectives: The aim(s) is one or two sentences summing up the overall vision for what the project will achieve. This should be followed by a paragraph or bullet points that elaborate on the aim by identifying specific objectives that you hope to achieve in the project. At the end of your project you will write a conclusion that discusses whether you have achieved these aims and objectives.

3. Tasks: These are the specific things that you will do while you undertake your project. Each task needs to be specific and lead to a deliverable of some sort. These deliverables need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Appropriate, Realistic and Time constrained).

4. Sources of information and resources required: You must explain what resources you will need to complete the project.

5. Project risks: Anticipate with justification any cause which may "derail" your project plan and what you propose to recover the situation should it occur.

6. Professional issues: Evaluation of professional, social, ethical and legal issues of relevance to the project. Areas that can be covered are quite broad, such as any area of computing related legislations (Computer Misuse Act, Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information); areas that impact on society (home, education, workplace); the misuse of the project results for criminal activities, welfare and surveillance; or any possible intellectual property issues that may arise from your work.

7. Time plan: You need to estimate of how long each of your tasks will take and a plan of how the project will be achieved in the time available. You will also need to identify project milestones. This plan must be presented in the form of a Gantt chart.