SYSTEMS PROJECT PROPOSAL WRITING

GUIDELINES

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

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
aims—don'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
5. Foreseeable problems and strategies for resolving them.

The proposal should be of reasonable length i.e. a minimum of 10 pages and a maximum of 30 Pages

II. Proposal Sections

The actual content of the proposal may vary depending on student and supervisor interests but it
must contain as a minimum, the following sections:

1. Title Page
The Title page should be the first page and MUST contains the following centred information
 Name of University
 Full title of the project
  Candidate’s 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:

 Who: Who is involved?

 What: What do I want to accomplish?
 Where: Identify a location.
 When: Establish a time frame.
 Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
 Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

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?
 How will I know when it is accomplished?
Achievable

You need to be able to attain your objective based on:

 the skills you have (or can develop within the project),
 resources provided, and
 the constraints imposed.

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.

Time (Time Bound/ Timely)

When will you accomplish/ complete this objective? Associated with the objective somewhere there has
to be a date (Day/Month/Year) for when it has to be started and/or completed

Sample SMART Statements

Example of a SMART objective:

"To recommend, at the June board of directors' meeting, the three providers that offer the best and
broadest coverage at a cost that is at least 10% less than the company's current per-employee
contribution."
 SMART criteria

"To recommend, ... Achievable

...at the June... Time bound

...board of directors' meeting, the three... Specific

...providers that offer the best and broadest coverage at a cost that is at least Realistic and Measurable
10% less than the company's current per-employee contribution."

More sample SMART objectives

 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.

Suggested Verbs to use in SMART Objectives

 activate, address, adjust, analyse, apply, arrange, assemble, assess, assist, associate
 balance, breakdown, build
 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
 enumerate, estimate, evaluate, examine, execute, explain
 file, fill, form, formulate
 grasp, group
 identify, illustrate, indicate, inspect, install, interpret, investigate
 label, lift, list, listen, locate, make, manage, manipulate, measure, modify
 name
 order, organise, outline
 perform, plan, predict, prepare, prescribe, produce, proof, purchase
 quote
 recall, recite, record, reiterate, repeat, reply, reproduce, research, respond, restate
 select, serve, solve, specify
 tabulate, tell, test, trace, transcribe, transfer, troubleshoot, use
 validate, verify
 write

v. Project Justification: A statement showing why the project is worth while

vi. Project Scope: A statement indicating / brief description what will be covered and what
cannot be covered and why?

vii. Project Limitations

This section should contain a list of project limitations and the mitigations to these limitations.

Chapter Two: Literature Review

A write-up on similar systems developed and researched from literature (books, journals and internet)

Chapter Three: Methodology

This is basically an outline of the plan of action. It encompasses the all-round developmental
methodology driving your entire data collection to system development. Provide a brief
justification for the methodology chosen.
It should explain the approach that you are going to follow in doing your
project, i.e. the phases to be involved . This section should also provide
information about the phases of the project.

N.B. Avoid using basic lifecycle-related process models e.g. prototyping – these are not
methodologies.
Feasibility study
References
A list of the reference materials used for the literature review. You should be in HARVARD System of
referencing.
(A copy of the Harvard System of Referencing guide will be provided OR can be downloaded from the
internet.)
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
General Format for Writing the Project Proposal Paper
1. Paper
 Size - A4 (21.0cm X 29.7cm)
 Quality – A least 80gm weight
 Colour - White
2. Type of Printing Machine
Students use a personal computer (PC) to type their project paper. Near-letter quality impact
printers or laser-jet printers may be used. Any word processor software such as Microsoft Word
or WordPerfect would be suitable to write the project paper. Students may also use Microsoft
Excel, for tables, calculations or any other applications.

3. Font Size and Type

Candidates must use Times New Roman. No other fonts are acceptable.
Font Size:
 For text use 12-point font.
 For tables and figures, use 10-point.
 For title page 12-point font,
 For Table of Contents 12-point font.
Please type in bold for headings and subheadings. Headings should be typed in all upper case
letters while sub-headings are to be typed in upper and lower case letters.

4. 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 student’s 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:
 The left margin should be 4 cm (for binding purposes)
 2.5 cm for the top, right and bottom margins.