The Draft and Formal Project Proposal

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1 The Draft and Formal Project Proposal
The Process To Get a Project Accepted Draft Proposal Requirements Formal Proposal Requirements Formal Proposal Marking Matrix

2 The Process To Get a Project Accepted
The draft proposal is used by the lecturer to determine if the student is within the guidelines and criteria in identifying and selecting a suitable project. All students are required to prepare a PowerPoint slideshow or a MS Word document to present the proposed project to the whole class. The NMMU mentor’s will advise students regarding the feasibility of the proposed project immediately after the PowerPoint/MS Word document presentation. Students will be informed to either find another project; or to add to the scope of their proposed project; or to limit the scope of the proposed project, on a case by case basis. Students will be informed to submit a formal Project Proposal document, and to start implementing their project whilst they await feedback on the acceptability of the documentation of the Project Proposal Document.

3 The Process To Get a Project Accepted cont.
If the formal Project Proposal Document is not adequately written according to the published criteria, the student will have one chance to remedy the document to an acceptable standard. The lecturer will give feedback to the student. Failure to remedy the proposal documentation adequately will result in an automatic FAIL Grade for that student. Students working in industry can propose a project at the workplace. The lecturer may contact the supervisor of the student to evaluate if the project is feasible or recommended. If a suitable project is not found by the due date for the Project Proposal, the student may be advised to cancel the module.

4 Draft Proposal Requirements
Create a PowerPoint slideshow (+/- 5 slides) or a MS Word document (+/- 2 pages) that contains the following: 1. Introduction A short concise introduction explaining the purpose of the project in not more than 3 sentences. 2. Block Diagram A functional block diagram of the proposed system must be included, clearly indicating which sections students are modifying or redesigning. Don’t show the exact circuitry, just use blocks to indicate interfacing circuits, sensors, etc.

5 Draft Proposal Requirements cont.
3. Scope If modifying an existing system, a photostat hard copy or scanned image of the original system must be included. In the scope section specify which section of the system will be copied and modified and which section of the system is the students own idea. Include possible methods or circuits that will be used to modify the system. Again, don’t include exact circuits, e.g. just indicate that you will use a H-Bridge to drive a DC motor, don’t show the circuit If the design is from first principles, it should be clearly stated as well as the principles the design is based upon. Designing from first principles implies that the student first decide on the design specification before any design work is done. Reverse engineering is not acceptable!

6 Draft Proposal Requirements cont.
4. Level 3 Subjects Clearly indicate which Level 3 subject content is applicable to the Proposed Project’s solution Possibly also indicate which section of work for each subject will be used. 5. Time Estimate An estimate of the time that will be spent on each task to show that at least 30 hours of engineering effort will be needed to complete the project.

7 Draft Proposal Requirements cont.
6. Evidence Clearly indicate what evidence will be presented at the completion of the project, e.g. are you going to build an working model of a gate system or are you going to simulate the gate system with pushbuttons and LEDs The choice of evidence will have a big impact on the final project functionality mark Determine which sensors/actuators will be readily available and use those. If not readily available you might have to simulate these. 7. Mentors Indicate which of the NMMU lecturers would be most applicable as an NMMU mentor for your proposed project. Two mentors in order of preference are to be listed here.

8 Formal Proposal Requirements
Create a MS Word document that contains the following: (see the “Formal Proposal Template.doc” file) The document should be ring-binded or something similar to create a professional look. Attach a copy of the Marking Matrix to the cover page and fill in your student name and number and NMMU mentor name on the sheet. a copy of this document to your NMMU mentor.

9 Formal Proposal Marking Matrix
DESIGN PROJECT III (EDP3011/2) - Evaluation of Project Proposal Document Student’s Initials and Surname Student Number NMMU Mentor Date of 1st Review: Head of Department Mr. Alan Roberts Dates of subsequent reviews: Section Evaluated Actual Marks Criteria Cover Page 3 Is the title an all-inclusive description of project as a whole? Does the declaration appear on the page? Is the mentor’s name included? Table of Contents 1 Is the table of contents complete? Page numbers etc correct? (The supplied template adjusts page numbers automatically) Introduction Is the project properly introduced? Have the relevant Electrical Engineering specifications been given? E.g. MVA, kV, etc. Problem Statements and Sub-problems 5 Are these clear and unambiguous? Has the student avoided stating the solutions here where only problems to be stated? Literature Review 15 Has a comprehensive literature study/review been conducted? Not just a rehash of S1 and S2 theory but refers to relevant SANS Standards, Company/client Standard Practice documents and other similar projects Reports/literature? Solution 10 Has a realistic solution/s been stated? Is the solution requiring the application of sufficient Level III skills? Delimitations of Project 2 Does the student have a clear idea what the boundaries of the project are? Not too big or too small? Significance of the Project Has the student indicated the significance of the project to his/her company or institution? Project Outline and Outputs Does the student have a clear idea what he/she aims to do? Has the student declared the project outputs that are to be demonstrated? Definition of Concepts Has the student supplied an adequate list defining concepts and abbreviations used? Assumptions Has the student included a list of reasonable assumptions that he/she has to make? Methodology used to approach problem Has the student used correct scientific / engineering-orientated approach to solving the problem/s? Intended program of study Has the student included a Gantt chart? Does it show a well-structured time-table and task list? List of References and Sources Has the student used the IEEE method AND EndNote Web to automate the referencing style process? Avoidance of plagiarism Has the student plagiarised the referenced resources by simply rewording the original author/s or has the student properly used the sources to support the students’ own ideas? Completeness of project Has the student followed the guidelines and have supporting diagrams been included? TOTAL 100 Sub-minimum = 50%. Counts 20% of Final Mark Please refer the document back to the student until such time as the student has satisfied both of the following criteria: 1.     Obtained at least 50% for this assessment, 2.     Avoided Plagiarism by proper use of EndNote Web and by properly using their cited sources to support their own ideas. COMMENTS AND/OR RECOMMENDATIONS: