Final Year Project Brief
Week 1 - Introduction
10 March 2023
Outline
• Introduction
• Importance of FYP
• Module Descriptor
• Key milestones and deliverables
• Areas of research
• Examples
FYP Overview
“Provide an opportunity for you to undertake a significant task on an
individual basis and to showcase your talents gained throughout your
award in a practical manner.”
• Considered the “capstone” of the 3 year award
• Will run over both semesters
• Single 30 credit module
• Delivered over 32 weeks
• Will be supported by four key people
• PM – Project Manager
• Supervisor
• Assessor
• Work on a real world practical problem and find a solution
FYP Expectations
• Ability to integrate the learning of last 2 years
• Ability to apply learned concepts to solve a novel problem
• Ability to act independently
• Ability to carryout independent learning and absorb new knowledge
• Ability to manage time and a significant workload
• Ability to communicate professionally through a different mediums
• Ability to take significant responsibility for their learning
Importance of FYP - Academic
• Ensures significant development of the graduate attributes
• Requires completion of substantial amount of individual work
• Focuses on the integration of the skills learnt over the preceding years
• Offers the student a transformative learning experience
Importance of FYP - Career
• Required for Hons Degree
• Most Sri Lankan degrees are 4 years
• British hons degrees are 3 years
• Ordinary degree is considered a fail award and of less duration than 3 years
• FYP is key talking point in interviews
• Required for career progression
• Even if first job will accept ordinary first degree promotions will not be
available
• You need Hons degree to do masters
Common Pitfalls
• Failing to meet your supervisor regularly
• Choosing/Starting the project too late
• Bad time management
• Over/Under Ambition.
• Failing to plan a fallback position
The Problem is – The Problem
• All projects have one thing in common
• They cover 3 main topics
1.Domain
2.Technology
3.Discipline
• Hardest part is number 1 – The domain
• What is your project about?
• It is where the key research will be done
• Distinguishes your project from “the pack”
Module Descriptor
Learning Outcome
1. IDENTIFY, SPECIFY AND PLAN A SUITABLE INDIVIDUAL PROJECT INCLUDING THE DOMAIN AND Communication
TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT; CONDUCT CRITICALLY EVALUATIVE RESEARCH AND
Knowledge &
COMMUNICATE THE CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT, THE KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED THROUGH RESEARCH, AND
DETAIL THE MANAGEMENT AND DESIGN ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT. Understanding
2. INVESTIGATE, DOCUMENT, JUSTIFY, CRITICALLY EVALUATE AND APPLY APPROPRIATE ANALYSIS AND Analysis
DESIGN METHODS AS PART OF A METHODOLOGY OR FRAMEWORK. CREATE AND DOCUMENT
APPROPRIATE MODELS AND DEVELOP AND DOCUMENT WORKABLE, ACCURATE SOLUTIONS TO THE Enquiry
PROBLEM
3. DEVELOP, APPLY AND DOCUMENT AN APPROPRIATE ARTEFACT TRANSFORMING THE MODEL INTO AN Analysis
EFFECTIVE SOLUTION. CRITICALLY ASSESS, SELECT AND INCORPORATE RECOGNISED STANDARDS AND
METHODS IN SUPPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A QUALITY ARTEFACT.
Enquiry
4. TEST, EVALUATE AND DOCUMENT THE PROJECT ARTEFACT CRITICALLY EVALUATING THE PROCESS AND Learning
RESULT.
Reflection
5. CARRY OUT THE PROJECT IN AN ETHICALLY RESPONSIBLE MANNER, FULLY IN COMPLIANCE WITH Analysis
PROFESSIONAL CODES OF CONDUCT, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ANY RELEVANT LEGAL, SOCIAL AND
ETHICAL ISSUES AND INCLUDING RELEVANT RISK ASSESSMENT.
Reflection
Roles in FYP
PM/PC Supervisor Assessor Student
Manage overall FYP Give students individual Assessor acts as an Work independently
process guidance independent third party to
give another point of view
Do overall administration Review progress and give Manage your time
and scheduling feedback
Conduct weekly PM Bring in technical expertise Schedule weekly meetings
sessions
Give high level guidance Be proactive
on expectations
Raise any issues in an
timely manner
Module Delivery
“Important part of the learning strategy is the direct one-to-one supervision of your project
by a supervisor”
• 20 min weekly meeting with supervisor
• Present and discuss weekly progress
• Get feedback
• Discuss concerns and problems encountered
• Agree on next weeks work
• Consists of 1 hour of face to face contact with PM/PC
• Will consist of lectures and workshops on relevant topics
• Research has shown that biggest indicator of success in a research project is number of
meetings with the supervisor
Supervisory log sheets
“independent learning for this module will include your keeping of a logbook”
• Must be completed for every weekly meeting by the student
• Responsibility of student
• Supervisor must sign on day of meeting
• 3 copies must be maintained
• 1 must be handed over to supervisor at end of project
• One must me submitted to admin
• Other attached to submission
• Important as its your official track of the meetings and feedback received
Project Management
• Project management is key to any successful project
• Managing their project is the students responsibility
• PM and supervisor will be there to guide you
• Overall structure and framework is defined and will be followed
• Key deadlines
• The project has been broken into key phases with deadlines and deliverables
for each
• 8 deadlines have been set
• Meeting of all deadlines is compulsory
FYP Phases and Deliverables
Phase Duration Actions Documentation Deliverable
Project initiation 4 weeks (+ 3 • Identify project, domain and scope PPF
weeks
extra)
Project planning + 4 weeks • Finalize project and identify PSR
Initial Lit review requirements
• Carryout initial lit review
• Carryout initial design
• Complete project plan
Project design and 8 weeks • Complete lit review Midpoint
analysis • Do detailed analysis and design Report and
• Complete prototype of artefact prototype
Implementation 10 weeks • Finalize design Final Report
• Complete artefact and artefact
• Commence testing
Testing 6 weeks • Complete system testing
• Finalize documentation
Key Deadlines
Deadline Overall week Semester Week Marks
PPF Submission 4 Semester 1, week 4 Formal (10%)
PSR Submission 8 Semester 1, week 8 Formal
Progress Update (Mid point draft) 11 Semester 1, week 11 Supervisor Feedback
Midpoint and prototype submission 16 Semester 2, week 1 Formal (10%)
Progress update (Final report draft) 21 Semester 2, week 5 Supervisor Feedback
Prototype Demo (System implementation) 25 Semester 2, week 9 Supervisor + PM Feedback
Progress Update (Final report draft) 27 Semester 2, week 11 Supervisor Feedback
Final submission 32 Semester 2, week 16 Formal (60%)
Viva 32 Semester 2, week 17 Formal (20%)
FYP Areas
• Software Engineering
• Mobile Applications
• IOT
• AI
• Machine Learning
• Cloud Computing
• Big Data
• Blockchain
• Data Science and Business Intelligence
• Image Processing
• Bioinformatics
Examples
• Waterloo University
• University of Hong Kong
Summary
• Identify a suitable project/problem and identify the requirements to
successfully complete/solve it
• research
• Complete the design required to implement the solution
• Complete the creation of the artefact that solves the problem
• Test the artefact to ensure it meets the requirements
• Ensure all ethical and legal requirements are met in completing the
project
Phase 1
Project Initiation
Topic identification – 30 min exercise
• Identify a common problem or improvement that can be done relative
to Software Engineering/Computing
• Identify the background/situation in which this problem has been
raised
• Suggest a few solutions to the problem you identified
• Analyze how each solution you proposed will impact the problem
• Carryout this process for at least 3 different potential topics
Topic Discussion
• Each students will take 3-5 min each to present his proposed topics
• Others will listen and give feedback and ask questions
