COM5033 - Team Project

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to: Carry out a substantive review of a key project and associated team operations; Collaborate effectively in a team to deliver a project to a specified brief; Interpret a project brief to plan for delivery, including use of appropriate tools and within appropriate professional standards; Apply best practices to enable automated testing, continuous integration and continuous deployment.

Content:

The module provides a complement to COM5003 Further Software Development and COM5013 User-Centred Design with focus on the management and delivery of software projects.

Using output from COM5013 to inform the design, students will build and test and deploy a product in an iterative development process. Emphasis is placed upon continuous delivery, critical review and key performance indicators such as client communication, control of deadlines and cost management.

When planning and executing their project, students must demonstrate knowledge in 2 key areas:
- Development practices: e.g. DevOps practices, testing tools and methods, collaborative development practices, version control;
- Project management: e.g. user requirements and critical success factors (CSF), customer collaboration, planning and scheduling, agile principles and frameworks.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The first half of the module will consist of a series of 10 focussed workshops in which a variety of active learning strategies will be deployed. In Semester 2 students use the knowledge and skills acquired in Semester 1 to tackle the team project. Students attend weekly seminars where they are supported by the tutors to critically reflect on their processes.

Workshops
Hours: 36
Intended Group Size: Cohort

Seminars
Hours: 24
Guided independent study
Hours: 240

Project Audit: this reviews project work from COM4044 Team Project, considering if it could have been done differently, how the work might have been accomplished with greater efficiency, and how the product and operations might be improved.

Artefact: The ‘artefact’ is the product that responds to the given brief and it is evaluated in terms of the KPIs. The mark given is not limited to the product; emphasis is placed on work processes, qualities of communication, and professional/critical attitudes involved in creating the artefact. Employers supply appropriate briefs and serve as clients during the project. They advise on completed project with reference to the KPIs and the customer service.

Commentary: Students must independently submit a reflective commentary on the project process. The contents should include (the breakdown by word count is merely illustrative):
- project outline (250 words)
- description and rationale of process methodologies e.g. collaborative tools, frameworks, project management approaches (750 words)
- description and rationale of development approaches e.g. resources used, programming language, development practices and known problems (e.g. bugs) (500 words)
- evaluation: SWOT analysis, plan for improved future performance, evaluation of personal performance and motivation (500 words)

Other relevant matters
Project students build will need to be able to still work under duress, be able to be built on and address KPIs – e.g. meantime to recovery

Assessment:

001 Project audit; 1500 words; end of semester 1 20%
002 Artfact; 3000 words; end semester 2 50%
003 Commentary; 2000 words; end semester 2 30%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Aliyu Lawal Aliyu
Level - 5
Credit Value - 30
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 5YL

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