MSc Project Feasibility Report
MSc Project Feasibility Report
School of Physics, Engineering and Computer ScienceUniversity of HertfordshireENTER YOUR PROJECT TITLE
Report by
ENTER YOUR NAME HERESupervisor
ENTER YOUR SUPERVISOR NAME HERE
Date
SELECT DATE OF SUBMISSION HERE
DECLARATION STATEMENTI certify that the work submitted is my own and that any material derived or quoted from the published or unpublished work of other persons has been duly acknowledged (ref. UPR AS14 Appendix III - version 14.1, sections 2 to 2.9 Section on cheating and plagiarism)
Student Full Name: ENTER YOUR NAME HEREStudent Registration Number: ENTER YOUR STUDENT ID HERESigned (electronically or pasting signature image):
Date: SELECT DATE OF SUBMISSION HEREThe project feasibility study must consist of, at least, the following elements:
The FORMAL TITLE of the project, as agreed with the project supervisor.
A clear description of the PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.
AN OUTLINE OF THE VARIOUS STAGES OF WORK that will be undertaken during the project, together with the purpose and objectives of each stage in relation to the overall objectives.
Some examples of 'work stages' might be:
'Literature search' (objectives here might be to find references to previous work on the topic, or might be to learn about the subject, etc)
'Block diagram design' (objective might be to allow a larger problem to be broken down into manageable parts, etc)
Experimental design for projects which involve experimental investigation the purpose is to design the actual experiments.
'Write pseudo-code' for software based projects (to decide logical integrity of proposed algorithms prior to coding)
A PROJECT TIME PLAN / Gant chart for the work stages, showing anticipated start and finish times for each work stage, and for the overall project. Tasks may overlap or run in parallel.
Note:
A very important part of your project is time management, and how well you manage your time is one of the factors used in assessing your project.
Project plans are NOT intended to be restrictive. It is part of good project management to recognise when time plans are not being met, and to react appropriately either to bring the project back into the planned timescale or to modify the timescale in the light of new information and ideas, if appropriate.
A RESOURCES ANALYSIS to identify what is required to carry out the project and this should be included in your feasibility. This should be finalized with your supervisor.
MSc Project Report
School of Engineering and Computer ScienceUniversity of HertfordshireENTER YOUR PROJECT TITLE
Report by
ENTER YOUR NAME HERESupervisor
ENTER YOUR SUPERVISOR NAME HERE
Date
SELECT DATE OF SUBMISSION HERE
DECLARATION STATEMENTI certify that the work submitted is my own and that any material derived or quoted from the published or unpublished work of other persons has been duly acknowledged (ref. UPR AS/C/6.1, Appendix I, Section 2 Section on cheating and plagiarism)
Student Full Name: ENTER YOUR NAME HEREStudent Registration Number: FILLIN "Insert your Student ID here" * MERGEFORMAT ENTER YOUR STUDENT ID HERE
Signed:
Date: SELECT DATE OF SUBMISSION HEREABSTRACTENTER YOUR ABSTRACT HERE - The abstract should not be longer than 120 words and is a short summary describing the contents of the report, rather than being a summary of the project. The purpose of the abstract is to enable a reader to decide whether the report might worth reading in detail. They would probably then read the conclusions to determine the outcomes of the work. The abstract is not intended to replace any other part of the report e.g. the introduction. It merely provides a taste for what is to come. FILLIN "Enter your abstract here" * MERGEFORMAT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FILLIN "ENTER YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT HERE" * MERGEFORMAT ENTER YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT HERE - This section includes thanks to all people who have helped you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS TOC o "1-3" h z u DECLARATION STATEMENT PAGEREF _Toc190246270 h iABSTRACT PAGEREF _Toc190246271 h iACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PAGEREF _Toc190246272 h iiTABLE OF CONTENTS PAGEREF _Toc190246273 h iiiLIST OF FIGURES PAGEREF _Toc190246274 h ivGLOSSARY5 PAGEREF _Toc190246275 h v1.[ENTER CHAPTER TITLE HERE] PAGEREF _Toc190246276 h 11.1[ENTER SUB-CHAPTER TITLE HERE] PAGEREF _Toc190246277 h 11.2[ENTER SUB-CHAPTER TITLE HERE] PAGEREF _Toc190246278 h 11.2.1[LOWEST LEVEL SUB-SUB CHAPTER] PAGEREF _Toc190246279 h 21.2.2[LOWEST LEVEL SUB-SUB CHAPTER] PAGEREF _Toc190246280 h 22.[CHAPTER TITLE] PAGEREF _Toc190246281 h 32.1Sub-Chapters PAGEREF _Toc190246282 h 62.2Sub-Chapters PAGEREF _Toc190246283 h 63.ANOTHER CHAPTER PAGEREF _Toc190246284 h 73.1Sub-Chapters PAGEREF _Toc190246285 h 73.2Sub-Chapters PAGEREF _Toc190246286 h 7REFERENCES PAGEREF _Toc190246287 h 8BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGEREF _Toc190246288 h 9APPENDICES PAGEREF _Toc190246289 h 10
[Table of contents is automatically generated if you use section headings. Otherwise, create your own table of contents here. To update the Table of contents, Right-click on the TOC area and click Update Fields. Ensure that you do not modify any text in the TOC area. All modification should be performed in the appropriate chapter/sub-chapter/sub-sub-chapter.]
LIST OF FIGURES TOC h z c "Figure" Figure 11 This is a sample figure PAGEREF _Toc129672537 h 1Figure 21 File properties PAGEREF _Toc129672538 h 3
[List of tables is automatically generated if you use figure captions. Otherwise, create your own list of figures here. To update the List of Tables, Right-click on the LOF area and click Update Fields. Ensure that you do not modify any text in the LOF area. All modification should be performed in the appropriate caption of the figure.]
GLOSSARY FILLIN "ENTER YOUR GLOSSARY HERE" * MERGEFORMAT [ENTER YOUR GLOSSARY HERE - This section consists of a list of all specialist vocabulary or acronyms with a brief description of their meanings.]
FILLIN "ENTER YOUR CHAPTER TITLE HERE" * MERGEFORMAT [ENTER CHAPTER TITLE HERE]
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
FILLIN "ENTER SUB-CHAPTER TITLE HERE" * MERGEFORMAT [ENTER SUB-CHAPTER TITLE HERE]
This is where you type your main text. Figures must have a caption associated to it. Please refer to the example below:
Figure STYLEREF 1 s 1 SEQ Figure * ARABIC s 1 1 This is a sample figure[To insert a caption for a picture, Right-Click on the picture and click on Caption, or alternatively, highlight the appropriate picture, select Insert->Reference->Caption. You are advised to use word to automatically generate and manage figure numbers. Otherwise, youll end up having to manually adjust figure numbers to match List of Figures.]
FILLIN "ENTER SUB-CHAPTER TITLE HERE" * MERGEFORMAT [ENTER SUB-CHAPTER TITLE HERE]
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
[LOWEST LEVEL SUB-SUB CHAPTER]The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
[LOWEST LEVEL SUB-SUB CHAPTER]The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
[CHAPTER TITLE]IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!!!
The main body of the report should typically contain the following sections. Due to the diversity of projects, students should consult their project supervisor about the most appropriate structure for their individual projects.
Chapters may start with an introduction; number all paragraphs but do not use more than three levels e.g. 1.2.4 but not 1.2.4.1. Use alphabets, bullet points, etc if you feel it is absolutely necessary to have further sub-sections. The conclusion chapter is particularly important.
Remember that the first page of chapter 1 is designated page 1 of the report such that any pages before chapter 1 can be numbered in formal numbers i.e. i, ii, iii, iv, v,
The Introduction: This contains a brief statement of the background of the subject, the reasons for undertaking the work, the aims and objectives and the methods employed to achieve these objectives. This introduction may also contain details of project cost, feasibility and product marketability. Note that the final conclusions at the end of the report should refer back to the objectives set out in the introduction.
Subject review: a review of the history and background plus the present state of knowledge of the subject area of the project work should be contained as a stand-alone chapter and should be written for a non-expert in the field. A definition of a non-expert would be someone who is a practicing, professional engineer or technologist but not someone who is a recognised expert in the specific area of your project. The key assessment objective for this section of the report is for you to demonstrate that you can adequately describe a technical topic for readers who work in the fields of Engineering or Technology. Any material derived or quoted from the published or unpublished work of other persons has to be very clearly referenced or acknowledged or you run the risk of that part of your work being treated as plagiarism. Often this is done by superscripting in the text or by using the name of the author followed by the year of the publication. You might find it useful to refer to journals and publications for ideas of how this is done. An example is:
A good description of optical waveguides can be found in the work undertaken by Pitt [Pitt, 1973].
Description of the project work: this must describe what has been achieved throughout the period of the project work. If there are several distinct areas, then it may be better to split this into several chapters. Besides covering the work that has been done, this section should also discuss other areas that were considered but not necessarily used in the project. The reasons why these unused areas were considered and the reasons why they were not utilised in the project should also be included.
The particular arrangement of the sections will depend on the individual characteristics of the project, but the following general points can be incorporated.
Results: This section should present and discuss the results and measurements that have been generated throughout the project. Tables of results, especially those involving a lot of data, should be in the appendix. The details in this section form the underlying material that will be presented in the final section, the conclusion.
There are many ways of expressing results in a useful and informative manner, including graphs, charts, diagrams, etc Make the best use of these methods to present the results in the most appropriate fashion. The results and discussion section may re-examine the cost aspects and marketability of the project.
Equations: All equations need to be numbered. An easy way of numbering equations is to use the chapter number e.g. REF _Ref96397234 h Equation 21 could be used to represent the first equation you use in chapter 2 of your report, etc
Equation STYLEREF 1 s 2 SEQ Equation * ARABIC s 1 1
Equation STYLEREF 1 s 2 SEQ Equation * ARABIC s 1 2
Tables, diagrams and graphs: All tables, diagrams, charts and graphs must be referenced in the text (using figure numbers) and need to be followed by a caption that briefly describes the table, diagram, chart or graph; the caption should include some form of numbering.
Conclusions: these form arguably the most important chapter and should provide a concise summary of the major findings of the report together with comments and recommendations. These should enable the reader to decide whether to read the report more fully, to recommend an extension of the work, or to decide not to pursue a similar investigation. The conclusion must contain both qualitative and quantitative appraisal of the subject of the report; words like 'good', 'bad', 'inadequate' are in themselves uninformative and should be avoided. The conclusions should be readable on a "stand alone" basis by someone who has not read the rest of the report yet can understand what you have done. Hence start your conclusion with a brief outline of the project work, then provide a critical outcome of the investigation based on a discussion of all your results. References should be made to the aims and objectives as stated in chapter one of your report, during the introduction.
Further Development: this is very often included as part of the conclusion chapter, in which details about any further development, improvement and future direction of the current project are discussed. Any discussions of the commercial viability of the project can be included here.
Other points: In addition to a description of the technical aspect of your project, your report must demonstrate an awareness of time management, costs and market needs. The nature of this part of the report will vary from project to project, but examples of the sort of material which should be included are:-
A time plan showing timescales for major project activities and comments about any modifications that may have been needed to ensure the smooth running of the project.
A detailed costing of the development work you have undertaken during the project (including materials, manpower and overheads) together with estimated costs for volume production, where appropriate.
A discussion of potential applications for your work.
Sub-ChaptersThe quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Sub-ChaptersThe quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
ANOTHER CHAPTERSub-ChaptersThe quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Sub-ChaptersThe quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
REFERENCES FILLIN "Insert References Here" * MERGEFORMAT [ENTER YOUR REFERENCES HERE - Information obtained from books, journals, or the Internet must be referred to in the text by a superscripted number or by using the author's name and the date of the publication e.g. [Pitt, 1973] and then described in detail in the references section at the back of the report.
The back page of 'Electronics Letters' gives examples of a standard format for references, which is used to enable computer searches to be carried out. You might find it useful to refer to journals and publications for ideas of how this is done. An example is:
Pitt, C.W, "Sputtered Glass Optical Waveguides", Electronic Letters, 1973, 9 pp 401-403.
Note that references must be specific. Non-specific references should be given in the Bibliography. References to text books should include the author, title, edition number or year, name of publisher and page numbers or section numbers. Each reference must be referred to at least once in the main body of the report.
References to web pages should include the title of the page, not just the URL.
Students will be penalised if material from published sources is included in their reports without full acknowledgement and attribution of the source of the material.]
Pitt, C.W, Sputtered Glass Optical Waveguides, Electronic Letters, 1973, 9 pp. 401-403
Siau, J, et. all, Biometrics, Some Journal, 2005, pp. 101-104
BIBLIOGRAPHY FILLIN "Insert Bibliography Here" * MERGEFORMAT [ENTER YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY HERE - Books and other reading matter not specifically referred to in the text but considered useful reading matter should be listed in the Bibliography. The format of the items in the bibliography should be the same as for references i.e. there should be full information to allow a reader to obtain a copy of the text book or journal article.]
APPENDICES FILLIN "Insert Appendices Here" * MERGEFORMAT [ENTER APPENDICES HERE - Detailed mathematical derivations, component data, software listing and general detailed backup material should be outlined to the appendices, to enable the main text to flow smoothly. The appendices should not form the bulk of the report.
IC manufacturer's data sheets should only be included for unusual devices and even then, only a few relevant pages should be included. No merit will be given for unnecessary appendices. Large software listings may be included as a disc file rather than hard copy.]
Tasks / Area(s) of investigation: - Competitive Intelligence, SME, Competitor,
Project Title: - Competitive Intelligence: Evidence from British SMEs
Synopsis / Description: - This study will investigate competitive intelligence (CI) applications of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in UK. Some areas of interests are to include the information gathering process, CI resources, measurement of efficiency, areas where CI-related activities are conducted, contentment throughout the CI process, factors preventing CI activities from being performed, benefits of CI, and perceptions of how CI-related activities are carried out by rivals. Data will be collected from SMEs located in England.
Technical Support Required: - Case Study
Expected Outcome of the project, including artefact made, software, etc: - Findings will suggest the satisfaction or dissatisfaction with CI applications and whether it vary with sector and employee size.
