Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines

Trimester T2 2018
Unit Code MN691
Unit Title Research Methods and Project Design
Assessment Type Individual and Group
Assessment Title All assessment marking guides are attached herewith
Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping) At the completion of these assessments, students will be able to:
a. Develop and apply research methods and analytical, technical, managerial and time-management skills to the analysis and design of a capstone project.
b. Identify and evaluate project management concepts and apply them to a realistic business problem
c. Research, adapt and apply the knowledge and skills acquired over the core units to plan a substantial capstone project
d. Demonstrate effective communication skills in relation to client, ethical and professional behaviour
e. Work effectively and efficiently in a team, and exercise coordination within a team
Weight 100%
Total Marks 100
Word limit N/A
Due Date As per assessments

Submission Guidelines • All work must be submitted on Moodle by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.
• The assignment must be in MS Word format, 1.5 spacing, 11-pt Calibri (Body) font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using IEEE referencing style.
Extension If an extension of time to submit work is required, a Special Consideration Application must be submitted directly in AMS. You must submit this application three working days prior to the due date of the assignment. Further information is available at:
http://www.mit.edu.au/about-mit/institute-publications/policies-procedures-and-guidelines/special-considerationdeferment
Academic Misconduct
Academic Misconduct is a serious offence. Depending on the seriousness of the case, penalties can vary from a written warning or zero marks to exclusion from the course or rescinding the degree. Students should make themselves familiar with the full policy and procedure available at: http://www.mit.edu.au/about-mit/institute-publications/policies-procedures-and-guidelines/Plagiarism-Academic-Misconduct-Policy-Procedure. For further information, please refer to the Academic Integrity Section in your Unit Description.

Assignment Description

MN691 Research Methods and Project Design Marking guideline

Assignment submission and Marks:
• Assignments 1, 2 and 3 are to be submitted as group work.
• Submission of self-evaluation (i.e. reflective journal) and peer-evaluation is individual responsibility.
• The marks given for Assignments 1, 2 and 3 are calculated as the overall group marks multiplied by individual student’s marks.
• The individual student’s marks will be based on the individual’s attendance and participation, as well as self and peer-evaluation, as per the following table:

In Week 5 (for weeks 1- 4) Attendance and Participation

/ 8 Marks Self and peer-evaluation Report

/ 4 Marks
In week 9 (for weeks 5- 8) Attendance and Participation

/ 8 Marks Self and peer-evaluation Report

/ 4 Marks
In week 11 (for weeks 9-11) Attendance and Participation

/ 6 Marks Self and peer-evaluation Report

/ 3 Marks

All Assessments will be marked by both, the project supervisors and the unit lecturer.

Assessment Task Due Date % Weightage
Client details with project proposal Week 2 0
Assignment 1 Group report: Project Requirements Analysis
and Specification* and Individual Report Week 5 20
Assignment 2 Group report: Project plan and preliminary
design* and Individual Report Week 9 30
Assignment 3 Group report: A report on research undertaken
for project planning, and research methods to be used for the next stage of the project* and Individual Report Week 11
40
Assignment 4 Group presentations Week 8 & 12 10
TOTALS 100

*Within a group task, a number of subtasks will be assigned to individuals in consultation with the project supervisor. This, along with the peer-evaluation of individual contributions to the project will be used to assess individual outcomes.
Individual marks will be calculated for each assignment as follows:

For example:

Group X marks for Assignment-1 group report = 16/20

Individual marks based on attendance and participation, as well as self and peer-evaluation:

Member 1 = 10/12
Member 2 = 12/12
Member 3 = 07/12
Member 4 = 00/12

Total marks for each member for Assignment-1:

Member 1 = 10/12 X 16 = 13.3 / 20
Member 2 = 12/12 X 16 = 16.0 / 20
Member 3 = 07/12 X 16 = 09.3 / 20
Member 4 = 00/12 X 16 = 00.0/ 20

Client details with project proposal. Due Week 2 Sunday.

Assignment-1: Project Requirements Analysis and Specification: Due Week 5 Sunday

Sections Description Max Marks
1. Introduction Is the topic introduced appropriately, and is there an overview of the report given in this section?

2. Problem domain and research questions Is there a specific research problem identified? Are the research questions relevant?
3. Background and Project Objective
Clear aim and objectives of the project.

Has literature review been conducted well on the chosen topic (such as quality of the papers, variety of publications, including journals and conferences)?
Is the summary of the literature review clear, specific and does it capture the essence of the literature review conducted? Is the summary of all papers reviewed included in Appendix II: Literature Review Summary? [Each student should refer minimum of 6 (three journals, three conferences) peer-reviewed papers]
Does this section specify objectives of the project in a clear and concise manner?

4. Project Requirements Analysis and Specification Does this section include details requirements specifications?

Does it include a list of project requirements: Are there clear project requirements such as hardware, software, etc?
References Are citations and references given correctly in IEEE style?
Appendix I Is Client Details with contact name’s signature and project proposal included?
Total Marks 20

Individual Marks Attendance (common class and supervisor meeting) and participation (week 1-4)
AND
Individual (self and peer-evaluation) Report (week 1-4)

Total Marks 12

Assignment-1 total marks for each member are calculated based on the overall group marks and the individual marks for weeks 1 – 4.

Assignment-2: Project plan and preliminary design. Due week 9

Sections Description Max Marks
Comments updates • Summary of the updates according to the assignment 1 feedback/comments that are provided by supervisors/unit lecturer in Appendix III.
5. Project plan and preliminary design • Table of weekly activities
• Roles & responsibilities of each team member (in detail)
• Gantt chart appropriate to the project

• High level Project Design with diagram
• Project Individual Design Approaches: Project with block diagrams step by step (you can use UML/Use cases/flow charts). Negative marks will be given for inclusion of any software engineering or project management methodologies such as waterfall, agile, scrum, SDLC etc. Design approaches should be technical specific including techniques/technology/algorithms etc.
• Budget with references (detailed budget with specifications) – include hardware, software, human resources, etc.

Total Marks 30

Individual Marks Attendance (Common class and supervisor meeting) and Participation (week 5-8)
AND
Individual (Self and peer-evaluation) Report (week 5-8)

Total Marks 12

Assignment-2 total marks for each member are calculated based on the overall group marks and the individual marks for week 5 – 8.

Assignment 3: Final report. Due week 11
The final report should include Assignments-1 and -2, updated based on feedback. Marks for the additional sections as given below.

Sections Description Max Marks
Comments updates • Appendix IV: Summary of the updates to the Assignment-2 based on the feedback and comments provided by the supervisors and the unit lecturer.
6. Research methods to be used for the next stage of the project • Roles & responsibilities of each team member in next part of the capstone project.

• Research methods to be used for MN692 (include detailed plan for implementation with specific technique, technology, software, applications, hardware and other resources.

7. Conclusion Limitations and Future work • Conclusion
• Clear and concise limitations to implementation plan for MN692
• Future work 2
Report format • Final report format 4
Appendix V • ACS CBOK elements mapped appropriately to the project description and justified 2
Total Marks 40

Individual Marks Attendance (Common class and supervisor meeting) and Participation (week 9-11)
AND
Individual (Self and peer-evaluation) Report (week 9-11)

Total Marks 9

Assignment 4 total marks for each member is calculated based on individual marks for weeks 9 – 11.

Assignment 4: Group presentation. Due in weeks 8 and 12

Description Max Marks
Group presentation
Due week 8 Oral presentation

Group presentation
Due week 12 Final presentation and submission of its video

Total Marks 10

Individual Report

Self (Reflective journal) and Peer-evaluation report

Due week 5, 9 and 11

1. Common Class and supervisor meeting attendance and participation = 2 Marks for each week.

2. Write summary of weekly activities in 2-3 paragraphs in each section (D, E, E, P) in one reflective journal table. (2 Marks for assignment 1 and 2, 1.5 Marks for assignment 4)

Description
Describe
How effectively did you work and contribute to your group?

Explore:
List at-least 2 of your contributions to the project. Were your behaviours valuable or detrimental to the team? Explain.

Evaluate:
How do you justify your at-least 2 valuables/contributions to the team and at-least one detrimental to the team?

Plan:
What did you learn about working in a group from this project that you will carry into your next group experience?

3. Peer evaluation: Write peer evaluation report. (2 Marks for assignment 1 and 2, 1.5 Marks for assignment 4)
Write the name of each of your group members in a separate column. For each person, indicate the extent to which you agree with the statement on the left, using a scale of 1-4 (1=strongly disagree; 2=disagree; 3=agree; 4=strongly agree). Total the numbers in each column.

Evaluation Criteria Group member 1 Group member 2 Group member 3 Group member 4 Justify
Attends group meetings regularly and arrives on time.
Contributes meaningfully to group discussions.
Completes group assignments on time.
Prepares work in a quality manner.
Demonstrates a cooperative and supportive attitude.
Contributes significantly to the success of the project.
TOTALS

Individual Report 2 for assignment 2 should include reflective journal on industry professional workshops. Students who could not attend week 6 and 7 industry professional workshops, should include report on 4 hours equivalent of the professional exposure.

Examples of professional exposure
• Practical exposure in an environment outside the teaching establishment
• Guest lectures
• Use of industry visits and inspection
• Interviewing IT professionals
• Being mentored by a professional
• Direct industry input of data and advice to problem solving, projects and evaluation tasks
Examples Evidence of activity
Practical exposure in an environment outside the teaching establishment such as Industry placements (paid or unpaid) Work exposure letter from employer, students’ reflective journal
Guest lecturers Record of guest lecturer, seminar leader presentation, students’ reflective journal and e-portfolio
Use of industry visits and inspection Letter from employer, students’ reflective journal
Industry contacts/visit for feasibility studies
Examples: contact supplier, industry professional to gather data or requirement. Letter from employer, students’ reflective journal
Seminars presented by industry professionals Evidence: flyers distributed to students advertising seminars; letters to quest speakers; reflective journal and e-portfolio
Being mentored by a professional Student records of mentor meetings in e-log
Direct industry input of data and advice to problem solving, projects and evaluation tasks Industry-based projects. Where possible industry mentors will have some time available to advise students and/or to have input into student assessment. This may mean e.g. An expert present for student presentations.
Evidence: letter from expert agreeing to mentor project
Record of contact in student diary/e-log
Attend professional association seminar / event Record each contact in a student diary or e-log, certificate of attendance, email confirmation etc.

Project presentation marking– week 8

Presentation should be for 12 minutes and 3 minutes for Questions and Answers.

Description Max Marks
Project description 1
Industry client project requirements (include client details and requirements) 1
Research questions (max of 3 questions) 1
Project Design 1
Design approaches from each member 5
Conclusion and references 1
Total Marks 10

Project presentation marking– week 12

Presentation should be recorded and uploaded in week 11 on Moodle link.
Presentation should be for 12 minutes and 3 minutes for Questions and Answers.

Description Max Marks
Video file (5-10 minutes) submission 3
Template 0.5
Project description – include client details 0.5
Research questions (max of 3 questions) 0.5
Project Design 0.5
Design approach to be used for the next project unit 4
Conclusion, limitations and future work 0.5
References 0.5
Total Marks 10