Computer Systems Project Proposal

I.  Title of the Project

II. Problem Statement. An Introduction to the Purpose and Scope of the 
    Research Project

III.    Purpose. What is the subject of the project; what are the goals; 
    what is the project about?
    Why is the project worth doing; why is it a good topic for the 
     Computer Systems Lab?
        Who will be interested in the results; how can the results be applied?

IV. Scope of Study. Describe the overall bounds of the work that 
        will be involved, e.g., the research or data that will be required, 
        and the relationships and variables that will need to be programmed, 
        the expected results, etc. [Hints: Most students have a hard time 
        finishing their projects because of the complexities they encounter. 
        So you may have to narrow down your research/project objectives. 
        You need to be specific about what you want to develop. Try drawing 
        a boundary around the area of study that you think you can finish. 
        You may have to select a more modest piece of your original project 
        idea to work on.]

V.  Background and review of current literature/research in this area. 
        Demonstrate that you know the background of your topic. What kinds of 
        research have been done before in this area? How have others gone 
        about trying to solve the problems you want to tackle? Where is the 
        "state of the art" today? In what ways may your approach build on 
        and vary from previous work that has been done in your project area? 
        If you wanted to bring another student up to date on what you're 
        doing, what would be the most important thing to read or website(s) 
        to look at for information?

  Start thinking about a bibliography: all references in this background 
  and literature review section should be in your bibliography, but not 
  everything that will be in your bibliography needs to be included here.

VI.   Procedure and Methodology.
  You should show that you clearly understand your task, have a logical time 
  plan, say, by the research, design, programming, sub-testing and testing 
  phases of your project. Show that you have identified the resources that 
  you will need.

    What are the tasks and sub-tasks that will have to be accomplished to 
    meet your objectives?
        What materials and programming language(s)/tools will be necessary?
        What graphics will be needed?
        What data will be needed and how will they be collected?
        What method or processes will be used to test and analyze the data?
        What error analyses will be performed on the gathered data?
                            
VII.    Expected Results & Value to Others
     What results do you expect to obtain from your project?
     How will the final results and analyses be presented (including 
      visuals such as graphs and charts)?
     What contributions can these results give to future researchers?
     What time frame do you think you will need to accomplish the 
        identified tasks and subtasks?
     What form will be used as a work breakdown of your individual tasks, 
     and how they interrelate, for planning and tracking your work, 
        e.g. PERT Network(s) or Task Chart(s)?