Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
GUIDELINES
2014
I. Introduction
An academic project proposal is the first step in producing a thesis or major project. Its intent is
to convince a supervisor or academic committee that your topic and approach are sound, so that
you gain approval to proceed with the actual project / research. As well as indicating your plan
of action, an academic project proposal should show your theoretical positioning and your
relationship to past work in the area.
An academic project proposal is expected to contain these elements:
1. A rationale for the choice of topic, showing why it is important or useful within the
concerns of the discipline or course. It is sensible also to indicate the limitations of your
aimsdon't promise what you can't possibly deliver.
2. A review of existing published work ("the literature") that relates to the topic. Here you
need to tell how your proposed work will build on existing studies and yet explore new
territory
3. An outline of your intended approach or methodology (with comparisons to the existing
published work), perhaps including costs, resources needed, and a timeline of when you
hope to get things done.
When considering the project proposal, students should look for a critical and analytical approach to
the following:
1. Specification of the goals of the project
2. Outline of strategy and methodology for achieving goals
3. Literature references with comments as to their relevance
4. Understanding of the basic principles underlying the project
Candidates name
Registration number
Name of supervisor
Name of the course/qualification towards which the project contributes
The second page should contain a declaration on originality of work duly signed
The third page should contain the Table of Contents
NB. The table of content should be Generated using the word processor capabilities
The main document starts at the fourth page, the contents of which should follow the following
outline.
Chapter One: Introduction
i. Background/ Project Area
This is usually a detailed background information about the project research area and about the
client. It should be clear on what business the client is involved in and how operations are
currently conducted. It sets the stage for the problems that will arise.
ii. Problem Statement
This is a statement of the problem the project is intended to address. It should clearly show the
problem in the light of the project research and its contribution to the solution. Ideally it should
originate from the way the organization currently performs its functions. Each problem should
be stated clearly with a brief explanation on how it arises from the functions be undertaken.
iii. Proposed Solution
This is a high level description of the proposed system touching on major system functionality
or features
iv. Project Objectives
Clear, concise SMART objectives should be provided including research and system
development related objectives. They are the basis upon which the success of the project will be
evaluated. Therefore they should basically address each of the problems identified and
documented in problem statement section above.
SMART Objectives
[This material is based on How to write SMART objectives and SMARTer objectives at
http://www.rapidbi.com/created/WriteSMARTobjectives.html]
SMART Objectives are:S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Achievable
R: Realistic
T: Time (Time bound/ Timely)
Specific
A specific objective is much more likely to be accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific
objective you need to answer the six "W" questions:
Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each objective you set. When
you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the feeling of
achievement that drives you on to continued effort required to reach your objective.
Measurable
To determine if your objective is measurable, ask questions such as:
How much?
How many?
Achievable
the skills you have (or can develop within the project),
Realistic
To be realistic, your objective must represent something towards which you are both willing and able to
work. An objective can be both challenging and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how
challenging it should be.
Your objective is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to
know if your objective is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past,
other students on your programme have done so, or if you can answer for yourself what conditions
would have to exist to accomplish this objective.
SMART criteria
"To recommend, ...
Achievable
Time bound
Specific
...providers that offer the best and broadest coverage at a cost that is at least
By the end of the diabetes skills building workshops 60% of the attendees will be able to describe
and demonstrate 4 new skills they have learned and will use in managing their child's diabetes.
By the end of the asthma management classes, 75% of patients will be able to describe and
demonstrate the correct use of a Peak-Flow Meter.
By May 10, 2009 the Health Education staff from the Stroke Association will have planned and
conducted 4 skills building workshops for 50 carers of recently diagnosed Stroke patients at the
Chiswick training centre.
activate, address, adjust, analyse, apply, arrange, assemble, assess, assist, associate
calculate, categorise, centre, change, charge, check, choose, cite, classify, clean, close, combine,
compare, complete, compute, conduct, connect, construct, contrast, convert, copy, count, create,
critique
define, describe, design, detect, determine, develop, diagram, differentiate, disassemble, discharge,
disconnect, display, distinguish
grasp, group
label, lift, list, listen, locate, make, manage, manipulate, measure, modify
name
quote
recall, recite, record, reiterate, repeat, reply, reproduce, research, respond, restate
validate, verify
write
vi. Project Scope: A statement indicating / brief description what will be covered and what
cannot be covered and why?
Appendix section
Budget and Resources
This should generally address all the envisaged resources that will enable the development of
the system to succeed. The key items are hardware, software, human and any other costs that
will be incurred.
Project Schedule
This is a breakdown of all the tasks that will be carried out in the course of carrying the project.
An estimate of the duration of each task in hours should be done. A work breakdown schedule
should be formulated and a task schedule/Gantt chart prepared.
NB: The project schedule should be presented either using a GANTT chart or PERT chart
Colour - White
Font Style
Only one font style (Times New Roman) must be used throughout the project paper, including
the title page, approval page, acknowledgment, bibliography and appendices. Exceptions to this
can only be made for tables/figures/illustrations imported from other sources. Italic variants of
the same font style may be used for labels, foreign words, book titles or occasional emphasis.
The usage of bold variants of the same font style and underlining in the text of headings and
titles is at the students discretion.
5.
Headings
Chapter headings are to be cantered and written in bold, upper case letters. The font size for
chapter headings is 14 point. Other sub-headings are to be aligned to the left margin and should
be 12 point in font-size. Sub-headings should be in upper and lower-case. Underlining and
boldface in the sub-headings is at the student discretion.
6. Paragraphs
Spacing between two paragraphs in the basic text should be set at 4.0 spaces. The first sentence
of a paragraph should be indented to 6 spaces. A heading that appears, as a last line on a page
will not be accepted. There should be a minimum of two lines of a paragraph at the bottom of
the page under the heading.
7. Line Spacing
The project paper should be typed on one side of the page. The text should be spaced (1.5)
throughout.
8.
Text Justification
Set the justification to full and the margins to the following measurements: