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GCO9800 Industry Project - Semester 1 , 2008

Unit leader :

Shyh Wei Teng

Lecturer(s) :

Gippsland

  • Shyh Wei Teng

Tutors(s) :

Gippsland

  • Shyh Wei Teng

Introduction

Welcome to GCO9800 Industry Project for semester 1, 2008. This 6 point unit is core to the Graduate Diploma of Computing program in the Faculty of IT. The unit has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to consolidate skills and knowledge acquired in the core units by developing a small IT system for a real client.

Unit synopsis

In general, projects involve all aspects of the system development lifecycle. Project management aspects of system development are stressed. The student will select a project involving systems analysis and design, programming, and implementation of a solution to user problems. Requirements are fulfilled by producing an identified set of deliverables, including a project proposal, project definition, feasibility study, project plan, a system specification, design report, implementation plan, user documentation, operational software and project management activities to ensure that the project is delivered on time. The student must display a sense of responsibility for the project outcomes and skills for interaction with the client. Requirements include oral presentations to the client and written reports.

Learning outcomes

This subject aims to develop in students:

  • the capacity to apply in a practical setting the theoretical work covered in the course
  • the ability to develop a significant computing application, from the analysis and design stages, through coding and implementation to evaluation
  • the abilities and attitudes required to operate effectively as a member of a development team.
  • skills and knowledge to work with clients and communicate effectively with them
  • the ability to define a problem, and gather data, facts, opinions and information needed to analyse and solve it
  • skills in outlining and evaluating alternative solutions to a system development problem
  • knowledge and skill to perform a feasibility study that includes estimates of costs, time requirements, a schedule for the development, and the benefits expected from the system
  • ability to identify hardware and software requirements for a system
  • skill in documenting a system design using industry standard documentation tools and procedures
  • knowledge, understanding and skill to implement a system, including testing and debugging
  • knowledge and skill in evaluating a system, identifying any weakness or possible enhancements

 

Workload

Students are required to spend a minimum of 12 hours per week working on their projects.  Regular meetings with the supervisor are also required.

Unit relationships

Prerequisites

Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed GCO9804, or equivalent.

Relationships

GCO9800 is a core unit in the Graduate Diploma in Computing.
You may not study this unit and FIT3025, GCO2819, GCO9800, GCO3700, GCO3800, GCO3819, GCO3900, SYS3030, SYS3550, SYS3500, CSE9020 in your degree.

Continuous improvement

Monash is committed to ‘Excellence in education' and strives for the highest possible quality in teaching and learning. To monitor how successful we are in providing quality teaching and learning Monash regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. Two of the formal ways that you are invited to provide feedback are through Unit Evaluations and through Monquest Teaching Evaluations.

One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through Unit Evaluation Surveys. It is Monash policy for every unit offered to be evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys as they are an important avenue for students to "have their say". The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.

Student Evaluations

The Faculty of IT administers the Unit Evaluation surveys online through the my.monash portal, although for some smaller classes there may be alternative evaluations conducted in class.

If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to http://www.monash.edu.au/unit-evaluation-reports/

Over the past few years the Faculty of Information Technology has made a number of improvements to its courses as a result of unit evaluation feedback. Some of these include systematic analysis and planning of unit improvements, and consistent assignment return guidelines.

Monquest Teaching Evaluation surveys may be used by some of your academic staff this semester. They are administered by the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) and may be completed in class with a facilitator or on-line through the my.monash portal. The data provided to lecturers is completely anonymous. Monquest surveys provide academic staff with evidence of the effectiveness of their teaching and identify areas for improvement. Individual Monquest reports are confidential, however, you can see the summary results of Monquest evaluations for 2006 at http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/cheq/evaluations/monquest/profiles/index.html

Improvements to this unit

To assist what is expected from students for each deliverables, detailed report templates, description of each deliverables, as well as expectation of requirements for various grades are developed.

Unit staff - contact details

Unit leader

Dr Shyh Teng
Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 26851

Lecturer(s) :

Dr Shyh Teng
Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 26851

Tutor(s) :

Dr Shyh Teng
Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 26851

Teaching and learning method

When developing the small scale IT system, students are expected to put knowledge and skills acquired from units previously completed in the course into practise.  A supervisor will be allocated to each student to assist the student during the system development.

Off-campus distributed learning or flexible delivery

Once a supervisor is allocated to an Off-campus learning (OCL) student, the student should establish with the supervisor the best methods of communication to facilitate the weekly meetings and various discussions.  Some examples of communication methods are email, newsgroup, video conferencing, and chat room.

Communication, participation and feedback

Monash aims to provide a learning environment in which students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies. You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (on line and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment marks and grades. You are encouraged to draw on a variety of feedback to enhance your learning.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem that is affecting your study. Semesters are short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Unit Schedule

Week Topic Key dates
1 Weekly activities are determined by the student's project plan  
2 As per plan  
3 As per plan Report 1 due and Presentation
4 As per plan  
Mid semester break
5 As per plan Report 2 due
6 As per plan  
7 As per plan  
8 As per plan  
9 As per plan Report 3 due
10 As per plan  
11 As per plan  
12 As per plan  
13 As per plan Report 4 & End Product due and Presentation

Unit Resources

Prescribed text(s) and readings

There is no prescribed text for this unit.

However, all prescribed texts and reccommended readings from other units in your major can be used as references.Monash Bookshop and Library.

Recommended text(s) and readings

All prescribed texts and reccommended readings from other units in your major can be used as references.

Required software and/or hardware

There is no software requirement.

Equipment and consumables required or provided

Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the faculty as a condition of accepting admission, and regular Internet access. On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook. You will need to allocate up to 12 hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Study resources

Study resources we will provide for your study are:

Information on the structure of this unit will be available on the unit's MUSO/Blackboard site. The site also contains the unit information outlining the administrative information for the unit.

The GCO9800 Website is on MUSO/Blackboard, where lecture slides, sample structure of assignments/reports and sample materials will be posted.

Newsgroups/discussion groups that can be linked to from the Unit site.

Library access

The Monash University Library site contains details about borrowing rights and catalogue searching. To learn more about the library and the various resources available, please go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au.  Be sure to obtain a copy of the Library Guide, and if necessary, the instructions for remote access from the library website.

Monash University Studies Online (MUSO)

All unit and lecture materials are available through MUSO (Monash University Studies Online). Blackboard is the primary application used to deliver your unit resources. Some units will be piloted in Moodle.

You can access MUSO and Blackboard via the portal (http://my.monash.edu.au).

Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then Blackboard under the MUSO learning systems.

In order for your Blackboard unit(s) to function correctly, your computer needs to be correctly configured.

For example :

  • Blackboard supported browser
  • Supported Java runtime environment

For more information, please visit

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/downloadables-student.html

You can contact the MUSO Support by: Phone: (+61 3) 9903 1268

For further contact information including operational hours, please visit

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/contact.html

Further information can be obtained from the MUSO support site:

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/index.html

If your unit is piloted in Moodle, you will see a link from your Blackboard unit to Moodle at http://moodle.med.monash.edu.au.
From the Faculty of Information Technology category, click on the link for your unit.

Assessment

Unit assessment policy

obtain at least 50% of the assessment marks.

Assignment tasks

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Progress Report 1

    Description :

    Weighting : 8%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Presentation 1

    Description :

    Weighting : 2%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Progress Report 2

    Description :

    Weighting : 12%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Progress Report 3

    Description :

    Weighting : 8%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Progress Report 4

    Description :

    Weighting : 17%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : End Product

    Description :

    Weighting : 50%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Final Presentation

    Description :

    Weighting : 3%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

Assignment submission

The method to submit the assignments/reports is to be negotiated with the supervisor allocated to you.

Assignment coversheets

No coversheet is required for the assignment and they are submitted directly to your supervisor.

University and Faculty policy on assessment

Due dates and extensions

The due dates for the submission of assignments are given in the previous section. Please make every effort to submit work by the due dates. It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.

Requests for extensions must be made to supervisor at least two days before the due date. You will be asked to forward original medical certificates in cases of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary. A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the assignment submission.

Late assignment

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 5% for every day after the due date.

Assignments received later than one week after the due date will not normally be accepted.

Return dates

Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.

Assessment for the unit as a whole is in accordance with the provisions of the Monash University Education Policy at http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/

We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.

Plagiarism, cheating and collusion

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/about/committees-groups/facboard/policies/studrights.html) and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Register of counselling about plagiarism

The university requires faculties to keep a simple and confidential register to record counselling to students about plagiarism (e.g. warnings). The register is accessible to Associate Deans Teaching (or nominees) and, where requested, students concerned have access to their own details in the register. The register is to serve as a record of counselling about the nature of plagiarism, not as a record of allegations; and no provision of appeals in relation to the register is necessary or applicable.

Non-discriminatory language

The Faculty of Information Technology is committed to the use of non-discriminatory language in all forms of communication. Discriminatory language is that which refers in abusive terms to gender, race, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or nationality, ethnic or language background, physical or mental ability, or political or religious views, or which stereotypes groups in an adverse manner. This is not meant to preclude or inhibit legitimate academic debate on any issue; however, the language used in such debate should be non-discriminatory and sensitive to these matters. It is important to avoid the use of discriminatory language in your communications and written work. The most common form of discriminatory language in academic work tends to be in the area of gender inclusiveness. You are, therefore, requested to check for this and to ensure your work and communications are non-discriminatory in all respects.

Students with disabilities

Students with disabilities that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:

Deferred assessment and special consideration

Deferred assessment (not to be confused with an extension for submission of an assignment) may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Information and forms for Special Consideration and deferred assessment applications are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html. Contact the Faculty's Student Services staff at your campus for further information and advice.