Project Reports

The requirements for both intermediate and final group-project reports are described below. The intermediate reports do not affect your grade directly (they have 0 weight). Their purpose is to provide early feedback.

Instructions for all reports:  The quality of your report is an important component of your final grade, so please make sure you pay attention to organization, grammar, punctuation, typography, layout, and overall clarity. Word and page limits are strict. Figures contribute to the word-count an amount equal to the number of words in the figure. The first page of each report should include appropriate title and identifying information (group name and group members). Do not use a separate title page or cover page. Do not include sensitive information (SSNs, passwords, etc.) anywhere in your report. In each report submission, include all previous report submissions in an appendix. You should also include a section in each report detailing how you have addressed (or plan to address) any comments I may have made on your earlier reports. You are also free to include additional appendices containing information you believe to be useful to the reader. However, like all appendices, the material in such appendices should not be required to understand the report. That is, you should not assume that the appendices will be read. The appendices do not contribute to the page or word limit.

Submission:  You should submit your project reports electronically in PDF format. Your file should be named using the scheme gname-X-N.pdf where gname is the name of your project group (e.g., widgetmasters), X is one of pr1, pr2, and pr3 for the first, second, and third project reports, respectively, and N is an arbitrary 4-digit number. For example, the widgetmasters group may submit a file widgetmasters-PR2-4242.pdf. Please use only lowercase letters in gname and use gname consistently for all submissions. For the source-code submission, use the file-naming scheme gname-src.tgz for the tarred, gzipped package containing your source code. You should upload this file by anonymous FTP (anonymous as the user name and your email address as the password) to the FTP server gandalf.umcs.maine.edu in directory /incoming/cs/cos480/. If you need to upload an updated version of your submission for any reason, you can follow this procedure again using a different four-digit integer in the file name. If you try using the same file name as your earlier submission, the upload will likely fail. I will grade the most recent submission before each deadline. You will not be able to list the FTP upload directory (standard security setup), so pay attention to the diagnostic messages from your FTP program.

Project Report 1:  The most important parts of this report are the choice of group members and the choice of a suitable application. The maximum length is two pages. This report is optional. Points to cover:

Project Report 2:  The maximum length is 10 pages. This report is optional. Points to cover:

Project Report 3:  The final report consists of the following parts. Please note that, except for the first two parts, there is no limit (neither lower nor upper) on length. You should not feel the pressure to write a certain number of pages. For example, you don’t need to write 10 pages of user documentation to get a good score. If you can say all that needs to be said in five pages, it’s fine.

Source Code:  As part of your final submission, you should upload all source code packaged as a tarred, gzipped file. (See submission instructions above.) This package should include a README file that describes the files in your submission and indicates how to compile them and set up your application. (As a simple test, a classmate who reads your project report and the README file should be able to set up your application.) You should include all code (and HTML pages and scripts) written by your group. Do not include compiled code and libraries. Instead, indicate how to obtain and set up the libraries. (For example, you can say ”We use the Apache server version x.y.z, which is available at http://www.apache.org/”; do not include the Apache distribution!) You should include a small sample dataset (no larger than 10 MB) so that someone setting up your application can test it easily. You should also include any icons needed to get your application running (e.g., logo for a online store, image of a ”for sale” button). Although, unlike the programming homeworks, we do not require that your submission compile with a single make command, you are required to provide enough detail to enable someone else to set up your application, so please check to make sure you’ve included all the necessary files and instructions.